Hong Kong’s papers have carried a couple of stories about cybersafety this week partly as a response to a young school boy who put a silly post online advertising himself for sexual services. Naturally, instead of seeing it as the cry for attention it clearly was, the media picked it up and blew it out of proportion. What this has done is again focus attention on the need to do as is recommended the world over: Educate!

I can’t comment about other parts of the world but Hong Kong has been very bad at picking up the whole cybercitzenship thing. I had a long conversation with Robyn Treyvaud of the Australian-based cybersafe kids network this morning about possibilities for her presenting at our conference in November.

Robyn pointed out that schools are sometimes unaware of the sort of things that can be easily put in place to educate kids and parents about good cybercitizenship. She was indicating that it was a great pity that each expected the other to pick up on it and so often, neither does. There was a good list of advice printed in this week’s edition of the standard.

I am sure that there are lots of lists like this out there but, for what it is worth, here is the one from the “National Association of School Psychologists”:

• Keep computers in easily viewable places such as the family room or kitchen. (A bit out of date in an era where every portable device can access the internet and 3G and HSDPA networks are almost ubiquitous)
• Talk regularly with your children about the online activities in which they are involved and internet etiquette in general. (I would also suggest that schools and parents should actively seek out good, kid friendly sites and services for kids to spend time productively. The super clubs plus site I posted about last week would be a great start.)
• Encourage children to be self-protective. Remind them that anything they say on the internet or in phone text messages can be shared with others or misused. (Lots of good videos for this such as the US campaign NetSmartz.) Cyberbullying: you can’t take it back. 
• Be specific about the risks of cyber-bullying and the need to tell if something that bothers them occurs.
• Respect for adolescent’s privacy is important. But tell children that you might review their online communications if you have reasons for concern. (Unfortunately, I know few teachers and fewer parents who are very effective at being able to do this review effectively)
• Set clear expectations for responsible online behaviour and phone use.
• Consider installing parental-control filtering software or tracking programs but do not rely solely on these tools. (I would advise turning this on its head and use other methods and clear expectations first and use this as a sanction if needed. This is a dual-edged sword and may cut you hard in the long run.)
• Be aware of warning signs that might indicate your son or daughter is being bullied, such as reluctance to use the computer, a change in your child’s behaviour and mood, or reluctance to go to school.