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Safety tips for chat rooms
Published: September 18, 2006
Chat
rooms are virtual places on the Internet where people can type messages that will appear on other people's computers almost
immediately.
Chats are usually anonymous since the participants use nicknames to identify themselves.
Many people
refer to instant message (IM) conversations as "chatting," but there is a slight difference between IM and chat.
IM usually
refers to a conversation between two people, whereas chat is a conversation with a group.
Tip: You can use IM programs
like Windows Live Messenger to chat with an invidual or a group.
5 safety tips for chat rooms
1.
Never give out
your personal information in a chat room.
2.
Never agree to meet a stranger in person whom you met in a chat room.
3.
When you're asked to enter or sign up for a chat nickname, choose a name that doesn't give away your personal information.
For example, you might use SavvySue instead of DetroitSue.
4.
Be wary of other chatters who ask you to meet in private
chat rooms.
5.
Check the terms and conditions, code of conduct, and privacy statement at the chat site before you
begin chatting.
Chat rooms are a popular form of communication for kids. Unfortunately, predators know this. Therefore,
chatting poses a particular threat for kids and teenagers.
Here are five additional tips specifically for parents of kids
who want to participate in chat rooms. For more information, read A parent's guide to online safety: Ages and stages.
Top
of page
6 chat room safety tips for kids
1.
Monitor your child's use of chat. Remember, kids can participate in
chats using Web sites, chat software programs, cell phones, and even some online games.
2.
Tell your child that if
something in a chat room makes them feel uncomfortable, they should immediately leave the chat room and tell an adult.
3.
Insist that your child never send photographs of themselves to anyone they meet in a chat room.
4.
Learn the chat
lingo. Kids often communicate using shorthand. For example, POS means "Parent over Shoulder."
5.
Tell kids to stick
to moderated chats.
6.
Consider software designed to help keep your kids safer online, such as Windows Live OneCare
Family Safety and the Parental Controls included in the Windows Vista operating system
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