Staying safe on the Internet

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Dec. 06, 2007

Amy Seuntjens, mother of three, leans down to check what her daughter is looking up on the Internet because she is aware of the many dangers it poses.

"There are a lot of things on the Internet that pop up if you type in something a little different than what you expect," she said. "That is not a way I want my kids to learn about things like that. I want to teach them."

Amy and her husband, Matt, have two girls, a ninth and sixth grader, and one boy, who is 8 years old. They are parishioners at St. Mary's in Danbury. The youngest two children are students at Danbury Catholic and Amy teaches third and fourth grade at Danbury Catholic.

She has talked to the older two children about what to look out for on the Internet. Amy had attended a presentation at Mater Dei in Sioux City for school teachers about Internet safety.

"When I got home from that, we had a long talk about different things that are happening on the Internet," she said. "I have also had Lynsey (the oldest) sit down and watch a Dateline show with me about sexual predators. So she knows about that."

Recently there was another presentation held at Mater Dei in Sioux City for the sixth through eighth graders at Mater Dei, Holy Cross and Sacred Heart schools in Sioux City.

Mary Fischer, assistant principal at Mater Dei, pointed out that the U.S. Attorney's Office contacted Kevin Vickery about the presentations and he referred them to her.

"They are going around to different middle schools all throughout Iowa to get the same message out to students of that age," said Fischer. "We tell them every day about the dangers that are out there. When you have someone else come in who has experience in prosecuting people who are predators, it really did get their attention. It helped them to understand that it is a serious problem and they need to be safe when they are on the Internet."

Safety tips

Matt Dummermuth, a United States attorney, talked to the students about Internet safety. He gave the tips to help them see what to be careful of while on the Internet at home or at school.

"The reason I am here today is to help prevent kids like you from becoming victims," he said. "We decided that this school year we would visit as many middle schools as we can to talk to kids like you. You might be surprised that the age of the victims that we most often see in our cases are middle school age students."

He talked about predators, revealing too much on the Internet, cyber bullying and other topics relating to Internet safety.

"The more information you put out there, the easier you make it for a predator to learn about you and find you," said Dummermuth. "Cyber bullying is using the Internet to harass and do mean things to other people."

He made the point that Internet profiling happens not only to girls but also to boys. Internet predators do not fit a certain mold. They can be anyone. He showed survivor diaries from the point of view of students, close to the ages of those in the gym, who experienced a predator on the Internet.

"You may think that your relationship with someone you met on-line is harmless, but it can turn into a very dangerous situation," said the U.S. attorney. "What you see isn't always what you get on the Internet."

Can track youth quickly

One example he presented was about how a predator could find out a youth's name, address, parents names, school, phone number, etc. within 20 minutes by just knowing a few things about the youth and seeing a picture.

"Remember that the information you post on-line could potentially lead someone to your front door," said Dummermuth.

He gave the students six rules to remember about being safe on the Internet. The six rules are don't post personal information on-line, don't post photos or videos on-line, never meet on-line predators in person without your mom or dad present, don't respond to someone on the Internet that makes you feel uncomfortable, learn to tell your mom or dad when someone does make you feel uncomfortable and remember that people can lie on-line.

At the end of the presentation, students were given time to ask questions. The students asked questions such as: What would the penalty be for a predator? If you have something posted on the Internet, can you take it off? What state has the most predators?

Fischer mentioned that many of the students she talked to after the presentation were surprised at how quickly and easily a predator could find out personal information about them.

Not only should the students be aware, but parents should be aware as well.

On the homefront

Amy and Matt Seuntjens have strict rules for their children's use of the Internet.

"Especially for the two younger ones, they have to ask when they get on the Internet," she said. "They have to tell me what they are going to look for."

There are certain sites such as Webkins, MSN or Legos that the Seuntjens children know they can go to without specific permission.

Lynsey, the oldest, knows what her parents expect. Amy pointed out that Lynsey is only allowed to chat on MSN.

"She can't do Facebook or MySpace or any of those. She isn't very happy about it, but she is fine with it," said Amy. "She is pretty trustworthy. She will Google for homework. We do have blockers on the computer for content advisor. It won't let them go on a site if it shows nudity, violence or language."

When the children are on the Internet, both doors to the room where the computer is located must stay open. Amy periodically will walk through and check to see what her children are doing on the computer.

"I know all of their passwords for MSN and other things," she said. "Lynsey knows that if I wanted to I could check anything she is doing. I have blocked one of her friends before who was doing some bullying."

The children don't have a set time limit on the computer, but Amy will have them get off the computer when she thinks they have been on long enough.

Jill Bork, a middle school social studies teacher at Mater Dei Nativity Center in Sioux City and mother of three, mentioned that she makes sure to monitor what her children are doing on the Internet. She has children in sixth, fourth and kindergarten.

"There is way too much out there that kids can get on. I think it has to be monitored," said Bork.

She mentioned that her children do not spend much time on the Internet, but when they do they have a time limit.

Since Bork is a teacher at Mater Dei, she was able to attend the Internet safety presentation. She learned things she can apply at school and at home.

"It was an excellent presentation. They brought out an excellent explanation of how a predator could get information just from your name about where you go to school, where you live," said Bork. "There were great stories to go along with what they were trying to get across to the kids."

Parents and children should all be aware of what can happen on the Internet and take precautions to keep safe.