AVG (AU\/NZ) responds to Girl Guides Australia survey which showed two-thirds of young girls are subjected to bullying.<\/p>\n
Melbourne and Amsterdam, 11 February 2011 \u2014 The release this week of a survey conducted by Girl Guides Australia that revealed more than two-thirds of girls under 10 had experienced bullying, highlights just how vigilant parents need to be in protecting their young daughters, and presumably their sons too, from cyber bullying.<\/p>\n
Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist for AVG (AU\/NZ) Pty Ltd, says: \u201cThe use of social media is exploding, with even early primary school kids setting up accounts. As parents, you can\u2019t always be looking over their shoulders to stop e-mail, chat and social network messages from pranksters and bullies who can be active 24\/7. But you can help your kids be safe and savvy online.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if you have a pact with your children \u2014 that they can set up Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and chat accounts and use the Internet so long as you have access to what they are doing \u2014 you don\u2019t necessarily know what they are doing at school or when visiting their friends.<\/p>\n
Borrett says that \u2018status-jacking\u2019 is a growing trend, particularly among students, who find that friends, bullies and sometimes cyber criminals, have \u2018hijacked\u2019 their social network profile by logging onto their accounts and posting embarrassing updates for them.<\/p>\n
Basic Steps When Responding to Cyber Bullying<\/p>\n
As simple first steps in response to cyber bullying, give your kids the following advice:<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t answer any bullying text or post \u2014 by not responding they\u2019ve got nothing new to \u2018play\u2019 with. Let them get bored and stop.<\/p>\n
Block those \u2018friends\u2019 who are involved \u2014 the impact on your kids will be less if they can\u2019t see the harmful messages and images.<\/p>\n
Save any messages and images as proof of the bullying \u2014 then if action needs to be taken against the offenders, the evidence is available.<\/p>\n
Report cyber bullying \u2014 ask them to tell someone they can trust (parents, older siblings or teachers, for example). If it\u2019s happening at school, or involves kids at their school, encourage them to report it to a teacher. The school should have policies in place for handling all kinds of bullying.<\/p>\n
They don\u2019t have to take it \u2014 reassure them that you love and support them and that you will help them.<\/p>\n
Helping Your Kids Stay Safe Online<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that you communicate often with your kids about their online life,\u201d says Borrett. \u201cThen you can help them to better leverage this magnificent resource, while doing so safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
In your conversations with your children get them to think about \u2018walking in someone else\u2019s shoes\u2019: how would you feel if this was happening to you. Help them understand how important it is not to forward messages or pictures that they wouldn\u2019t like to find on their wall. Get them to talk about what they\u2019re doing online, the good, the funny and the strange so that if the bad happens, it\u2019s easier for them to bring it up.<\/p>\n
It is also critical that they learn to think before they post. Don\u2019t respond to angry messages from anyone, or send a message when angry. What goes online, stays online, possibly forever. Even if they delete it, others won\u2019t \u2014 whatever is put online may be forwarded and published on social networks, Google and other search engine results. Think about who may read a post or see a photo. Posting online about personal matters can also lead to friendship problems or bullying.<\/p>\n
Let your children know that \u2018stranger danger\u2019 applies to people online, just as it does in \u2018real life\u2019. Let them know that they shouldn\u2019t accept messages from or exchange pictures with an online \u2018friend\u2019 or arrange to meet people they don\u2019t know. They shouldn\u2019t give out private or sensitive information such as passwords, their name, e-mail addresses, home address, phone number, school name or family or friends\u2019 names online. But above all else, let them know that when something doesn\u2019t seem right, it probably isn\u2019t. Encourage them to trust their instinct.<\/p>\n
Install Family Safety Software On Your Computers<\/p>\n
Putting in place appropriate parental control measures is an important step in protecting your children from cyber bullying and blocking hateful content. Most parental control software falls into one of three categories and sometimes contains features of all the following:<\/p>\n
Content Filtering \u2013 These features prevent your kids from viewing or accessing content which is deemed inappropriate.<\/p>\n
Usage features \u2013 These help you restrict the amount of time your kids are online.<\/p>\n
Monitoring \u2013 This can involve the tracking of your kid\u2019s online activity such as where they go, what they search for, instant message conversations, who is talking to your kids online, etc.<\/p>\n
You should also look into what parental control features you may already have, but may not be using. There are a number of features built into video game systems, your TVs, mobile devices, internet browsers, and even certain computer operating systems. Be sure to include these in your research.<\/p>\n
Online Safety Resources for Parents, Teachers and Young People<\/p>\n
The Australian Communications and Media Authority\u2019s (ACMA) Cybersmart program \u2014 www.cybersmart.gov.au \u2014 provides education resources, advice and support for young people, teachers and families about a range of online safety issues. The Cybersafety Contact Centre provides practical information and helpful advice about and reporting of cybersafety matters.<\/p>\n
AVG (AU\/NZ) has a comprehensive range of security tips on its web site at http:\/\/www.avg.com.au\/resources\/security-tips\/. For video tips from AVG (AU\/NZ), see http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/avgaunz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AVG (AU\/NZ) responds to Girl Guides Australia survey which showed two-thirds of young girls are subjected to bullying. Melbourne and Amsterdam, 11 February 2011 \u2014 The release this week of a survey conducted by Girl Guides Australia that revealed more than two-thirds of girls under 10 had experienced bullying, highlights just how vigilant parents need<\/p>\n