The Cyber Social World of Todays Youth

Purple People Eaters (Becky Groth & Melissa Nol )

In the Beginning

The internet first came into existence in 1969. The internet was developed as part of a project by the United States Department of Defense as a means to communicate that would survive a nuclear war (Cooper & Mathy, 2003).

Today

Chat rooms Instant messaging Email Information acquisition Real time gaming Social networking sites like FaceBook or MySpace Dating Pornography

Social networking, instant messenger, chat rooms, and internet predators

Teens are being intercepted by pedophiles The number of men who engage children and adolescents on the internet is statistically on the rise Individuals are able to explore a darker side to their sexuality in anonymity that might include child pornography or violent images of sex that they would have never initially pursued in real life The cyber world is an enabler and it creates an ideal breeding ground for sexual predators (Young, 2005).

Social networking, instant messenger, chat rooms, and internet predators cont...

Alicia Kozakiewicz, from Pittsburgh, 13 years old Thought she was talking to a very pretty, red headed girl about her age. Except that the friend was really a pedophile and he later kidnapped, raped and tortured the thirteen year old girl for four days (Jaffe, 2007). Justin Berry, 13 years old He was lured into a pedophiles sex ring where he was abused and molested (Eichenwald, 2005)

Social networking, instant messenger, chat rooms, and closeness of friendships

Reduction hypothesis is based on four assumptions: a) The internet motivates adolescents to form more superficial relationships online with strangers b) Online friendships with strangers are less beneficial for adolescents than existing offline friendships C) The time spent online with strangers occurs at the expense of time with offline friends d) As a result of the three proceeding assumptions, the closeness of existing friendships are reduced (Locke, 1998).

Social networking, instant messenger, chat rooms, and closeness of friendships

The Stimulation Theory a) The internets reduced cues encourages adolescents to disclose their inner feelings more easily than in real-life interactions b) Intimate self disclosure is an important predictor in reciprocal liking, caring, and trust (Collins & Miller, 1994) c) As a result of these assumptions, internet enhanced intimate self disclosure stimulates the closeness of adolescents offline existing relationships (McKenna & Bargh, 2000).

Social networking, instant messenger, chat rooms, and closeness of friendships

Little support for the reduction hypothesis Early internet effects studies reported reductive effects There were not as many participants involved in the internet Little crossover between offline friends and online friends Use of internet in United States Households have increased exponentially Therefore, when adolescents spend time online they can simultaneously foster online relationships as well as their real-life relationships with online contact (Valkenburg & Jochen, 2007) The results of a recent study of internet and computer game use by adolescents suggested that online interactions may now be an important context for interactions with friends (Willoughby, 2008).

Online Gaming

Online gaming is a way for teenagers and adolescents to portray roles and participate in fantasy. Unfortunately, these games can be highly addictive and can discourage prosocial interaction. Wizards of War Craft Runescape- XBOX 360-PlaystationNintendo Wii Runescape Promotes: Rudeness, Cheating, Gambling, Player killing, Luring others to the wilderness by trickery to kill them and take their items, Killing unicorns to raise your level by obtaining their game valuable unicorn horn. (www.truthscape.com)

Online Gaming Cont

The Story of a Real RuneScape Addict

Cyber Bullying

Megan Meier. Megan was thirteen years old. She had begun talking to who she thought was a boy her age on the internet named Josh. Megan disclosed many private things to Josh Megan received an unsettling message that started a tragic chain of events I don't know if I want to be friends with you any longer because I hear you're not nice to your friends. "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat," The world would be a better place without you Megan had hanged herself and http://www.jeffreyjohnston.org/megan-pledge.htm died a day later (Good Morning America, 2009).

Sadly, Megan isnt the only victim

The Readings Wanda's Song- The true victims of Cyber Bullying

How Do I Know My Child Has a Problem?

Internet Addiction Criteria:

Preoccupation with the Internet Need for longer amounts of time online to achieve satisfaction Repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop internet use Restlessness, moodiness, depression, or irritability when attempting to cut down or stop internet use

How Do I Know My Child Has a Problem?

Internet Addiction Criteria (Continued):

Staying online longer than originally intended Jeopardizing or risking the loss of a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of the Internet Lying to family members, therapists, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet Using the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood

Internet Addiction Test (IAT)

http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/internet_addiction_test.htm

IAT Scale comprises 20 items which assess the severity of negative consequences due to excessive Internet use.

Factor 1: Withdrawal and Social Problem Factor 2: Time Management and Performance Factor 3: Reality Substitute

What Can I Do as a Parent?

Talk to Your Adolescent Monitor Your Computer

Talk to Your Adolescent!

(Dombroski et al., 2006)
Dangers of giving out personal information, and meeting people they have met online. Supervising Internet Friends: Discuss each online friend in a manner that respects the privacy of the youth while safeguarding him or her from inappropriate communication.

Recognizing and Discussing Internet Dangers:

Understanding and Approving Childrens Screen Names:

Caregivers should ensure that their adolescent is using screen names devoid of sexual innuendo.

Talk to Your Adolescent!

(Dombroski et al., 2006)

Establishing a Parent-Child Contract: Contract to

help structure interest use and guidelines.

Placing the Computer in a Public Location Contacting the Cyber Tip Line: If suspicion of online
sexual solicitation of youth, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) 1 (800) 8435678.

How to Monitor Your Computer

(Dombroski et al., 2006)

Installation of a firewall: A
software or hardware firewall provides a barrier between a computer and the Internet that prevents third parties from controlling the computer.

Installation of antivirus or anti-Trojan software Installation of a key logger:

Efficient means of reviewing the type of communication patterns children are having on a computer.

How to Monitor Your Computer

(Dombroski et al., 2006)

from predators who are using an Ethernet sniffer to spy on a childs Internet-based communication. Privacy Filtration: Personal information may be blocked from transmission over the Internet (Netscape Nanny 5.0)

Monitoring the Browser History Encryption: The use of encryption techniques will hide text

How to Monitor Your Computer

(Dombroski et al., 2006)

Application Tracking and Usage: Can monitor the

amount of time spent using particular computer programs or applications.

Chat Logging: Chat logger records and saves on the

hard drive the plain text online conversations.