The ability to interact and communicate with others is one of the biggest attractions of the Internet for kids. Talking with people in chat rooms and instant messaging, playing games, entering contests and filling out surveys are all popular online activities. Unfortunately, most adults are unaware of how interactivity can put children’s privacy at risk and possibly threaten their safety.
Privacy is the right to be free from outside intrusions and to have control over your own personal information. However, in today’s electronic age, personal data is a valuable commodity. Protecting your personal information, therefore, is a skill that young people need to learn.
Children’s privacy can be invaded online in several ways. For example, it can happen when they:
- fill out forms and enter contests on commercial Web sites
- provide information when registering for Internet services or software (i.e. file-sharing, instant messaging, e-mail)
- complete a personal profile for an e-mail or instant messaging account
- give personal information to strangers in chat rooms or through instant messaging
This section looks at privacy concerns related to online safety. For information on how online marketers collect personal information from young people in commercial settings see the Kids For Sale section.
Safety concerns
The Internet makes it easy to collect and store data from young people. Online marketers encourage kids to answer surveys, enter contests and fill out registration forms that include questions designed to obtain personal information. Even reputable children’s sites might gather information about their visitors. Problems can occur when kids become accustomed to submitting information as a regular part of online play and don’t stop to think about sharing personal information in what could be more risky online environments.
When kids sign up for instant messaging software, for example, they are asked if they would like to fill out a personal profile. The fields include their ‘real’ name and address as well as details about their personal life. Once completed, this profile is available to anyone on the Internet who wants to pull it up and read it.
Children who use chat rooms are also at risk of revealing personal information. The first question that is usually asked of someone entering a chat room is A/S/L? — meaning age, sex and location? If children reveal personal information to strangers they meet in chat rooms, this can lead to ‘cyberstalking,’ having pornography sent to them, or even being pressured to arrange a personal face-to-face meeting.
Teachers can play an important role in teaching kids the importance of protecting personal information while online:
- Teach students about the value of their personal information – start when they are young.
- Encourage students to never share personal details when using chat rooms, bulletin boards, instant messaging or visiting Web sites. This includes name, gender, age, home address, e-mail address, phone number, picture, credit card information or passwords.
- Be a good role model: When creating a class or school Web site, do not allow personally identifiable information or photos of students to be posted.
- Lead young children to high-quality non-commercial sites for kids that are fun and educational. Ask other teachers or librarians for their recommendations, or use reputable online directories of recommended children’s sites.
- Read the privacy policies on any site your students use in the classroom. Teach students to deconstruct privacy policies. Ask them:
- Is the policy easily found?
- Is it linked from pages where personal information is solicited?
- What steps are being taken to safeguard the privacy of users when participating in interactive areas of the site such as games, contests and message boards?
- Encourage students to always use gender-neutral nicknames, so no one can tell whether they are male or female when communicating over the Internet.
Classroom activities and lessons:
Know the Risks
Privacy invasions | Pornography | Cyber bullying | Online predators | Spam | Misinformation | Violent and hateful content | Gambling | Reporting trouble
