The study conducted by a research team lead by Hao Lei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences concluded that hours of Internet use might actually change your brain in similar ways to individuals who are addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Using a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), the team scanned the brains of 35 female and male adolescents between the ages of 14 and 21.  Based on interviews about their behavior, 17 of these individuals were labeled as having IAD – Internet Addiction Disorder.   Disruption of nerve fibers that connect to areas of the brain that involve self-control, decision making and emotions was evident in the MRIs, showing a change in the brain’s white matter.

According to reStart**, an Internet recovery program, there are a number of signs that can point to addiction including increased time spent on the computer, failed attempts to control behavior, neglecting family and friends and craving more time on the computer…to name a few. 

Addiction is certainly not limited to youth but this and previous studies have made a connection between age and internet addition.   Whether it’s due to maturity issues or their very early introduction to the online world, there is a compelling argument that young adults may be more susceptible to become addicted than any other age group. 

It’s important for parents to focus much of their energy on who’s talking to their child online and what is being said by him or others in social media forums, but it’s also necessary to be mindful of the actual time spent staring at the computer or smart phone.  It’s hard to imagine modern day life without instant access to Facebook, Google or anything else online, however unplugging and removing kids (and adults too!) on a regular basis from their cyber existence can help keep them on track with having a healthy perspective and balance between their virtual and real lives. 

*http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0030253

**http://www.netaddictionrecovery.com/the-problem/signs-and-symptoms.html

With 2011 off to a great start, we thought now would be the perfect time for a refresher course about basic online privacy protection. In fact, this would serve as a wonderful opportunity for parents to sit down with their children to review how we can all stay safe online. To jumpstart that conversation, here is a quick go-to list:

1.       Change your account passwords. Creating new, effective passwords for all of your accounts can prevent you from identity theft. Mnemonics based on personal information work best and are difficult for hackers to crack, but even the best passwords should be changed approximately every 3 months. Keep in mind that you should never share your password with anyone.

2.       Verify and modify your friends list. If you are online friends with somebody that you actually don’t’ know very well, consider deleting them. Remember, privacy organization Truste recently found that 42% of teens accept friend requests from strangers on social networks.

3.       Check your privacy settings. Many social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace made multiple changes to their privacy policies during 2010 and if you haven’t maintained your settings, they may have been moved to the site’s default settings. Take the time now to review them on every social networking site you use and make changes where necessary.

4.       Google yourself. This is the first thing people will do when they want to find dirt on you, so stay ahead of the game and learn what’s out there. If you find any suspicious, inappropriate or unauthorized content, report it to the site’s administrator immediately.

5.       Review the dangers of oversharing. Mentioning your full name, school name, address, age, birth date, or telephone number online is a definite no-no. This goes for content on Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and personal blogs too. Avoid posting photographs that reveal identifiable information such as your school’s name, and absolutely never use your real full name within your username.

6.       Disable geotagging on devices. Smart phones often automatically store metadata within any photograph you take and reveal your exact location. Uploading photographs from a smart phone to a social networking site or photo sharing site (like Flickr) discloses you or your child’s whereabouts to just about any interested party. Note that Twitter also has a geo-tagging feature that is set “off” as default, but might currently be turned “on.”

7.       What about Foursquare? Find out if your child has signed up for the popular GPS-based game in which users “check in” to various locations throughout their city via a cell phone app. It may sound like fun, but like geotagging, sites like Foursquare can jeopardize your child’s safety by divulging their location.

8.       Review e-commerce safety tips. Your teen may have their own credit card or debit card, so it’s important they know how to stay safe when shopping online. Educate him or her about legitimate e-business seals (like BBB, Verisign or Truste) and the significance of a plural url (https instead of http).

