I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
The topic of internet safety comes up almost daily in my home, most often with my oldest two sons who are 9 and 11, respectively. Being a mom who is very active in social media and someone who stays on top of social media trends, I want them to be informed and feel like they can talk to me about this topic. Keeping the dialogue open with regard to internet safety, cyberbullying, and social media in general, is something so very important to me. I would rather them feel comfortable coming to me for answers rather than hearing it from a friend or possibly being misinformed by some other source.
In many households, however, youth are often more knowledgeable and savvy than parents when it comes to technology. This results in kids actually helping their parents realize cyber issues and risks that many kids face on a daily basis.
With June being Internet Safety Awareness Month, Boys and Girls Club of America (BGCA) and Sprint are inviting parents to submit their most pressing questions on the subjects of cyberbullying, social networking, online safety, and other cyber-related issues via their Be #CyberSafe website. BGCA’s Cyber Safety Ambassadors, which consist of a panel of Boys & Girls Club teens from around the world, will answer parents’ questions from a teens’ perspective on CyberSafeFutures.org. In answering these questions, their hope is to educate parents and other adults so that they will be more informed to help kids and teens avoid risky online situations.
Ask the Expert Teens and Win an iPad Mini!
Right now, you can submit questions to the BGCA Cyber Ambassadors on the subjects of cyberullying, social networking, online privacy, mobile smarts and other cyber-related issues. All who submit questions will be entered to win one of three iPad minis and a donation of $500 to a BGCA club of your choice!
I recently visited the BGCA's Be #CyberSafe website and was floored to read some of the stats shared. Did you know that 34% of students report experiencing some form of cyberbullying in their lifetimes? Another eye-opening statistic is that 71% of teens say they use more than one social networking website. Stats like this tell me, as a mom, that I need to stay on top of what my kids are downloading, using, sharing, and taking part in. It's evident now, more than ever, that the subject of internet and online safety has to be one that is continually revisited.
I would invite you to visit the Be #CyberSafe website and take this eye-opening quiz on CyberSafety. I know that based on my answers to some of the quiz's questions, that there is still so much more I could stand to learn about in the realm of online safety.
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