Dear Parent
Thank you for registering for up-to-date advice that over time will help you and your child or children stay safe from sexual predators on the internet. Each month we will cover a specific topic of interest, explain some of the terminology being used and advise you on how to work with your child to understand what they are doing online and what safety precautions they should be taking.
March’s email covers communicating, or chatting online.
Chatting online is a fantastic experience for children and young people. It provides an innovative way to share homework tips, learn new social skills and communicate with friends and relatives across the world and this is done through a number of applications. Chat rooms, instant messenging (IM), blogs and forums are some of the most common facilities for online chatting. And chatting using a broadband internet service can actually save you money on the phone bill!
Children and young people are now able to talk with friends and meet new ones in a way never seen before. As a parent or carer you will be familiar with your child using the computer as soon as they arrive home from school to chat with their friends - but what can they possibly have to talk about after spending all day at school together?!
Well, in a recent survey by the CEOP Centre, over 25% of 11-16 year olds said that chatting using IM, blogs or chat rooms was their favourite thing to do online so it’s a really popular pastime for young people.
The language used in online chat is very similar to that used in mobile phone text messages- it’s abbreviated and is almost a language in itself. This can be a great way of chatting but can also be confusing for those of us who don’t understand it or use it.
Here we explain what these chat applications are and how they can be used…….
Instant Messenging (IM)
- Instant Messenger or IM is the most popular way for young people to communicate and keep in touch. You can only communicate with people who are in your ‘buddy list’ and who are invited to join the conversation- and this can be anything from one to 600!
- IM allows a more intimate type of communication as users can chat without anyone else seeing what is being said. Some people like to start off meeting and chatting to people in a chat room and then move into an IM chat.
- IM chat allows instant communications between users- when you type something it appears on the screen immediately. This is a fantastic way to keep in touch with family and friends who live elsewhere.
- Another addition to immediate conversations using IM is that you can use webcams to have live video chats- this can be done between two people so you can see who it is you are talking too.
- Windows Live Messenger (known as MSN) and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) are the most commonly used IM applications.
Chat rooms
- Chat rooms provide the function to chat with people in the same way as would be done in the real world. They are known as ‘public’ areas so users in a particular room are able to see conversations taking place and can join in if they so wish.
- Chat rooms provide the facility for people to talk about subjects they have in common or are interested in. This can range from favourite bands to TV shows to politics. Some online gaming sites also have the function to chat so you can discuss the game you are playing and share tips on how to get to the next level for example.
- They are usually text based so you type what you want to say and it appears on the screen. Chat rooms are quite fast moving as you see all the conversations that are going on at once.
- Within a chat room, users can meet with friends known in the real world but can also make new friends who have similar interests and this is an exciting opportunity for young people.
2D/3D chat
- 2D chat rooms provide users with a visual chat room rather than a text based chat room. They are avatar-based which means users have characters to represent themselves. An example of these chat environments are Habbo Hotel and Club Penguin.
- 3D chat rooms are more sophisticated in that users have a more realistic virtual environment to use. Here users can create their own space and their character is more life-like. Second Life is a good example of a 3D chat environment.
- These environments are very life-like and allow users to interact with others in a way that is similar to the real world. It’s a fantastic way to meet new people and is growing in popularity all the time.
A foreign language…..
Chat lingo can be confusing and completely alien to those of use who do not use it, but to children and young people it’s become a native language for them. Below are some of the most common phrases and words used and an explanation of what they mean.
Avatar – a virtual, animated character that represents a player in an online game
ASL- age / sex / location (i.e. how old are, what gender are you and where do you live?)
Blog – shortened version of ‘web- log’ but essentially means an online diary
@TETOD- at the end of the day
CYT- see you tomorrow
EM? - excuse me
HHOJ- ha ha only joking
G2G- got to go
POS- parent over shoulder
BTW- by the way
LOL- laugh out loud
But what are the risks of online chatting?
The biggest risk to children and young people chatting online lies in giving out too much personal information about themselves to people. It is tempting to say and do things in an online environment that they wouldn’t do in the real world but this is risky behaviour to engage in. Personal information includes home or school address, a mobile telephone number, email addresses, photos of themselves and any hobbies or interests.
And how can we protect our children using these environments……..
- It’s important to encourage your child not to talk to people online who they do not know in the real world. Some people who use these environments will lie about who they are and what their intentions are.
- Online chat facilities are ultimately public spaces and this means that anyone can enter into a chat room. Some chat rooms are moderated – either by an electronic filter that will pick up on banned or rude words or they are moderated by people who are paid by the chat room provider to screen chat topics for inappropriate conversations. You can find out if a chat room is moderated as the provider will normally include this on their safety information pages.
- Unfortunately paedophiles will use these online spaces to initiate a conversation with a child or young person. They may then look to draw them into a private instant messaging chat (by swapping instant messenger identities) as it’s more intimate and can only be seen by those people involved. They can then use IM to develop their ‘relationship’ with that child and groom them for sexual abuse.
- In the IM environment, people can chat using text only via instant relay chat or they can chat face to face by using a web camera (webcam).
- Webcams should only be used with people who your child knows in the real world. Webcam footage can be recorded. Once webcam images are on the internet they can be used elsewhere, copied or changed. This is also relevant for photos that are shared.
For more information on how to keep your children safe whilst using online chat environments visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents
Find out more…..
You can now register to receive our bi-monthly e-bulletin which provides information to subscribers on all areas of the work of CEOP. Visit www.ceop.gov.uk to find out more.
Help us in the fight to locate missing child sex offenders- register to receive updates when more details are released or new offenders are posted on the site. Visit www.ceop.gov.uk/wanted
What is CEOP again……?
CEOP is the police agency specifically set up to tackle the sexual abuse of children in the UK. Find out more about our work at www.ceop.gov.uk and register for updates on all areas of our activity.
And finally- did you find this email useful?
If so, please forward it onto friends and family and they can register to receive these emails too.
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Kind Regards
The Purely for Parents team
http://www.oscarstringer.co.uk/
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