Safety Tips For Children And Young People Using The Internet

There are some important things that you need to keep in mind when you're on your computer at home or at school:

• Never give out identifying information such as, name, address, school name or telephone numbers in a public message such as a chat room or a bulletin board.
• Never send a person a picture without first checking with your parent or guardian.
• Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, threatening, obscene or generally make you feel uncomfortable.
• Get to know your 'online friends' just as you get to know all of your other friends.
• Never arrange a face to face meeting without telling your parent or guardian. If your parent or guardian agrees to the meeting, make sure you meet in a public place and have a parent or guardian with you.
• Be careful when someone offers you something for nothing, such as gifts and money, be very careful about any offers that involve you coming to a meeting or having someone visit your house.
• Be sure that you are dealing with someone that your parents know and trust before giving out any personal information about yourself via e-mail.
• Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can't see or even hear the person it would be easy for someone to misrepresent him or herself. Therefore someone indicating that 'she' is a '12 year old girl' could be an older man.
• Tell your parent or guardian right away if you come across any information that makes you feel uncomfortable.