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Don't post any photos of yourself on the Internet or any information about yourself that you would be ashamed to have your grandparents see.
Don't make a statement about someone on the Internet or via a cell phone text message that you wouldn't make to that person's face.
Don't post personal information about yourself age, telephone number, home address, school, daily schedule on the Internet that can be abused by predators or others who might wish to do you harm.
Those are some of the tips Sgt. Jeromy McCoy of the Nebraska State Patrol gave to a capacity crowd of students and adults who gathered Thursday night at the Grand Island Public Library to hear about his presentation on Internet safety.
McCoy had given three presentations about Internet safety at Walnut Middle School earlier in the day. Parents were welcome to sit in on his talks at school.
McCoy's talk at the library, though, allowed students and parents from any school to learn Internet safety tips. It also gave the kids a chance to have their names drawn for prizes at the end of the evening.
During his talk, the Nebraska State Patrol officer stressed the vast reach of the Internet.
He questioned why any young person would put a picture of themselves on the Internet that they would not like to have displayed on a large billboard in town.
"A lot more people can see your picture on the Internet than on the billboard," McCoy noted.
He also pointed out people lose control of material that they place on the Internet.
A photo placed on the Internet can be downloaded by anyone and perhaps e-mailed to others, McCoy said.
Likewise, a "joke" or cutting remark shared "just" between two friends about a mutual acquaintance can quickly spread through the whole school if it was via the Internet or a cell phone text message, McCoy said. All it takes is for one of the friends to decide to break that confidence and share the joke or remark with others.
McCoy noted many young people like to have MySpace and Facebook accounts. For those people, he advised leaving their most personal information on "private" where only people they personally know can access it.
Even then, they should be guarded about what they post. Once again, there is no guarantee that a "friend" or former friend may not break that confidence and spread that information where the original poster does not want it.
He also suggested that if a person allows friends to post comments on his or her social network page, they should reserve the right to view those comments first. After review, the student can decide whether the comment should be posted or not.
McCoy advised young people to be careful with innocent photos or videos they might post online and who has access to such images.
They may think the images are innocuous, but easily identifiable landmarks in the background could reveal the city where that student lives, the school the student attends or perhaps a favorite spot that young person likes to visit, he said.
McCoy talked a lot about online predators. He noted adults can pretend to be people that they're not such as a fellow teenager.
He said predators often can be spotted. They often want to begin talking about inappropriate subjects, such as sex, almost immediately. Or over time, they may want to start sending inappropriate images over the Internet.
McCoy said young people can get entangled with online predators because of personal problems. The young person is lonely and just wants a friend. Their family is going through a rough patch, such as a divorce between parents. The young person is simply mad about his or her parents and wants an online friend so they can vent.
McCoy said predators look for young people with problems because they feel they can exploit such people.
If kids encounter somebody on the Internet who makes them uncomfortable, they should tell a trusted adult, said McCoy, who offered that piece of advice several times during the evening.
He said that if young people receive a threat via the Internet, they should tell a trusted adult and also contact law enforcement.
As for parents, McCoy said, they can monitor their children's Internet habits. The computer keeps a history of Internet use.
Of course, their tech-savvy children know this fact and may choose to clear their Internet history. McCoy suggested that if their children are clearing their Internet history to keep, then it should be the family rule that parents should simply suspend their kids' Internet privileges.
Boyd Donaldson, "double agent" for Best Buy, said there are computers that let parents filter their children's Internet content in the Internet equivalent of G, PG or R ratings.
There also are computers that allow parents to track their kids' Internet usage, including how long the kids have been on the computer, where they've been and the instant messages or IMs they have share.
Some computers will allow parents to set a time limit, Donaldson said. For example, no more than 60 minutes a day on Mondays through Fridays.
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