By Stephen Smoot
Recently, a group of social workers from a variety of organizations met to listen to presentations and share information on common problems. The first speaker welcomed was Derek Barr of Moorefield-based Hardy Telecommunications.
Hardy Telecommunications is a non profit communications cooperative that has operated since the 1930s, first providing landline telephone service. They now provide that and also fiber to the home internet.
Barr dove in immediately with a discussion on “how to protect children online” that started with warnings to parents and/or guardians about the sophistication of most children with digital devices and online access.
He described the first line of defense against malefactors online as having “a conversation and a relationship with your children.” Barr explained that “I guarantee children are able to see and do things online that you cannot.”
Then he reiterated that having a strong and close relationship with one’s children serves as the best way to keep track of their online activities. Bar cited older children especially, saying “if a . . . teenager wants to keep secret what they’re doing online, they can.”
While “the internet is a great thing,” Barr added “it can also be a dark place.”
He then discussed some of the favorite strategies and tactics of online predators seeking access to children, citing first “gaming” or “chat” sites. Predatory adults gather there to find “someone they think they can exploit.” Most use fake profiles to try to solicit information, then “use that to blackmail the child.”
With young children, Barr shared that parents and/or guardians must “have the talk. It is never too early to talk . . . (about) safe online habits.” He compared this to advising very young children to not talk to strangers in real life.
The “talk” must also involve “steps to take if they see inappropriate content.” These include telling a parent, guardian, or another trusted adult.
Adults with a legitimate reason to contact children online, including teachers or other community members, will reach out to parents or guardians first to gain permission. Police or child protective services will speak to a child face to face, not online.
He spoke also specifically of older children and what they may encounter as well. Once a child reaches adolescence, he or she may start putting together profiles that do more than provide a venue through which to communicate. Barr described it as “creating your own personality online.”
As children get older, Barr explained that they must understand that anything written, posted, or shared online will never disappear.
Remarkable digital tools that have appeared online in just the past few years can and have been weaponized to torment children. Real photographs of faces get attached to bodies that are unflattering or even sexualized. Intimate and explicit conversations with once trusted partners can get screenshotted for release “into the wild,” as some put it.
Additionally children should never follow anyone from a trusted platform to communicate on another platform. In such situations, predators often gain advantage. They will not steer their targets to a site that offers protections.
Older children can also get hurt by interactions that are entirely above board and do not involve predators. Barr stated that “it is depressing to me to see what people say online that they would never say to a person’s face.”
Barr then advised that some of the same techniques used to fool children often also entice seniors. He shared that an elderly family member once got their computer taken over by outside predatory software. When Barr asked if the family member had clicked on anything recently, he was told “it was cute. It’s a puppy.”
“He then shared that he told them ‘that’s why they do it,’” to trick people into clicking something that looks innocent, but hides malevolence.
In addition to creating bonds of trust and communication with ones’s children. Barr encourages those who have kids in their care to take advantage of monitor programs and also applications that keep track of where those using house internet go when online.
Barr shared that most would be surprised at “things floating around out there” that can attach themselves to systems and incur harm. “I get stuff from Russia all the time,” he added.
He offered resources that can help to educate users of all ages on how to defend themselves against cyber malefactors. One site from the United States Department of Homeland Security, Know2Protect, exists to provide vital information on internet predators, especially those that target children.
One important piece of advice encourages all to stick to sites that start with https, not http. The “s” indicates that the site has a much more secure protocol. “It’s not fully safe, but it’s better protected,” Barr stated.
Should ones’ child report inappropriate content, the suggested course of action lies in preservation instead of deletion. The goal must be in providing law enforcement with strong evidence to use against the predator.
Bar explained that private mode will not protect internet predators. One’s IP address can identify the user and link them to online activity. Barr states that Hardy Telecommunications has often had such problems brought to their attention and they turn all information over to the West Virginia State Police for a full investigation.
