Below are comments from some of our Teenangels in our New Rochelle Chapter when asked the following three questions:

1. What internet safety tips can you give to teens?

2. What steps are you taking to make other teens aware of the dangers of the Internet?

3. How effective do you think your efforts are? Why?

Kate D.

1. Some of the Internet tips I can give to teens include: keep personal information off the internet (i.e. last name, locations, detailed descriptions, etc.), blur or distort pictures posted on the internet (i.e. remove the background from a picture or change the lighting features around), be sure to know (in person) who it is you are talking to on-line, never make plans to meet a stranger in person (i.e. it is never a good idea to agree to meet someone who you have never met in person).

2. I am a Teenangel, so I take part in traveling to different areas (mostly schools) to discuss the importance of internet safety. Being a Teenangel, one is required to do a couple of projects each year which include extensive research and the creation of different powerpoints and other computer-related projects. These projects are occasionally used when speaking to students and/or adults about the internet, its dangers, and the importance of safety when using it.

3. I feel that our efforts are effective because of the interactive questions we are able to answer for students and parents when making presentations. The Teenangels organization only keeps growing and that gives me the sense that we are making a difference and will keep trying too.

Glanna C.

1. Chances are you are communicating or are in view of people that you’ve never been introduced to offline, so keep your information vague [that includes pictures as well as dialogue]. Be smart?Be aware of the kinds of people you may encounter on the internet.

2. During camp I told some of my friends about me being a member of Teenangels and a few of them actually asked me some questions and told me concerns they had with their myspace and facebook pages. I was happy to give them some tips and think I actually did help.

3. Well, I half expected them to make fun of me for being the internet “safety police”. Quite the contrary; as I explained about site policies, settings, and cyber bullying stories they showed a genuine interest and realized things they needed to change on their pages. I think they probably did become more in tune while on myspace/facebook but I’m worried that others will wait for something to happen before they make the necessary changes. I think the cyber bullying/ online predator stories are the most effective because they make the dangers more real.

Kate

1. The Internet is an extremely powerful resource; containing both helpful and harmful material. It is extremely important for teens to be aware of what is harmful and what is not. The main safety tips for teens include: visiting private chat rooms (with people known outside the internet only), creating their own chat rooms instead of visiting public ones, only downloading legal music, video, media etc., keeping their profiles “vague” which includes never posting personal info (i.e. name, school, address etc.), speaking online only to people known outside the Internet, only meeting up with people known outside the Internet, using a webcam only with friends you know offline, being careful about what you post-words, pics etc. can be twisted, altered copied and distributed by anyone, and avoiding pop-ups because they can harm your computer and/or lead you to unintended websites.

2. Through presentations we, as Teenangels, have been able to spread our messages of Internet safety (tips, what to be aware of, how to prevent cyberbullying and much, much more). By visiting schools, we have reached out to students of all grade levels as well as parents and all groups have been vocal in our Q&A sessions. I have recently created a colorful keychain with laminated safety tips and interesting graphics as another fun way to keep teens aware of the many dangers which I plan on giving to the incoming sixth graders as a way of reinforcing the message.

3. I believe our efforts are very effective. I have seen a lot of participation during our presentations (i.e.: we once made a presentation to 800 students where we gave a cyberbullying facts quiz and the students actively shouted out their guesses). Also, I believe that teen-to-teen interaction in general seems to be a lot more effective than the adult-to-teen interaction where teens just don’t want to listen and so they tune out altogether. We can make a big difference.

Casi L.

1. We Teenangels have lots of tips, but in my opinion these two are the most important: 1) Keep everything private. Any personal information, what you like to do, and where you like to hang out can give a predator clues about who you are. 2) Remember that anything you post on the internet can stay on the internet forever. Don't post anything you wouldn't want you parents, principal, the police, or predators to see.

2. Along with my chapter, I do individual and group research to find out the dangers of new types of technology used by kids and teens. Then, we think of ways to spread the information - we create and give presentations to students, teachers, and parents, write tip lists, and think of ways to help kids remember how to keep themselves safe.

3. I think our efforts are very, very effective. I've spoken with people my chapter has done presentations for and they really remembered the internet safety tips and information we were speaking about.

Gianna

1. 1) Think twice before you say or do anything online

2) Be vague in online profiles

3) always morph pictures on profiles and never put pictures with drinking, drugs or provactive poses online.

4) always be considerate of not only your safety but the safety of your friend

5) remember that the tone of voice you are using can't be heard from what your typing online so make sure to be clear

6) If someone is harassing you online, always tell a trusted adult

2. As teenangels we present our research to large groups of preteens, teenagers, and parents. Our research is compiled into slide-shows, videos, pictures and many other types of media in a way that intrigues the specific audience we are presenting to without putting them to sleep.

3.I believe that our efforts are very effective. Although sometimes it may not seem like anyone was paying attention throughout the presentation or that nobody cares about what you are saying you always have a few people who come up to you and thank you for the presentation; Tell you how wonderful it was or how much they enjoyed learning about all of our research. Even if they don't thank you, by the questions they ask, you know that this has made an impact on their lives and they will go home that night and tell their families about it and start truly thinking about what they are writing online.