Students who attend traditional-calendar schools are out for the summer. For some youngsters, summertime can mean spending more time online, playing games or using social networks like Facebook. Kids may also use the computer to stay connected with their classmates.
It’s a good time of year to remind young people, especially those who are relatively new to the online world, of some good safety tips:
- Don’t click on links you get in unsolicited emails.
- Don’t click on links in an email from a friend if the message looks suspicious or if it isn’t the kind of message you usually get from that person.
- Don’t click online ads that offer deals that sound too good to be true.
- Use online privacy features on social networking sites. But remember that nothing you post online is truly private, no matter what your privacy settings are.
- Tell a trusted adult if anything happens online that makes you uncomfortable.
And parents, don’t over-react if your child voluntarily tells you about something that happened to them online. Deal with the situation, but don’t punish your child by taking away their online access. The most important thing is that they came to talk to you about it.
Visit our website for more information about keeping kids safe online.
This message brought to you on behalf of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.