This video is from a Canadian organization called the Safe Online Outreach Society. In the video, the speaker is addressing a group of schoolteachers and administrators about what kids are doing online, and the importance of educating young people about the laws covering online pornography and sexual exploitation. It brings up some very important things for parents to be aware of – and to talk to their children about.

This video is from national telephone provider AT&T. It's a series called the "Txtng & Drivng Campaign." Yes, they meant to use the "short" words – just like in a text message. AT&T reminds driver – not just teens, but everyone – that "'It Can Wait." This video is a mini-documentary featuring families affected by texting while behind the wheel. It's being distributed to educators, government officials, safety organizations and public as part of a educational awareness campaign.

This one is from an organization sponsored by Wired Magazine – one of the best, most popular magazines specializing in all-things-tech. It's about cyber-bullying, and talks to a number of young people who have been involved on  a personal level.

A new video from NBC and the American Pediatrics Association – that parents need to be involved with their child’s online experience… just as soon as the child is ready to go online.

Hello and welcome! My name is Bill Sklodowski (yes, that’s really my smiling face on this page), and I’m the founder of the “Kid Internet Safety” family of websites and the creator of K.I.S.S. – the Kid Internet Safety System. And if you’re a parent (or grandparent) with a youngster on the internet, I’ll wager I know a few things going through your mind right now:

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• You’ve seen the stories on the TV news about “online predators” and the threats they pose to young people, and that’s really scary.
• Your kids are on the computer and on the internet – in one way or another – for several hours a day, and you’re concerned about what they may be exposed to.
• You’re challenged by the technology. In fact, you’re pretty sure your child – no matter how young he or she may be – knows more about the online environment than you do.

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In fact, more than 90% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 are online in one way or another, and as one expert has noted, children are much more tech-savvy than the adults who have the difficult job of supervising the online experience. “Digital natives” is the new term for kids who seem to be born with the ability to use computers and all the other high-tech devices of modern live. That compares quite different to some adults, who – for lack of a better term – might be described as digital “immigrants.” For many parents, they feel like they need to learn some bizarre, difficult foreign language in order to communicate with their children about being safe in the online world.

That’s why this website and its programs were developed – to give parents (and others who care for young people) the tools and techniques they need to “speak the language” of the digital age and to help keep young people safe online. You’ll find helpful articles, videos and recordings of conversations with experts in the field of online security, cyberbullying, family relations and a lot more. And while there’s a lot of great information here, there’s even more available through our exclusive online program… we call it “KISS,” which stands for “Kid Internet Safety System.” It’s available at our sister website, www.KidInternetSafety.com. I invite you to visit that site for a series of free lessons, videos and more… as well as the opportunity to take the full online class, anytime you like, on your computer.

Meanwhile, please feel free to explore this site and see all that it has to offer. Also, if you have questions or need additional information, please use the “Reply” forms at the bottom of every article. By the way, you can also share your comments with your friends on Facebook as well. I will review and answer every question to the best of my ability.

Here at KidInternetSafety, we’re not really big fans of statistics – they can be manipulated in so many ways – but when it comes to internet safety, here’s a number that caught our attention recently: During the reporting period of the year 2009, upwards of 43% of teens aged 13 to 17 reported they’d experienced some sort of cyberbullying. That may be a high number. Still, the Centers for Disease Control put the number of cyberbully victims at between 9 and 35% of all young people online, with the highest concentration of reports among young people in the 8th to 11th grades.

First, for those that aren’t sure what cyberbullying really is, here’s the legal definition: Cyberbullying is willful and repeated harm, including harassment, humiliation, or any kind threat, delivered through the internet or any other interactive technologies, including mobile phones. While internet-based communication tools such as e-mail are very useful, they also offer the opportunity to do harm. It’s very easy to create e-mail accounts using falsified information, and to send out messages that make it very difficult to track back to a real, live human being. Taking advantage of this technology allows bullies to move off the school playground and on to the internet, delivering their messages of hate and anger anonymously. Victims of such aggressive online behavior may never know their attacker. However, those types of attacks are more rare than you might think. Typically, the bully and victim know each other, usually in a school or neighborhood environment.

In order to help their children be safe on the internet, parents need to educate themselves on the various forms of cyberbullying. Here are a few of the ways bullies work, both online  and off:

• Gossip: E-mailing or speaking cruel gossip meant to damage a person’s reputation and relationships with friends, family, and acquaintances.
• Exclusion: As the name implies, deliberately excluding someone from an online or offline group.
• Impersonation: Done online, it usually involves actually breaking into another person’s e-mail account and sending messages that will cause embarrassment or damage to the person’s reputation and affect relationships with others.
• Harassment: Repeatedly posting or sending insulting, offensive, rude or demeaning messages.
• Flaming: Usually an exchange between two or more people… an online fight where insulting or offensive messages are posted on websites, forums, or blogs for public viewing.
• Outing and Trickery: Using subterfuge to get someone to reveal secrets or embarrassing information, which is then shared online with the general public.
• Cyberthreats: Self-explanatory; posts on websites or e-mail messages threatening or implying violent behavior or outright violence.

We have several videos on cyberbullying in our video collection. Click here to visit that page. 

In the course of creating the KISS (Kid Internet Safety System) program, we interviewed about a dozen different experts in many different areas around the topic of online safety young people. And while some of those experts have spoken about rapidly-changing computer technology and the online environment, the majority of them have taken a different approach to making the internet safe for kids: Establishing and maintaining a deep level of communication between parents and children.

Virtually every expert we talked to in creating the Kid Internet Safety System spoke of the importance of the relationship between young people and parents. What makes it so important? It’s certainly not a matter of parents being seen as experts when it comes to using the computer or the internet – we all know our children know so much more than we do. But what is important is that parents be available and understanding, and that children feel comfortable in coming to a parent or other trusted adult when they have questions about something they (the kids) have found online. As a parent, you don’t have to know any more about what’s online than the child – but it is important that you are approachable and level-headed when it comes to talking about something “unusual” the child may have discovered online.

We’ll have many more articles and videos in the coming days about online safety and the ways parents can help “be there” for their children when it comes to the questions they’ll certainly have about what they find online. Here’s one of our “expert guidelines” that will get you started on the path of being a “connected parent:” Know that kids are going to find things online that will make them – and you – uncomfortable, concerned or troubled. Of course the level of that discomfort will be based on your child’s age and experiences. Your homework is to develop a cool, level-headed attitude no matter what comes up. Communicate with your children that it’s OK for them to come to you (if fact, you want to encourage them to talk to you) when they find something like that online. Let them know that you won’t be angry, and there won’t be any other negative repercussions. Then – and here’s the important part – use the experience as a “teachable moment” and an opportunity to talk to your kids about all the different things they might find online.

Being “internet safe” with your children means staying cool and calm, even in the face of things that might shock and (frankly) disgust you. But remember, no matter how distasteful you may find something, when it comes to the battle of kids and internet safety, you are the first line of defense. Let your children know you’re there for them!

A video from the Ad Council warning young people (think high-school age) about the dangers of "Over-Sharing" information, feelings, and other info online. Click the video player to view it full-screen.