Interested in more valuable information? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

If your child has any aspirations of running for political office at some point in her life, Wikileaks offers a great teaching moment about how one should manage his or her reputation – both online and offline – very closely. The wrong photo, video or comment, however innocent, may come back to haunt your child when she’s being vetted by Congress for the Presidency, or any political office for that matter – this includes diplomatic office. While fostering open conversation at home or in the classroom regarding the historical meaning of the Wikileaks events can be useful, publicly posting comments, 'Likes' for certain Facebook pages, or even negative opinions about a politically controversial topic like Wikileaks may make oneself vulnerable to possible surveillance, attack by online hackers defending Wikileaks, or political scrutiny.

This week’s Huffington Post article titled “State Department To Columbia University Students: DO NOT Discuss WikiLeaks On Facebook, Twitter” raised a red flag for those who might associate themselves via social network comments, tweets or blog postings about Wikileaks. A follow-up post by Change.org mentioned that the dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs made a statement in response to the news stories that students were in fact free to discuss Wikileaks on social media, which seems more like a wise public relations move on behalf of the University, than prudent career advice to its future diplomats.

If there’s one thing that the recent Wikileaks controversy has brought to light, it’s that almost nothing – even super secret government diplomatic cables – remains private when information given to the wrong hands is ‘leaked’ online. Despite the fact that the Wikileaks site itself has been shut down, hundreds of ‘mirror’ or duplicate sites have popped up around the world. And once information is spread online – however true or untrue – it becomes nearly impossible to ‘retract’ that information and make it disappear, much to the dismay of the U.S. State Department.

If, instead of secret government cables, we were talking about a secret that your child had shared with her BFF on Facebook, a similar privacy fiasco could ensue. For example, if your child's BFF friendship goes sour and that trust is breached, it’s possible that your child’s former friend could turn into a cyberbully against her and publish confidential information or uncompromising photos, causing both emotional and reputational damage to your child.

Make sure your child is aware of the risks in sharing information on Facebook, photo sites and even text messages. Advise your child against posting anything online that would compromise her online reputation or your family's privacy if the information fell into the wrong hands. Even if your child's privacy settings are set to the strictest levels, make sure she's aware that anything she posts on a social network could be ‘breached’ and become public knowledge overnight.

Think before you post, and teach your child to do the same. Get SafetyWeb to be alerted automatically as soon as your child's privacy settings change, or his or her posts become worrisome and warrant further review.

About a year ago, my then 10-year-old daughter wanted to get her own Facebook account. All of her friends had one, she exclaimed, so why couldn’t she?

Well, aside from the fact that Facebook provisions say no one under 13 is allowed to create an account, I just didn’t think she was ready for the journey into the cyberworld; especially its inappropriate content.

A few weeks later, one of my sons told me he found her profile on Facebook because she popped up on his page as someone he may know. Miss Sneaky used her real first name and my maiden name for her last name. She used the family dog as her photo or “avatar.” She was so busted.

Some preteens are getting their own social media accounts with their parents’ permission. Some, like my daughter, are sneaking on by fudging their ages, unbeknownst to parents at all – so little conversation is taking place about the risks of being on social networks. So what can we do?

SafetyWeb can help parents know instantly when their child creates a Facebook account, as long as the parent knows their child's email address (parents can monitor multiple, unlimited email addresses).

Explain to your child why he or she isn’t permitted to create an account. Be prepared to explain why other parents let their children do so. Explain the risks and throw in some cautioning words about online privacy settings too. And sometimes, “because I said so” works when reasoning won’t.

We all know that preteens never lie. But just in case, SafetyWeb provides a proactive solution to monitor their online behaviors. Just in case.

Staci Perkins is a tech-savvy mom of four who frequently busts her kids online. Find her on Twitter: @perkista.

Promoting this trend are websites like Incostume.com, Yandy.com, and Anniescostumes.com which each feature a “sexy teen costume” category that is marketed directly to young girls. In fact, Miley Cyrus’ 9-year-old sister, Noah, made big news last year after she appeared at a celebrity Halloween party dressed as part dominatrix/ part sexy vampire. (See photo).

