File # 2010-04-08
2010-04-08 12:16 PDT

When it goes online, it's forever. That's the message Kamloops RCMP School Liaison Officer Constable Cheryl Bush brought to the Kamloops Boys and Girls Club as part of her talk on internet safety.

"Kids today are very tech savvy - they know more about social media and the online world than a lot of adults," says Constable Bush. "What they often don't grasp is that when they post a comment or picture on Facebook or anywhere else on the internet that it stays there, for all to see, forever."

That means that a joking comment or photo posted today could come back to haunt you years down the road.

To help educate Kamloops students about online safety, Constable Bush offered the following tips:

• Don't give out your real name, address or phone number, where you go to school or work, where your parents work or other personal information about yourself or your family.
• Be aware that people might not be who they say they are.
• Carefully choose who you tell your problems to.
• Don't give out personal information like PIN numbers, credit card numbers, SIN numbers or even the name of your family's bank or credit union.
• Be extremely careful about getting together with someone you meet online.
• Follow your parents' rules for online activities.
• Tell your parents if you receive unwanted material online or are being harrassed.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

While the list is not exhaustive, it's a starting point for teens to think seriously about how they use the internet.

"Teenagers today are immersed in online activities," says Constable Bush. "And while they've heard about things like stranger danger and traffic and bike safety all their lives, they don't always hear about how to safely use the internet. We want to fill that gap, especially considering how much time some children spend at the computer."

Intenet safety workshops are part of an ongoing effort by the Kamloops RCMP to ensure that today's youth are given every opportunity to develop into productive and law-abiding citizens.

 

Email: bcrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca