Internet safety expert Katie Greer told John Jay Middle School’s sixth grade what she learned about their school after spending just three minutes online. It included first day of school photos and sports photos … as well as dances to music with questionable lyrics and ship accounts.
“Don’t even get involved in ship accounts,” she said to the students, describing what a “relationship account” was. “Delete them.” She told the students that she was recently was called in as an expert witness in a cyberbullying case. It started with a ship account in middle school.
Greer, a former director of internet safety for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, works with schools and other groups, helping young people manage technology in healthy way. Her presentations to John Jay’s sixth, seventh and eighth grades supported the District’s commitment to balanced, thoughtful and safe use of technology.
The students had prepared for the presentation by filling out a survey created by Emily Bocklet, the school’s instructional technology teaching assistant, and Jenn Useted, John Jay’s library media specialist. They reflected on how much time they spent on social media, how careful they when it came to sharing personal information, and any experiences they had with cyberbullying.
Greer spoke to a common type of social media post among young people. “Birthday posts are lovely and kind,” she said. “And, to an ID thief they are a gold mine—they give a person’s name, birthday and location.”
She reminded the students that everyone is just a screenshot away from something going public and being online forever.
Greer left John Jay Middle School students with several tools to use when they are online, including: Use privacy settings. Set up personalized content filters. Block and report.
Perhaps the most important tip: If we don’t intend for other people to see things, don’t post it.
(photo: Sara Driscoll, instructional technology teaching assistant, MPES; Tenesha Mezzo, instructional technology teaching assistant, KES; Chris Nelson, director of technology; Katie Greer, guest speaker; Emily Bocklet, instructional technology teaching assistant, JJMS)