Tweens & Teens

Are You App Happy?

Be highly selective with what apps you download!

Of course, you should never accept the default settings but some apps function under the premise that it needs access to your location, camera, microphone, and can store your browsing history. This may all be under the guise that it will improve your experience. The app may make your life more convenient or entertaining for the moment. However, those added conveniences may not be needed to use the app. For instance, on Instagram asks for access to your camera roll/photo gallery  to post pictures and videos.  In Insta-stories is displays videos and pics taken on your phone as potential posts for a story. It also asks for permission to your camera and microphone to record directly in Instagram.

Do you know what happens to this information? Including the information of where you are as you are taking video and pics? Is this information sold or used to sell things to you? Should you or do you care? Do you know who runs Instagram and do you trust them with that information?

Ask yourself a few important questions and find the answers before downloading an app.

Advanced Cyberbullying

Remember dealing with bullying appropriately is just as important as spotting that it is happening. For teens the types of bullying have a vast range.

Possible Reasons for Bullying

  • Anger 
  • Revenge 
  • Frustration
  • Boredon
  • Too much time on their hands
  • For laughs
  • To get a reaction
  • By accident
  • To torment
  • Ego
  • Social Standing
  • Right wrongs
  • Perceived chilvary, protection, or loyalty of another

Possible Types of Bullying

Exclusion

Exclusion

Leaving a person out of parties, activities, conversations. This could even include chain messages about the individual that are forwarded (or passed) to everyone else. When the child sees people are looking or laughing at him/her they feed left out and also anxious about what people are laughing about.

Cyber Stalking

Cyber Stalking

This form of cyberbullying can extend to the cyberbully making real threats to your child’s physical well being and/or safety. Cyberstalking can also refer to the practice of adults using the Internet to contact and attempt to meet with young people for sexual purposes. If you see something like this take steps to stop it right away.

Dissing

Dissing

Dissing is the act of sending or posting cruel information about your child online, to damage their reputation or friendships with others. It can also include posting material online such as photos, screenshots, or videos. The cyberbully wants to put your child down, so draws attention to what they are saying about them to make other people think they’re not cool. The cyberbully is usually someone your child knows. This can make it really upsetting.

Catfishing

Catfishing

Catfishing is when another person steals your child’s or someone else's, online identity, usually photos, and re-creates social networking profiles for deceptive purposes. A catfish is someone who wants to hide who they are. They will look at your child’s social networking profile and take any information they want to create a fake persona. Sometimes they will only take your child’s photos and use fake names and information; at other times they could take their name and personal information. It can be hard to understand why a catfish does this but it is important to know that they are potentially damaging your child’s online reputation.

Flagging / False Suspicion

Flagging / False Suspicion

This is connected to baiting. By constantly flagging or sending ISPs evidence of the victim breaking terms of use rules, the victim can be suspended from use of the site.

Harassment

Harassment

Harassment is a sustained, constant and intentional form of bullying comprising abusive or threatening messages sent to your child or to a group. The often mean spirited messages are unwanted and can diminish the receiver’s,self-esteem and confidence, and can make them fearful.

Fraping

Fraping

Fraping is when somebody logs into your social networking account and impersonates your child by posting inappropriate content in their name. Fraping is a very serious offense, which many people believe to be funny and entertaining, but it’s not. Impersonating somebody online and ruining their reputation can have serious consequences. What is posted on someone else's behalf it may still remain online somewhere and be searchable far into the future. This is why it is important for you and your child to monitor your online identities for false accounts and inappropriate behavior.

Trickery

Trickery

Trickery is the act of gaining your child’s trust so that they reveal secrets or embarrassing information that the cyberbully then shares publicly online.,The cyberbully will ‘befriend’ your child and lead them into a false sense of security before breaking their trust and sending their private information to a third party.

Bashboard (chat rooms)

Bashboard (chat rooms)

Chat rooms and discussion boards are places that people can also be bullied. Flaming or all caps, posting of rude language, and posting of photos can be made public. People can then gang up on one individual.

Slut-Shaming

Slut-Shaming

Sharing stories or spreading gossip about, usually a girl's promiscuity. The stories may be true, exaggerated, or untrue. The assumption is the girl should be ashamed of her behavior and the aim is to make the person look bad to others. It is rare, but not impossible, for a boy to be shamed for supposed promiscuity.