This Halloween, we will most likely see a slew of young girls dressed up as the uninhibited Lady Gaga, and donning skin tight dresses like Snooki from “The Jersey Shore,” or wearing suggestive short shorts and cupcake bras like Katy Perry in her “California Gurls” music video.

Teens will most likely flock to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to post what they think are merely fun Halloween photographs. Unfortunately, many children are unaware that these photographs can be viewed by virtually anybody and can directly affect their online reputations, potentially jeopardizing their chances of being accepted to a dream school or hired by a future employer. After all, once the photographs are posted online, they are permanent fixtures in cyberspace and help to define a child’s digital footprint forever.

Other girls may feel compelled to capture racy Halloween photos with their cell phone cameras and then send them to friends or boyfriends. They may not realize that sending (or receiving) sexually-charged photos is called sexting and in many states, is actually against the law.

So, aside from paying close attention to what your teen or tween is wearing this weekend, we should all do our part in educating our kids about online safety. Let’s explain the possible consequences of posting inappropriate photos online in a way that they can understand. Let's remind them to maintain their privacy settings on social networking sites, and let’s tell them that sending explicit photos to anybody can be considered a crime. Lastly, let’s take careful steps to help them understand the importance of managing their online reputations and prevent them from putting their futures at risk.

On that note, SafetyWeb would like to wish all of our loyal readers and subscribers a very "spooky" and safe Halloween.

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

There is a lot of misleading information out there about the difference between Internet monitoring tools and parental control software. The terms may appear confusing because they almost sound like they do the same thing, but they are vastly different.

SafetyWeb is an Internet monitoring service. That means we are constantly searching the Internet, scouring hundreds of sites 24/7 for questionable content pertaining to your child. You could spend hours finding the information that we provide for you in minutes, but you're busy so why not get easy access plus instant parental alerts from SafetyWeb.com?

Parents have told us that they are most concerned about content that could endanger their child in one of two ways:

1) Reputation-damaging Content About Your Child: Content posted by or about your child could inadvertently damage your child's online reputation, college prospects, and future job prospects. Content may range from the exchange of inappropriate photographs to cruel messages posted publicly on Facebook, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In this scenario, the child is his or her own 'worst enemy', and the self-inflicted damage they are creating is important for parents to know about so that they can take steps to remove the content before more damage is done. We help parents do 'damage control' at SafetyWeb by assisting in the removal of unwanted content on social networks - simply call 1-888-SAFE-WEB 24/7 as soon as you seen something posted that you need help taking off the public domain.

2) Content or Contact that Endangers Your Child's Safety or Well-being: Content posted to the child by frenemies or cyberbullies can also be damaging, as recent cyberbullying and suicides have brought to light. Cyberstalking behavior or harassment via mobile phone can also pose a threat to a child's self-esteem and well-being, and mobile phone harassment can come in the form of mean or inappropriate text messages (including unwanted sexting), or calling and hanging up when the child answers. We also help parents monitor such inappropriate activity through our cyberbullying content alerts and mobile monitoring alerts, which come standard with every SafetyWeb subscription. We'll help you set up your child's mobile phone so you can know whether someone is texting or calling them excessively, or at inappropriate hours such as in the middle of the night, or during school hours.

SafetyWeb is not software. We’re proud about the fact that our customers don’t have to download or install any software onto their computers or mobile devices. After all, children access the Internet from various places anyway- home, school, cell phones, video games, etc., so having parental  control software on one computer won’t help parents very much if their child has access to the Web from multiple devices, as most teens do these days. SafetyWeb works from any Web browser, and alerts can be set to your email inbox, mobile phone via text message, or simply login to view your child's content and usage reports.

