This is very good scope of the burgeoning issue that we face in ALL municipalities.
Many thanks to the SAG community for sharing this online post!
School officials and Sag Harbor parents say problems of cyber bullying, online chatting, and most recently “sexting,” have been brewing in the district for many years. Before this week, instances of risky online behavior were handled amongst the children, at home or in the guidance counselors office.
But tonight, Thursday, January 14, US Congressman Tim Bishop and Detective Rory Forrester with the Suffolk County Police Department will host an Internet safety program at Pierson High School at 7 p.m. Local parents hope to bring this issue to light and reach out to the whole community to raise awareness about children’s vulnerability on the Internet. Sag Harbor students in grades six through eight, will also attend a modified version of the program during the day.
“We want to help parents understand what is going on with our kids,” said elementary school assistant principal Donna Denon. The program, which is paid for through a grant secured by Congressman Bishop and presented at schools throughout Suffolk County, is sponsored at Pierson with the help of the Sag Harbor Parenting Center, The Sag Harbor Elementary PTA and the Pierson Parent Teacher Student Association. Of the children’s portion, Denon added, “According to Det. Forrester, research shows this age group is the most influenced. Their developmental age isn’t catching up. If we can target this middle school age group and raise awareness we will have better success in high school.”
According to parents and middle school guidance counselor Carl Brandl, jabs aren’t only reserved for the bathroom wall or the playground anymore. Verbal forms of cruelty have now gone viral. Parent Mary Anne Miller, whose daughter is a fifth-grader, said cyber bullying is present in the older elementary school grades and takes many shapes. Students use Facebook to write demeaning things about a fellow classmate, noted Miller. Brandl referenced a Facebook application called the “Truth Box” which can be added to a child’s profile. On the website, the application is advertised as a way to learn “what your friends really think about you” by allowing them to post anonymous comments.
“In the old days you would get bullied on the playground and then it was finished. Cyber bullying is never ending. It can go on for weeks or months. It is a continuous dialogue,” remarked Miller. “The children are hurting and disrespecting each other.”
Another arena of the Internet Det. Forrester finds particularly disconcerting is “sexting,” in which young adults send racy or sometime obscene texts, photographs or videos to one another. The prevalence of “sexting,” said Det. Forrester, spiked as smart phones with Internet access and cameras became ubiquitous.
While working on the Internet safety program, Det. Forrester learned of a 12-year-old girl from Mount Sinai who made a revealing video of herself. The video was eventually posted online by someone else and now when people type in this young girl’s nickname her homemade movie pops up in the search results. Det. Forrester noted that legislation hasn’t caught up to the advances in technology and how children are using these new mediums. Technically, by producing this video, the girl created child pornography which is a felony charge. If convicted she could become a registered sex offender. Det. Forrester added these videos and images are often intended for one recipient but with the click of one button the intended receiver can distribute the information throughout a whole school district and community.
“The laws need to be adjusted for what is going on. I know a lot of states are struggling with this,” said Det. Forrester, adding that some states have resorted to charging children as a way to curtail these practices.
Children may have the skill set to readily adapt with technology but Brandl argues developmentally they aren’t prepared to connect their actions online with any possible consequences. Brandl said he receives reports of cyber bullying nearly ever day and although he wouldn’t elaborate on instances of “sexting,” he said the Sag Harbor school district wasn’t immune to this problem.
“There really isn’t a whole lot of foresight with what they are doing today and how it will impact them 30 minutes, a month, or a year down the road. Their brains are still developing,” explained Brandl. “A major theme of my job is showing them that what they do right now will have an impact later.”
Brandl noted that children also find a greater comfort in saying cruel things online instead of face to face.
To help control this behavior, as part of the program, Det. Forrester will teach children to “think before they send. In addition, he will also school them on the ways to protect their online information by establishing and understanding privacy settings.
Because Internet companies’ incentives are to increase the number of subscribers, noted parent Chris Tice, who has worked in the Internet business, the onus is on parents to monitor their children’s online accessibility and activity.
“Parents can set the parameters for how their kids use these technologies. They can make sure there isn’t a computer in their room or put filters on any of their electronic media so the kids can’t accidentally go to the wrong site,” said Tice. “I think many parents hand their children computers and don’t install that kind of software.” In an elementary school survey Brandl helped complete five years ago, nearly 85 percent of students in fourth grade said they had computers their parents couldn’t monitor.
Det. Forrester suggests first and foremost that parents become involved in their children’s Internet and texting habits. He tells parents to know which sites their children are visiting, open a dialogue about the Internet with their youngsters, join Facebook and become a friend of their children’s and also take a close look at their phone bills.
“I think parents in general just want to understand more of what their kids are doing. It is kind of out of sight and out of view, right now,” added Denon.
Technology is growing so rapidly and has become such a common resource in society, officials say parents need to address these critical issues instead of ignoring them. Parents and educators hope the benefits provided by the Internet to young minds will be tempered with increased awareness surrounding its dangers as well.
Pre-registration for the Internet safety program is required. Please contact Mrs. Cohen at 725-5301 for more information.
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