Internet Safety

Over the past few months the media has documented numerous incidents involving "social networking" sites. Some of the most popular social networking or blog (web log) sites are Myspace.com, Livejournal.com, Xanga.com and Facebook.com. The media has pointed out the danger of students publishing personal information on these sites. Many students are active users of these sites and view this online communication as a convenient, creative and harmless way of recording one's thoughts and communicating and interacting with friends. Unfortunately predators who are able to piece together bits of information, which can allow them to pinpoint a student's location, also view these sites.

Another new concern regarding these sites is that postings to these sites will have an infinite shelf life. Michael Gargano, Ed.D., Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life at UMass Amherst shared this with parents of incoming freshman:

"Many Fortune 500 companies and graduate schools are checking Facebook and other similar web sites for patterns of behavior that they may deem inappropriate for employment."

If graduate schools are starting to peruse these sites, can undergraduate schools be far behind? Student's actions today could follow them far into the future.

Shrewsbury Public Schools take the safety of our students very seriously, not only at school but also at home. This year, SPS held two Internet Safety presentations for parents and we will continue to offer them in the future. The district's computer network uses content filtering which blocks the known social networking sites. We encourage you to talk with your children about these sites, to emphasize that posting of personal information such as names, friend's names, addresses, cell phone numbers, sports affiliations and work place information is not a safe practice.

The flip side of this dilemma is that the web can be a great resource for learning more about protecting your children. Please feel free to check out the following site:

There are some excellent streaming videos on the Netsmartz site especially in the real life stories entitled Tracking Theresa and the posting of personal information.