Share with Care

Keeping it private

Play Interland to learn the digital rules

Review one or several of the following scenarios with your children, then discuss what might be the best privacy solution for each one.

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Goals

Study how to see privacy concerns from different peopleʼs points of view.

Understand how different scenarios call for different levels of privacy.

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Privacy scenarios: What should you do?

Scenario 1: A kid you know at school gets bitten by a weird insect that causes an ugly multicolored rash on her stomach. She doesnʼt want other people to know.

Do other people have a right to know?
Should you be the one to tell them?

Scenario 2: Someone writes in their personal journal. Another person copies what they wrote and posts it online.

Was the other person wrong to post the journal entry?
How would you feel if someone did this with something you intended to keep private?

Scenario 3: Someone posts, “Have a good vacation,” on a friendʼs social media page.

Had the friend announced publicly that they were going away? Did they want everybody to know?
Are there more private ways to communicate this message – such as sending a direct message or text?

Scenario 4: You know a student made a fake social media account impersonating another student in a negative way and includes their personal information.

Does the student have a right to know?
Should someone tell a teacher or other trusted adult? How? What could happen if nobody does?
It’s not obvious who made it, but you know who did it. Should you give this information to a trusted adult?

Activity

Review four scenarios with your children and discuss how each one might have a different privacy solution.

Takeaway

Different situations call for different responses online and offline. It’s always important to respect other people’s privacy choices, even if they aren’t the choices you’d make yourself.

Vocabulary

Online privacy

A broad term that usually means the ability to control what information you share about yourself online and who can see and share it.

Digital footprint

Your digital footprint is all the information about you that appears online. This can mean anything from photos, audio, videos, and texts to “likes” and comments you post on friendsʼ profiles. Just as your footsteps leave prints on the ground while you walk, what you post online leaves a trail as well.

Reputation

The ideas, opinions, impressions, or beliefs that other people have about you; something that you can’t be totally sure about but that you usually want to be positive or good.

Personal information

Information that identifies a specific person – for example, your name, street address, phone number, Social Security number, email address, etc. – is called personal (or sensitive) info. Really think carefully before sharing this kind of information online.

Oversharing

Sharing too much online – usually this is about sharing too much personal information or just too much about yourself in a certain situation or conversation online.

Settings

This is the area in any digital product, app, website, etc., where you can define or adjust what you share and how your account is handled – including your privacy settings.

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Kidsafety

Monitor your children's internet use

One of your most important jobs as a parent is to raise your children as responsible and independent internet users. To do that, they need your help. Sit with your kids when they go on the internet, help them find their way online and show them how to deal with things they feel uncomfortable with. Look for appropriate material and help your child make a choice in the enormous offer. Find out what the age ratings of games, movies and the like are. Agree with your child to talk to you when he/she encounters something strange or inappropriate on the screen.

When they get older and more sociable, keep an eye on who your children chat and play games with. Are they friends or strangers? You are supposed to guide them, not catch them when they do something wrong. If your children think you're spying on them, they will be less inclined to talk to you when things go wrong.

Kidsafety

Talk about the risks of sharing personal data

The internet offers endless opportunities, but there are some things you should avoid.

1. Teach your children to identify dangers and avoid risks. Explain to them that just like in real life they should not talk to strangers or give personal data.

2. Explain to them that they should never meet with an online friend without first letting you know.

3. Explain to them how location services work and what the risks of sharing their location on social media are. Advise them to disable this option, unless they need their GPS to navigate.

4. Once online, always online. Discuss with your children what is appropriate to post or to share online and what isn't. Explain to them that everything they post – comments or opinions – will always be visible to everyone. The internet remembers everything. Even posts on apps such as Snapchat, which are only visible a couple of seconds can be stored and shared by someone taking a screenshot. Tell them this: “Do not post photographs on social media you wouldn't want to see in a frame at your grandmother”.

5. Explain to them that they are not anonymous or protected because they are online and that they should never write online what they wouldn't say to someone in real life. Depending on their age talk about illegal downloads, plagiarism, pornography and stalking.

Discover all the kidsafety tips

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