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Cheers,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

Welcome everyone! My name is Cheryl Fujii and I’m eBay’s Community Outreach Program Manager. Part of my responsibilities here at eBay includes Community outreach and education. As a former elementary school teacher, I am passionate about the safety and education of children in our communities. With the Internet prevalent in many households, families may need to focus more on their teen’s activities on the Internet and the environment of the family computer. In today’s workshop we will be discussing ways to ensure a safer Internet experience for teens. Our hope is that you’ll walk away with a better understanding of Internet issues teens face and can apply your new knowledge in your household or classroom. Resources for further review and reference will be provided toward the end of the workshop.

It is my pleasure to be co-presenting today with Jenn O’Neil from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s NetSmartz program. Jenn has a wealth of knowledge on cyber safety and is a wonderful resource for parents and educators.

Please note we will be discussing topics that may be sensitive for some individuals. Our intent today is to provide information on safe Internet practices for teens. The information provided in this workshop is meant to provide possible scenarios and behaviors, and not absolutes. Please keep this in mind while reading and/or participating in this workshop.

Thank you,
Cheryl

An increased number of teens are using the Internet to do what they once did through diaries, phone calls and by hanging out with each other. Namely, teens are bonding with classmates, seeking new friends, venting, testing social limits and finding support through Internet communication avenues, like blogs.

Half of teens ages 13-18 often communicate through the Internet with someone they have not met in person

One-third of youth ages 8-18 have talked about meeting someone they have only met through the Internet

Among the 96% of young people who have ever gone online, 65% say they go online most often from home, 14% from school, 7% from a friend's house, and 2% from a library or other location

Teen and preteens can also be making threatening, harassing, or inappropriate comments on the Internet.

Nine percent of youth online are harassed. Online harassment can be very disturbing for children because it is often their peers who are harassing them. Many harassment incidents began with a confrontation at school.

15% of solicitors that requested photographs from teens sent photographs or videos of themselves via a webcam

About 12% of the youth who encountered a solicitation or approach told a parent. Only 5% of solicitations were reported to authorities such as a law- enforcement agency, an Internet Service Provider, or a hotline.

This information was taken from the study by:

David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak. Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. Alexandria, Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2006.