Chat Rooms

How can I make it safer?

Explain to students that online chatting needs to be adult-supervised. Students should not be allowed to communicate in unregulated chat rooms.

Explain to students that the Internet is a public place.
Explain to students that pictures should not be sent or posted online without parental permission. Once sent, control over what happens to the pictures is lost.
Reinforce the idea that not everyone is who they say they are online. People can pretend to be older or younger than they actually are.
Explain to students that they should trust their instincts and block or ignore someone if they are asking questions online that seem "weird" (i.e. questions about puberty, sex, etc.).
Talk about friendship: what it is and isn't.
Explain to students that it's illegal to threaten someone, and that they should tell a safe adult if threatened online.