By Sheri Willrodt,

Director of Special Services

In today’s technological world, it can be difficult for parents to keep up on strategies for keeping their child safe in an “online” environment. Due to a generous donation by Community Against Bullying (CAB), Austin Public Schools is pleased to present a training to promote Cyber Safety. The trainer will meet with fifth- through 12th-grade students on Oct. 28 and 29, with a community presentation for parents or other interested community members at 7 p.m. on the evening of Oct. 28 in Austin High School’s Knowlton Auditorium.

One of the keys to keeping children safe is to help kids manage their privacy online. We need to explain to kids that there are ways that they can safeguard their privacy by making sure social network privacy settings are set to the most restricted levels. We also need to explain to kids that what they post is never as private as they think, and encourage them to self-reflect before they self-reveal.

Our kids live in a culture of sharing that has forever changed the concept of privacy. In a world where everyone is connected and anything created can get copied, pasted, and sent to thousands of people in a heartbeat, privacy starts to mean something different than simply guarding personal or private information. Each time your child fills out a profile without privacy controls, comments on something, posts a video, or texts a picture of themselves to friends, they potentially reveal themselves to the world. Digital life is very public and often permanent. If our kids don’t protect their privacy, what they do online will create digital footprints that wander and persist. Something that happens on the spur of the moment — a funny picture, a certain post — can resurface years later. And if kids aren’t careful, their reputations can get away from them and third parties — like marketers or potential employers — can access what they thought was private information. Your kids may think they just sent something to a friend, but that friend can send it to a friend’s friend, who can send it to their friends’ friends, and so on. That’s how secrets become headlines and how false information spreads fast and furiously. The stakes only rise when we remember that everything takes place in front of huge, invisible audiences. Kids’ deepest secrets can be shared with thousands of people they’ve never even met.

New technologies make controlling privacy more challenging. With GPS-enable cell phones and location-sharing programs, kids can post their whereabouts. This information can go out to friends, strangers, and companies who will show them ads targeted to their location.

Technology provides many wonderful opportunities for children and adults, but must be used with caution. Please consider attending our Cyber Safety presentation at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 in AHS Knowlton Auditorium to learn more about strategies to protect you and your child.