St. Mary Parish to give parents Web training

The St. Mary Parish School Board will hold three town hall meetings on Internet safety over the next three months to educate parents on MySpace, cyberbullying and Internet predators.

St. Mary Parish Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinators Jacki Ackel and Diane Wiltz said the board is planning the sessions to better equip parents to face their computer-savvy youngsters.

“With summer fast approaching, many of our parish youth will be spending extra time surfing the ‘net,” Ackel said. “However, many parents are unaware of the potential dangers related to this activity, particularly when their child is unsupervised.”

Children will not be admitted at the free sessions. Parents and all other interested adults are invited to attend.

The sessions will be held Tuesday, March 4, at the Morgan City High School multi-purpose building; Tuesday, March 6, at the Teche Theatre in Franklin, and Tuesday, April 22, at the Bayou Vista Community Center. All three events will be conducted from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Ackel said the sessions will be presented in cooperation with the state Department of Justice Investigation Division, High Tech Crime Unit, in association with the office of state Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell.

According to www.stopcyberbullying.org, cyberbullying is when a child, pre-teen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. To be termed cyberbullying, a minor must be involved on both sides, or at least the incident must been instigated by a minor against another minor.

Cyberbullying does not include an adult. In fact, adults who try to lure a child into an offline meeting are considered sexual exploiters or Internet predators.

Cyberbullying is usually not a one-time communication, unless it involves a death threat or a credible threat of serious bodily harm. Youngsters usually know it when they see it, while parents may be more worried about the lewd language used by the minors than the hurtful effect of rude and embarrassing posts, according to the Web site.

The site www.exploreanywhere.com/ myspace-dangers.htm lists five dangers associated with teens’ use of a MySpace site:

• Written Content – The site contains swearing with four letter words; conversations regarding drinking and drugs; references to suicide and self-harm.

• Images – Many images are sexually suggestive. Videos are also posted, some of which are graphic enough to frighten young children.

• MySpace Predators – MySpace is often a haven for sexual predators because teens post so much personal information about themselves, according to experts. Through a search of any given school, users will find details about children and teens, including hobbies, interests, date of birth, hair color and a list of their friends.

Law enforcement authorities warn that children can become targets even with the simplest piece of information.

• Unsuitable “Friends” on MySpace – Authorities remind parents the people their children meet online do not have to be criminals or predators to be unsuitable. On MySpace, your child could meet anyone, and you have no idea who they are.

• Bad Behavior on MySpace – Your child could threaten or make inappropriate suggestions on the site.

For more information about the Internet sessions, contact the St. Mary Parish School Board office at (337) 836-9661.