Life:Online

We Are A Nation of Cyber Citizens

Top Online Activities

How do you compare with the rest of America?

Social Networking and Teens

Living Online

There’s no doubt the way we relate to each other has dramatically changed with the increase of social networking, gaming, chatting, and sharing.

Most of the time, it’s a positive, fun experience, but every once in a while it can turn ugly.

Here’s some reminders about ways to protect yourself from online dangers…

Privacy Issues

DID YOU KNOW?87% of the population can be identified with three pieces of information:Date of Birth, Gender, and Zip Code (ISafe America.)

Now think how many of your friends (or you) have also included other identifying information in their Facebook profiles:

School they attend Cell phone number Personal photos, Sports jersey numbers, Information about where they will be and

when…If someone really wanted to find you, would it be that difficult?

Did you maybe make it easy for them?

Hopefully, you’re more savvy than that!

Q. Why is Facebook a multi-billion dollar business?

Step 2: Target the Right PeopleThink about the profiles (timelines) of the people you want to reach with your ads, and select criteria based on what your audience is interested in, instead of what they might be looking to buy.You can target by: •Location, Language, Education, and Work •Age, Gender, Birthday, and Relationship Status •Likes & Interests: Select Likes & Interests such as "camping", "hiking", or "backpacking" instead of "tents" or "campers" •Friends of Connections •Connections Keep an eye on your ad's estimate reach. Adjust your criteria to target a relevant audience while keeping estimated impressions large enough to capture your full audience

        

                                                                         

                                                                         

Promote your business with Ads Reach your potential customers and grow your fan base with highly targeted Facebook Ads

Step 2: Target the Right PeopleThink about the profiles (timelines) of the people you want to reach with your ads, and select criteria based on what your audience is interested in, instead of what they might be looking to buy.

You can target by: Location, Language, Education, and Work Age, Gender, Birthday, and Relationship Status Likes & Interests: Select Likes & Interests such as "camping", "hiking", or "backpacking" instead of "tents" or "campers" Friends of Connections Connections

Source: http://www.facebook.com/business#!/business/ads/

Answer:

To give businesses access (for a fee, of course) to a massive database of information about people all over the world in order to sell them stuff. (This means you!)

The more information you provide, the more businesses can target their ads to your personal tastes.

A small price to pay for all the fun? That’s your decision. Just be aware of what Facebook’s intention really is when it encourages you to “enhance your social experience” by sharing more information.

Protect Yourself – Lock Down your Profile!

Facebook privacy settings change fairly often. Be sure to check them once every couple of months. Don’t forget to check all the App settings, too.

Choose “Friends Only” for maximum protection. Even “Friends of Friends” opens your information up to a lot of people you don’t know.

Disable the feature that lets others find you on search engines like Google.

Protect Yourself -

DO NOT share your password or leave yourself logged in on a shared computer.

(Your best friend today may be your worst enemy tomorrow.)

Consider turning off the “online now” feature.

On Twitter? Choose “Protect My Tweets” to make sure you can control your followers.

Protect Yourself -

Are you an online gamer?

Look for privacy features like voice masking to hide your age and gender.

Make sure you can contact an Admin or have the ability to report a player who’s causing trouble.

Protect Yourself -

Chat fanatic?

Keep your screen name neutral. Don’t include any part of your name, gender, or age, and keep it rated G.

(“SpicyGurl137” is sending a message you may not have intended.)

Be careful not to give out specific details about where you live, where you go to school, your last name, etc. during conversations with people you don’t know in person.

Making New Friends – Cyber Relationships

How many of you have friendships that started online?

Different Types of Online Relationships:

General Friendships Special Interests, Clubs and Hobbies Support Groups Online Dating Business/ Professional Networking

Predator Awareness

The vast majority of people online are having fun and connecting with friends just like you are.

But you always have to remember there are sexual predators trolling the internet looking for victims.

Remember – anyone can fake a profile. Unless you know them in real life , you can never really be sure that “what you see is what you get.”

Knowing some of their tricks just might save a life…

Predator Awareness – The Grooming Process

1. Chattting – You meet a new “friend” in a place like a chat room that miraculously has all the same interests as you.

2. Private Messaging – They invite you to chat with them one on one.

3. Phone Calls – Once you’re comfortable with this person, they say they want to talk on the phone.

Predator Awareness – The Grooming Process

4. Building Trust – Predators are willing to spend time building up your trust. They know it feels nice to have someone on your side, and they will play on that.

5. Secrecy – They insist no one should know about your friendship and may even become threatening in order to keep you quiet.

6. F2F – Their ultimate goal is to lure you in to a face to face meeting.

Predator Awareness – The Grooming Process

So you’re thinking - “Duh! I know all this!”

But all of us can be vulnerable during difficult times in our lives, and predators are looking for vulnerable people. It’s easier to be swayed when someone is out there saying all the right things.

If the online relationship seems too good to be true, it probably is. Trust your intuition and cut off any communication with someone who makes you feel at all uncomfortable or unsure.

TELL someone (in person) what you’re going through!

Your Digital Footprint

What is it?

It is all the traces you leave behind when you interact on the internet. They can be passive (like browser cookies) or active (like that picture you posted from last Saturday’s party.)

Ever post something online you later regretted?

Ever been tagged in other people’s photos when you really wish you hadn’t?

They could all be a part of your footprint!

Digital Footprint – Why Care?

“In 2009, 45 percent of employers used social networking sites to research candidates, according to a CareerBuilder survey, a 23 percent increase from last year. Thirty-five percent of employers said that what they found caused them not to hire a candidate.”

(http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1351-Job-Search-Build-a-Digital-Footprint-You-Can-Be-Proud-Of/)

Digital Footprint – Why Care?

In addition to potential employers, others may be looking at you, too:

College and Scholarship Committees Law Enforcement School System And anyone else who may want to check

up on you without your knowledge…

Digital Footprint – Take Control!

Step 1 – Google yourselfSearch your name on several search engines to see what comes up under your name.

Step 2 – Take down what you canIf you see something you wouldn’t want your future employer to see, do what you can to remove it. Unfortunately, it may be impossible to remove all of it.

Digital Footprint – Take Control! Step 3 – Think before you post!

You are in charge of your own image. Decide what image of yourself you want to project and use it as a guideline before posting any images or comments.

A final note:A positive web presence can be just as powerful as a negative one. What are ways of putting yourself in the best light online?

Resources

www.isafe.org

www.careerbuilder.com

www.pewinternet.org

www.facebook.com