Hello Everyone!I am sure that we all remember the "Good Touch Bad Touch" and "Date Rape" lessons from our own childhoods, but teaching students about face-to-face sexual dangers is no longer enough in today's society. Many of the dangers children now confront are online, and it is our responsibility as educators to provide our students with safety measures to protect themselves. Please keep in mind that the images, lessons, definitions, and statistics I chose to use in this post are meant to be used for mature high school students.
Definitions and Statistics
Two of the most common forms of sexual exploitation students may be exposed to online are sexting and catfishing. Sexting is the electronic sharing of sexually explicit media, such as personal photographs, videos, text messages, or emails, primarily between cellphones. Catfishing is when one assumes a false identity or personality on the internet, especially on social-media websites, as to deceive someone into entering a false relationship to gain confidential information or seek revenge on that person. Currently, 30% of teens participate in sexting and 54% of online daters felt that they have viewed the profiles of individuals who have misrepresented themselves.
For more information about the definitions and statistics of sexting and catfishing, please see the following websites which also served as my sources for information:
https://www.pcthreatremoval.net/10-best-ways-to-avoid-being-catfished
http://nobullying.com/what-is-catfishing-a-cyber-safety-alert/
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexting?s=t
http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/10/21/online-dating-relationships/
Problems
Overall, sexting and catfishing are problems because they put children at a higher risk for sexual exploitation. Teens often do not understand that a "private" message does not always remain private. They may often send inappropriate videos or pictures of themselves to their significant other in hopes of making him or her like them more. However, this significant other could post the media online or share it with his or her friends until that "private" message becomes viral. Unfortunately, the original sender cannot take back the message after hitting send. Some participants of sexting could even be charged as sex offenders if they are underage. Additionally, sexting and forming relationships with people online are a feeding ground for sexual predators, child traffickers, and bullies. Students want to feel love and accepted, so they may share too much personal information online. Perpetrators may use this information for identity theft, money scams, bullying, or convincing children to meet them face-to-face. These meetings are not innocent and may lead to child abuse and sexual assault. Tips for Parents
Students spend more time at home than they do at school, so it is important for educators to provide parents with information to keep their children safe online. The following are some tips to share with your students' caregivers.
- Ensure your child uses privacy settings
- Stress the importance of not friending strangers
- Avoid screen names that include the child's age
- Stress the importance of not meeting people face-to-face if they only know the person online
- Ensure children avoid hook up sites
- Remember and share with children that the majority of fake accounts represent females
- Enforce that dates meet parents first
- Stress the importance of ignoring messages from people you do not know
- Pay attention to children's online activity
- Close inactive social media accounts
- Know the acronyms!
- Children often use acronyms to hide certain parts of their conversations from attentive parents. It is impossible to know what every acronmym in the texting world means, so if a parent comes across slang they do not know, they can either google the phrase or ask their child what it means. However, the following is a list of of common internet acronyms that should serve as red flags for parents worried about their children's online activity.
IWSN - I want sex now
GNOC - Get naked on camera
NIFOC - Naked in front of computer
PIR - Parent in room
CU46 - See you for sex
53X - Sex
9 - Parent watching
99 - Parent gone
1174' - Party meeting place
THOT - That hoe over there
CID - Acid (the drug)
Broken - Hungover from alcohol
420 - Marijuana
POS - Parent over shoulder
SUGARPIC - Suggestive or erotic photo
KOTL - Kiss on the lips
(L)MIRL - Let's meet in real life
PRON - Porn
TDTM - Talk dirty to me
8 - Oral sex
CD9 - Parents around/Code 9
IPN - I'm posting naked
LH6 - Let's have sex
WTTP - Want to trade pictures?
DOC - Drug of choice
TWD - Texting while driving
GYPO - Get your pants off
KPC- Keeping parents clueless
In the following lesson plan by Common Sense Education, students explore the responsibilities of having a relationship in regards to the digital world. Students watch a video about a girl who sent a sext to her boyfriend that then went viral. At the end of the movie, students create an ending to a story about a person who is asked to sext.
Lesson Plan:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/overexposed-sexting-and-relationships
Additionally, I think it is important to teach students some tips to identify catfish online. Perhaps an online scavenger hunt with the following website would prove to be beneficial for students.
Website:
https://www.pcthreatremoval.net/10-best-ways-to-avoid-being-catfished
