With school starting up in many Georgia school districts next week, now is a good time to talk to your kids about online safety and being smart when using the Internet.
The internet is an important educational tool for students, but online access also comes with risks. Before students’ head back to class, the Marietta Police Department is reminding parents to review account privacy settings, establish guidelines around internet use and discuss ways to keep them safe while online.
The department is also reminding parents of the following safety tips to pass on to kids.
- Don’t reveal personal information including home address, phone number, or school name and location.
- Don’t post information about when you’re not going to be home.
- Don’t interact with or accept requests from people you don’t know on the Internet
- Never agree to get together in person with anyone online without parent approval or supervision.
- Don’t post comments or images involving inappropriate or illegal topics such as threats, nudity, alcohol, drugs or weapons
- Report threatening or inappropriate posts or pictures right away
- Remember anything you post online is available forever, even if you later delete it
- Social media sites should be set to private and only real-life friends should be accepted
- Avoid geotagging photos.
- Disable location services.