Online Safety Tips for Teens
hi5 can be a fun place to connect with friends, create content and exchange ideas but its important to remember that when using hi5 or the Internet in general what you post could embarrass you or expose you to danger. Here are some common sense guidelines you should follow when using hi5 or the Internet:
- Protect your information. Use the privacy settings to control who can visit your profile. Remember that if you don't use privacy features, anyone can see your information. Always be mindful not to post information that would make it easy for a stranger to locate you.
- Never meet with strangers. Avoid getting together with someone you meet online. If you must meet an online friend arrange the meeting in a public place, during the day and bring a parent along.
- Photos: Think before posting. Avoid posting photos that allow people to identify you (for example, when they're searching for your high school) or contain especially suggestive images. Before uploading a photo, think about how you'd feel if it were seen by a parent/grandparent, college admissions counselor, or future employer.
- Check comments regularly. If you allow comments on your profile, check them often. Don't respond to mean or embarrassing comments or emails. Delete them, block offensive people from commenting further and report the abusive person to hi5. Also, never respond to emails from strangers that ask personal questions.
- Be honest about your age. Our membership rules are there to protect people. If you lie about your age hi5 will delete your profile.
- Trust your gut if you have suspicions. If you feel threatened by someone or uncomfortable because of something online, tell an adult you trust and report it to the police and hi5.
- Additional information. For additional information regarding online safety and to learn more please see these other resources: http://www.blogsafety.com and http://onguardonline.gov/socialnetworking_youth.html
Online Safety Tips for Parents
The Internet can be a fun place and useful resource for teens. But like other public places, it is also full of risks and potential dangers. No one person can ensure online safety for teens but parents and guardians play the most important role. Parents should make every effort to talk openly with their teens about their online experiences and seek support and advice from other parents, educators, online safety specialists, and teens themselves. Every parent should develop an online safety plan for their teens. Here are some suggestions and guidelines:
- Be open with your teens and encourage them to come to you if they encounter a problem online— cultivate trust and communications because no rules, laws or filtering software can replace you as their first line of defense.
- Talk with your kids about how they use the services. Make sure they understand basic Internet and social-networking safety guidelines. These include protecting privacy (including passwords), never posting personally identifying information (such as last name, social security number, address phone number or credit card numbers), avoiding in-person meetings with people they meet online and not posting inappropriate or potentially embarrassing photos. Suggest that they use the hi5 privacy tools to share information only with people they know from the real world and never admit "friends" to their pages unless they are certain who they are.
- Consider requiring that all online activity take place in a central area of the home, not in a kid's bedroom. Be aware that there are also ways kids can access the Internet away from home, including on many mobile phones and game players.
- Try to get your kids to share their blogs or online profiles with you. Use search engines and the search tools on social-networking sites to search for your child's full name, phone number and other identifying information.
- Tell your children to trust their gut if they have suspicions. If they feel threatened by someone or uncomfortable because of something online, they should tell you and then report it to the police and hi5.
- Additional information. For additional information regarding online safety and to learn more please see these other resources: http://www.blogsafety.com and http://onguardonline.gov/socialnetworking.html
