Wednesday, October 11, 2006

what you can teach kids and teens in 45 minutes...

I was invited to fly out to a Marine Base in Yuma to work with the teens and kids from their local youth center on cybersafety. We interviewed te of them on camera before I did the presentation. We discussed one on one what they thoughts about cyberrisks and what they would recommend to another preteen or teen to stay safer online. One young girl thought the greatest cyberrisks were related to compauters falling on you. 45 minutes later, she was explaining that people try to trick kids into giving away information to sell them things or trick them, and that you never know who someone is online. Another girl (12 years old) thought that having a myspace if you aren't careful can cost you your life. She also thought that MySpace should keep all boys over 14 off their site.

I have been working with kids for ten years on these matters. They always impress me. My teenangels.org volunteers are among the most talented and expert in the world. But what a few kids can learn in 45 minutes, when someone does a fun and interactive presentation, amazed me. It works.

Want to help? Let's each promise to spend 45 minutes to keep our kids and their friends safer. I'll share with you whatever you need to do it.

Check out the video. Amazing. (I love that ten year old!!!!).

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