Educating Students About Online Predators
Your students use the Internet to conduct research, read articles and watch videos on interesting topics ranging from geography to politics and social issues. The web is a dynamic educational tool that allows you to use what is happening in the world right now to meet your curriculum goals in a new and very relevant way.
At the same time, you need to make sure your students understand both the benefits and the risks that come with the Internet. Be straight with your students about online safety issues, including the threat of online predators. Your students need to know these people are real and dangerous, and how to avoid them.
Even if they don't do it in your classroom, you know your students like to visit online chat rooms and use instant messaging and other web-based applications, right? It’s part of what they do to connect to the world around them. Predators know that, too, and they use that knowledge to make contact with kids online. Predators will:
- Use the anonymity of the Internet to masquerade as another child or a trustworthy person.
- Try to gain children’s trust by paying attention to them and finding out what they like to do so they can claim the same interests.
- Promise loyalty and friendship, encouraging kids to share intimate details about themselves and telling lies in return to make it appear they are doing the same.
- Tell kids to keep the friendship a secret, and even threaten them if they don't.
- Slowly introduce sexual content, send pictures, and ask the child to do the same in return.
- Try to arrange to meet them in person.
Next: How to Avoid Online Predators
