• Safety is an important part of knowing how to use the Internet.internet security concept - cables and padlock image by dinostock from Fotolia.com
  
  Internet safety is an important thing to educate yourself and your children about, so that they do not begin online friendships or relationships with people who they do not know and who may want to harm them or the rest of the family. A number of statistics help prompt this Internet safety education, making you and your loved ones aware of the dangers online.
  
  

Online Bullying

• A growing problem with the Internet is bullying from kids who know other kids at school. According to a University of Southern California survey, three quarters of teenagers have been bullied online in some way, shape or form by other teenagers they know. While 71 percent of teens find that blocking messages from those who bully them online is an effective way to deal with the problem, according to a December 2007 study in U.S. News and World Report, this doesn't entirely stop someone from changing names and accounts and harassing a teenager online. It is important to teach your kid or teenager about being open about someone who is bullying them so adults can talk about the problem and deal with it properly.
  
  

Personal Information Online

• Teenagers are regularly asked for personal information online and should know not to give unless it is absolutely necessary. According to a 2006 study by the Zandi Group, which interviewed teens and tweens (those between the ages of 8 and 12 years old), 56 percent of those surveyed received requests for personal information online; 54 percent frequently had online conversations with strangers through instant messaging; 42 percent said they had posted personal information online; 30 percent have talked about meeting with a cyber stranger in person and 16 percent have found that the person they were talking to online was actually someone much older. Parents must educate their children about people pretending to be someone else when they talk to them online and that they might try to harm them if they were to ever meet in person.
  
  

Sexual Advances Online

• Most of the online threats to children are from sexual predators who use the Internet as a convenient cover for who they really are. According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, 77 percent of the targets for online predators were ages 14 and older, while another 22 percent were ages 10 to 13. That study also found that one in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log into the Internet receive unwanted sexual solicitation, ranging from offers to engage in sexual activities to sex talk to the divulging of sexual information. Parents should talk to their children about protecting themselves from these online predators.