Chaplain's Corner
Hi Everyone,
Sadly, like all things, social media platforms and the internet generally can be used both for ‘good’ and ‘not good or for adverse’ outcomes.
On Monday I attended an extremely insightful seminar on ‘CYBERSAFETY’, along with staff member Stuart Jones. The following is not to “alarm” you, but rather to encourage you to SERIOUSLY take notice, do some research via the links and talk to you children and set some SAFE interventions around the use of social media and the internet.
I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP READING AND TO FIND THE TIME TO CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION AND VIDEOS. The statistical information presented at the seminar was of REAL CONCERN, with the presenter stating that her intervention work is increasingly in PRIMARY SCHOOLS whereas not more than 10 years ago it was mainly in the years 10-12 level at secondary school.
The presenter was SUSAN MCLEAN, a former police women for 27 years. She was the first police officer to be trained and put in a position of CYBER SAFETY and Young People in Victoria and now has over 20 years of experience in the area of CYBERSAFETY, becoming known as ‘the cyber cop’. She has also trained and worked with the FBI in the USA, especially in undercover work involving the world wide web and the inherent dangers it can present to children and young people. She is also certified with the Australian esafety commissioner in Australia. She works for ‘CyberSafety Solutions’ consulting with businesses, schools, sporting clubs and presenting seminars.
Susan did not mince words when giving real life statistics and examples of what goes on EVERY DAY and of some tragic outcomes! She also went over some of the laws that apply to children as young as 10, our young teens and all adults (you can find the link below).
I have worked in various schools in Melbourne and it is NOT JUST HAPPENING "OVER THERE" – grooming, abuse, sexting, inappropriate images, etc… Some responsible developers of popular APPS such as tik tok, snapchat, Instagram, discord, Facebook, you tube are trying to keep up with security measures BUT those who want to do harm find a way around these measures. Susan also noted that none of these apps and similar ones are for children under 13 years of age. Susan did note the options of you Tube Kids and Facebook for Kids.
Below are VERY IIMPORTANT LINKS to keep you informed and updated:
https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/ - Here you can learn about Susan McLean and her work and glean some very useful information.
https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/parents/ - As well as vital up to date information for parents, there are also informative videos to view.
https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/top-tips/ - Here are Susan’s TOP TIPS FOR PARENTS around keeping their children safe online. Interestingly one tip she likes to REINFORCE is for children and young people TO HAVE NO PHONES, IPADS, COMPUTERS, ETC… IN BOTH THEIR BEDROOM NOR IN THE BATHROOM – rooms where there is no supervision AND PREDATORS AND THOSE WHO WANT TO BE ‘MEAN. EXPECT THE YOUNG CHILD/YOUNG PERSON TO BE ALONE’!
https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/keeping-safe-in-cyberspace/ - A video for parents and their children to view together.
https://www.facebook.com/thecybercop - This is a public Facebook site which Susan has created with some family friendly videos about cyber safety which she encourages you to view with your children. This is also a page in which Susan keeps you informed about the latest research, especially around APPS.
You can also contact Susan McLean with any questions you have.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/ - lots of up to date information. You can also report online abuse by clicking the ‘report abuse’ button.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/educators/classroom-resources/internet-and-law - a great resource.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/advicecybersafe.aspx - Excellent advice and fact sheets
REMEMBER!
I know that this has been a VERY LONG article this week, BUT A TIMELY ONE. I ALSO HOPE THAT THE 5/6 STUDENTS LEARNT MUCH ABOUT KEEPING CYBER SAFE FROM THE POLICE OFFICERS WHO VISITED THE SCHOOL THIS WEEK.
Let’s work together as we endeavour ‘to be the change we want to see in the world’!
Robyn Mulholland (School Chaplain)