Baiting (by Proxy)

Bating (by Proxy)

Provoking angry inappropriate responses from the target, saving the communication, and reporting them to an ISP, social networking platform, parents or school administrators… making the victim look like the guilty party.

Outing

Outing

Outing is a deliberate act to embarrass or publicly humiliate your child or a group through the online posting of sensitive, private or embarrassing information without their consent. Outing can happen in a variety of ways and the information revealed can be serious or trivial. Even reading out your child’s saved messages on their mobile phone can be considered a form of outing. Personal information should not be shared and if someone reveals private information deliberately be sure your child knows to report it as cyberbullying.

Fake Profiles

Fake Profiles

Fake profiles can be created in order for a person to hide their real identity with the intention of cyberbullying your child.,The cyberbully might also use someone else’s email or mobile phone to cyberbully them. This would make it appear as if someone else has sent the threats. The cyberbully is afraid in case their identity is revealed, therefore they choose to use fake accounts. This usually means that the cyberbully is someone that your child knows very well, because if they didn’t know them, the perpetrator wouldn’t have to hide their identity.

Trolling

Trolling

Tolling is the deliberate act of provoking a response through the use of insults or bad language on online forums and social networking sites. The troll will personally attack your child and put them down. Their main aim is to make them angry enough to act in the same way. Trolls spend their time looking for vulnerable people to put down. Usually they are looking to make themselves feel good by making others feel bad.

Voting & Polling

Voting & Polling

This is using superlatives like being the ugliest, fattest, dumbest, sluttiest, etc. The negative connotation to being these things is intended to be humorous or inflate other's self esteem at the expense of publicly shaming/embarrassing another.

Spotting a Catfish

You  shouldn't believe everything you see and trust everyone you meet online. Someone may make up fake profiles and stories just to take advantage of you. Don't be an easy target. Stay skeptical and do not be gullible.

These are some signs tweens and teens can look out for if they get permission to use online chats, gaming, and while on social media. No matter how much you may monitor your child while they are in sight, there will be moments when they are online without supervision. Equip them with the critical thinking skills to not become a victim.

  1. Photos are too good to be true (ex. They look like a model or photos look supper professional)
  2. Life is too good to be true (ex. I'm rich but know how you could make some money)
  3. Lack of photos of friends and fam
  4. No web cam
  5. Saying exactly what you want to hear
  6. Too serious too son
  7. Asking you for money
  8. Very low FB friend count
  9. Traumatic life events to get sympathy
  10. Excuses, excuses, excuses… - their stories don't add up so they give excuse after excuse
  11. Trust your gut
  12. Their language skills are really poor or they appear to not be a native speaker (a hint they could be mesaging you from abroad).
  13. They have very interesting story about why the live abroad or are active at odd hours
  14. They come out of nowhere and try to talk to you and/or romance

Sexting Dangers

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit photos usually by phone text and even through apps. This is never safe to do.

  • Sometimes people share photos that are sent to them privately
  • Having explicit photos of children of a certain age, even if you yourself are a minor, can result in legal action being taken against your child.
  • If the person you/they send an explicit photo or video to has their device stolen or account hacked (broken into) someone else will now have access to your images
  • There are ways to flirt and form relationships that don’t put your reputation or wellbeing at risk

What to do  if someone requests explicit photos from you:

  • You can always say no. it is your body and your reputation at risk
  • Tell an adult if it makes you feel uncomfortable
  • Tell a parent, block, report, any user who send you unsolicited sexually/explicit messages
  • If an adult request or sends you sexually explicit or inappropriate
  • If you feel you are being harassed stalked or bullied, work with your parents or adults to get law enforcement involved
  • Be aware that this could possibly be a sexual predator who may intent to blackmail or post your images on the web without your permission and against the law.

Live Streaming

Live streaming is not possible through most social media sites and may be tempting to show and and share the wilder of more humous side of your humor. However live streams can be saved, stores, screenshot, and shared without your knowing. If it’s not something that you would be proud of or could be taken out of context, don’t do it.