Online safety stressed in Southeast schools

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This article was published 28/02/2019 (1873 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An RCMP officer who has spent the school year teaching digital citizenship to students says parents should have regular conversations about online safety with their children.

Cst. Gord Olson, a Manitoba investigator with the RCMP’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit, said he’s delivered “Before You Hit Send,” a presentation originally developed by the Ontario Provincial Police, to a dozen Southeast schools since last fall.

The talk covers the risks of social media, as well as cyberbullying and sexting, with Grade 5 to 12 students.

Earlier this week, Olson addressed students in Dominion City, and will visit Lorette Collegiate on March 21. He has also held a number of evening information sessions for parents.

The goal of the presentation is to make children aware of their digital footprint, Olson said, and to show parents how to adequately monitor their children’s devices.

While the ICE unit is conducting more investigations into sexting—peer-to-peer sharing of explicit photos or images between mobile devices—across the province, Olson said his school presentations are primarily preventative.

“We started going out (to schools) as a result of having these sexting investigations pop up, and as we got out doing them, we realized that the education piece was a big component.”

The results have been encouraging, he said: communities where he’s presented generally experience fewer investigations.

But worrying trends persist. According to Olson, the average age of children targeted online has fallen.

“It’s younger every day, from what we’re seeing.”

Today, children aged 11 to 15 tend to be the most at-risk when online, he said. At that age, children have more freedom outside the home, and may be given their own mobile device.

Chat functions embedded in various smartphone apps are now commonplace, including gaming apps, Olson said, and require more vigilance on the part of parents.

He noted parents may be comfortable with Facebook, but may be less familiar with Instagram and Snapchat, two social media platforms currently popular with teens.

“I tell parents, ‘You should be using them so you know how they work,’” Olson said.

Parents should also know their child’s usernames and passwords, and periodically scan their messaging history, he added.

He also urged parents to have periodic conversations with their child about online safety.

“The biggest thing for me is the conversation part,” Olson said.

“Don’t talk to strangers” extends to online interactions too, he added.

If a parent finds something suspicious but isn’t sure whether to report it, Olson said they can consult local RCMP, or read Cybertip.ca, a website operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which established a Safer Internet Day every February.

According to the CCCP, one in seven children aged 10 to 17 will receive unwanted sexual solicitations online, and a quarter of children send personal information to strangers.