Attorney General and candidate for Governor Christine Gregoire visited Einstein Middle School Jan. 16 with one goal in mind: to teach kids about Internet safety.
“The Internet is terrific … but there is a problem side to it, and young people are a target,” Gregoire said. “A lot of people I know think of it as the riskiest playground in America.”
Some of the most common websites and Internet perks popular among young kids such as Cosmogirl.com, chat rooms, the search engine Google and Instant Messaging, Gregoire said, are all fun to use but can lead to disaster.
In one example, Gregoire shared the story of a convicted child molester who posed as a teen model online and then as a photographer to lure young girls into meeting with him.
“He was able to “groom” or build relationships with seven young girls before he was caught, Gregoire said.
“This age group is just starting to identify themselves, and engage with the opposite sex. The Internet gives you a ‘safe’ way to do this if your shy or unsure,” Gregoire said.
But something like this can happen even if you don’t take the risk and meet someone outside of the online world, Gregoire said.
With little information about an individual, online searches can result in home addresses, phone numbers and other personal information not intended for public viewing, Gregoire said, even if all you share online is your screen name.
Still, the dangers of the online world shouldn’t prohibit all use of the Internet, Gregoire said.
“You should always report any suspicious activity to an adult or the proper authorities,” Gregoire said.
And the number-one way for both kids and adults to protect themselves online, Gregoire added, is to be smart and not give out any personally identifying information through the Internet.
For more information about Internet safety, go to the Attorney General’s website at http://atg.wa.gov/.
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