Internet and Online Safety for All Ages

Since the beginning of the 21st century, social media has become an increasingly important part of most people’s lives. At first, it was fairly easy for users to mask their real identities, but the advent of Facebook changed that. Facebook was based on the idea that users would reveal their real names and where they went to school; when Facebook started, it was aimed solely at college students. Now, just about everyone has an online identity linked to their real name, meaning that your Internet life and your real-world life are always connected. This can have benefits, such as when you use a LinkedIn profile to post your résumé and network with others in your field, but it can also present dangers. It’s crucial that everyone who uses the Internet learns how to keep themselves safe from bullying, identity theft, and other online crimes.

Digital Citizenship

• What Is Digital Citizenship? An important first step to being a good digital citizen is understanding the definition of digital citizenship. Here, it is defined as upholding and accepting norms of responsible, appropriate behavior when using digital apps and technology.
• All About Digital Citizenship: This video from Common Sense Media explains the basics of what digital citizenship is and why it’s important.
• How Clean Is Your Digital Footprint? The Wharton School of Business provides a guide for students about monitoring their digital footprints. It also gives tips about how to clean up what they’ve left behind so that schools and potential employers don’t see things applicants would rather they not.
• How to Teach the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship: The nine elements of digital citizenship include online etiquette, knowing how to use technology, and understanding how to keep yourself safe online.
• Understanding Your Online Identity: When understanding digital citizenship, it’s also important to understand what digital identity and digital identifiers are and how they work to create a digital trail for everyone who does anything online.
• Your Digital Trail and How it Can Be Used Against You: The Center for Investigative Reporting and NPR produced a report on how the FBI, National Security Agency, police forces, and other authorities can use people’s social media and Internet search histories against them and provides ideas about how individuals can better protect themselves.

Social Media Safety

• Are You Practicing Safe Social Networking? UCLA produced a guide that helps people to decide if their social media use is safe.
• Family Guide to Social Media Guidelines: 12 and Younger: It’s not just teenagers and adults who use social media. Younger children also are online, and it’s vital that they and their families understand the dangers and best practices to keep themselves safe.
• How to Connect With Your Teen About Smart and Safe Social Media Use: Although the parents of teens today might have used the Internet and some forms of social media when they were in high school, it was nothing compared to the social media use of teenagers today. Knowing how to guide teens to use social media safely is crucial for parents.
• Facebook’s Tips for Parents: Facebook offers suggestions for how parents can teach their children to use social media safely.
• Social Media Safety: Alabama’s Office of Information Technology offers safety tips so that people can enjoy social media and form connections with like-minded individuals.
• Social Networking Sites: Social media use has become second nature for many people, but it still carries risks.

Cyberbullying

• Cyberbullying: The National Bullying Prevention Center defines cyberbullying as using technology to intentionally and repeatedly hurt, embarrass, harass, intimidate, or humiliate another person.
• Bullying Laws Across America: While all states have laws on the books that could be used in cases of cyberbullying, some states are writing laws to specifically address the problem. The laws of each state are broken down here by the Cyberbullying Research Center.
• Bullying on Social Media: It’s important that social media users know how to respond when they are attacked on social media.
• What to Do if You Are Being Bullied on Social Media: Bullying does happen on social media, and it’s important for victims to know how to respond if it happens to them.
• Cyberbullying: The attorney general of California defines cyberbullying and discusses the potential legal ramifications.
• How to Stop Cyberbullying: One in five students are cyberbullied over the course of a school year, so parents and school officials need to know how to prevent and identify cyberbullying.
• How to Stand Up to Cyberbullying: The Federal Trade Commission produced this video showing kids how to stand up for themselves and others when they see cyberbullying.

Identity Theft, Phishing, and Other Online Crimes

• The Cyber Threat: The FBI explains the various types of online crimes that are currently entrapping large number of victims.
• Identity Crime Prevention Methods: Identity theft is certainly a risk, but there are measures people can take to lessen the chances that they will fall victim to a scam designed to steal their identity.
• Identity Theft Protection Tips: Shredding mail, opting out of pre-approved credit offers, and being smart about passwords are all vital parts of identity protection.
• How to Recognize Phishing Email Messages, Links, or Phone Calls: Phishing scams are usually designed to steal people’s money by gaining access to their accounts. Knowing how to identify phishing is vital to protecting your financial accounts and information.
• Phishing: Georgetown University explains how phishing scams operate and what steps can be taken to prevent falling victim to one.
• Viruses and Other Infections: Computer viruses are a big problem. Not only can they impact a computer’s ability to properly function, but they can also be used to steal users’ information.

General Internet Safety

• Cybercrime: Unfortunately, cybercrime is a real problem. Knowing what it is and how it happens is important to understanding how to prevent it.
• Internet Safety: Kids also live parts of their lives online now, and they (and their families) must know basic information about staying safe while enjoying games and other online entertainment.
• Internet Safety Tips for Children and Teens: The New York Public Library produced this guide so that kids and teens can understand how to use the Internet safely.
• Online Safety Tips for Older Adults: Older people are uniquely vulnerable to some Internet scams and schemes, and knowing how they can protect themselves is vital.

Internet Safety Games

• Band Runner: Is it safe to share videos online? These are the sort of questions players answer to help Sam and Ellie get to their next gig on time.
• Cyber-Five: Hippo and Hedgehog are learning about Internet safety, and kids can learn along with these colorful characters before taking quizzes reviewing the information they learned.
• Interland: Google designed this game in which players are robotic Internauts who learn about phishing, cyberbullying, and more through a series of entertaining mini-games.
• Internet Safety Hangman: This quick version of Hangman lets players review simple Internet safety rules.