Safe Surfing
Written by Cassie Licari & Dominique Houle on 06/02/11
Photo by Dominique Houle
This past December, a Vancouver man was sentenced to 40 months in prison. Ten girls from Kelowna B.C. have been victimized, and their parents and communities are enraged by what took place (The Vancouver Sun). “What happened?” you might ask. In honour of Safer Internet Day tomorrow, keep reading to find out…
The Face Behind The Computer
Robert* often trolled popular Internet social networking sites like Facebook and MSN, searching for youth to take advantage of. For two years, he pretended to be a teenage boy and convinced a handful of teenage girls to send him naked pictures of themselves. He even encouraged them to meet up with him, and to their surprise he was not at all the young boy they thought he was. Robert was a 58 year-old man who then offered the girls presents like drugs and alcohol in exchange of sexual favours (The Vancouver Sun).
I know what you may be thinking: “This is crazy, this would never happen in my community!” But in reality, from 2006 to 2007, a total of 464 incidents of child luring were reported to the police in Canada (Statistics Canada). These statistics show that unfortunately, some people are taking advantage of online technology such email, instant messaging, online gaming and other social networking programs, and using them in a negative way (Statistics Canada).
Nonetheless, the Internet can be a fun and exciting tool to use that has many benefits, but only if we learn about the risks. There are ways you can learn to identify someone who could possibly be an online predator – check out these tips to ensure you stay smart online.
When Strangers Come a Knockin’
If someone is making you feel uncomfortable while on the internet, it’s important to tell an adult. You should always report incidences (to the police and/or Cybertip) where:
- Anyone you don’t know in real life asks for your personal information, photos or videos, or, sends you an inappropriate or obscene URL, photo, video, message or post.
- Anyone sends you photos or videos containing obscene content of people who are 18 years old and younger (because the possession, manufacturing or distribution of child pornography is illegal).
- Anyone asks you to meet them in person for sexual activities (Netsmartz).
(DEAL.org)
Make sure to save any inappropriate messages, photos or videos as evidence, and block the individual from communicating with you (DEAL.org).
Check out our Knowzone or the links below for more information and tips.
Links
DEAL.org: Knowzone – Internet Safety
Media Awareness Network: Online Predators
Cybertip
Media Awareness Network
Canada Safety Council
CBC In Depth: Web Danger
CBC News
The Vancouver Sun
* Name changed for privacy reasons
