Talking to Your Parents About Being Online

You know your parents worry about what happens online. It's not likely they have much experience on MySpace or Facebook, and media stories about social networking sites tend to emphasize what's scary. So take the initiative - have a conversation with your parents about your strategies for staying safe online. Be sure to let them know:

• You never give out personal information - your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, credit cart numbers, school name, or parent's names. You recognize phishing scams and never respond to e-mails that say you need to provide private information to take advantage of a great opportunity. You know that reputable banks, online payment services, or stores don't request personal information through e-mail.
• The Internet helps you keep in touch with current friends, but you'd rather make new friends in person. Private MySpace or Facebook networks can introduce you to people you meet through friends you know, like other freshmen from your college, but you never arrange to meet with a person you've only contacted online.
• If someone is acting like a jerk at a gaming site or in a chat room, you ignore them or close down. There's no point in giving them any attention.
• You don't believe anyone in Nigeria wants to share a fortune with you - you delete e-mails from strangers and suspicious attachments in e-mail or IM.
• You're not shopping without your parent's permission. When you do purchase online, it's from well-known retailers who have secure sites for protecting credit card information.
• You're clear about keeping your computer up-to-date. You don't ignore reminders that updates are ready to install or that it's time to renew your subscriptions to anti-virus and anti-spyware protection.

Having your parents' trust is important. So talk with them about how much time it's okay to spend online and what's appropriate to download. Agree on a family policy for game ratings and whether or not your parents will have access to your blogs or social networking sites. Reassure them that they don't need to worry when you're online.