SafetyWeb does not invade a child’s privacy. The digital reports that we deliver to parents contain public information only- content that any college admissions counselor, future employer, or anyone else for that matter can potentially see. We’re not spies either… we don't ask for your child's usernames or passwords, and we connect to their Facebook profile using Facebook Connect, which respects their Facebook privacy settings. We believe wholeheartedly in protecting children first and foremost, and we help to give parents the tools and know-how to handle complicated parenting issues to the best of their abilities.

We know that parents are some of the most hard-working, busiest individuals on the planet, and many are doing their best to juggle careers and family. They don’t have extended periods of time to monitor their child’s Internet activity, but if current events are any indication, we also know that a child’s safety online cannot go ignored.

SafetyWeb makes it easy. We do all the time-consuming Internet hunting for parents and then let you know when activity arises that may need your attention. We even have a mobile app available so we can alert parents immediately about any urgent issues.

Here are just some of the topics that we explore:

• Is your child a victim of cyberbullying?
• Is your child a victim of cyberstalking?
• Is your child friends with strangers online?
• Is your child’s online account at risk for being hacked?
• Is your child’s online reputation or well being in jeopardy?
• Is your child sending or exchanging inappropriate or sexually explicit text messages?
• Is your child oversharing personal information online or via a cell phone application?
• Was a photograph of your child recently published without his/her permission?
• Has your child posted an inappropriate video on sharing sites?

Parents can trust SafetyWeb. Our service was designed by concerned parents and experts who built some of the most popular online social networking sites around.

Now that you have a better understanding of exactly how SafetyWeb works, we would like to officially congratulate you for being a concerned and well-informed parent!

Tune in this Thursday at 5:30pm PST for a Blog Talk Radio show featuring Safety Advisor Hemanshu Nigam and SafetyWeb's Chief Safety Mom entitled "Keeping Your Teens Safe on Social Networks and Mobile".

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Some teachers believe there is nothing wrong with linking to students (past or present) online, and think networking helps to create a stronger rapport. Other teachers, however, are strictly against the idea.

This past August, Lee County School District in Florida issued social media guidelines and went so far as to forbid teachers from communicating with students on any website other than a school-based one, regardless of the reason. We all know a handful of good teachers who use social networking sites to answer homework questions, post lesson plans, and share photos of student activities, so general guidelines like these may actually prevent teachers from engaging students for educational purposes.

Still, one wonders how a social networking policy can be truly enforced, if at all, and how can a teacher actually prevent students from accessing information about them? Most websites are public and we all know that students can find just about anything on the Internet if they put their minds to it.

Since storing photos, videos, and personal information online brings up a plethora of legal, workplace, and privacy issues for teachers, we’ve decided to compile a list of easy social networking tips for teachers to keep in mind when using social networking sites:

1.       Check and maintain your privacy settings. This includes your Basic Directory settings to keep your personal information, photos and videos out of web searches. Be sure to include photos that may be posted by another person. Consider disabling your news feed as well.

2.       Avoid oversharing. Do not share personal information that you wouldn’t share with your class. Remember that teachers are not immune to cyberbullying and may receive threats and personal attacks.

3.       Use common sense. Avoid referring to your job, coworkers, students, parents, school district, or community in a negative light.

4.       Avoid communicating online with students. Unless your school has a specific policy, this just seems like the best option, and should apply to both current and past students that have not yet graduated. Do not send or accept friend requests, post comments on any student or faculty member's wall, get involved in a student’s personal life, or respond to a negative comment about you or your teaching abilities.

5.       Establish clear boundaries with your students and their parents. Communicate your (and your school’s) social media policy so there are no unrealistic expectations.

6.       Create an alternative online community. If permitted, consider setting up an online bulletin board or forum on a school-based website to create a safe place for you to communicate with your students about your class.

7.       Join educational social networking groups. Groups like “Educators using Facebook” or “Facebook in Education” offer positive environments for educators to share ideas about using social media.

8.       Google yourself.  Find out what your school, students, or parents can find out about you and respond to inappropriate findings quickly.

9.       Protect yourself. Create unique, hard-to-crack passwords to avoid being hacked.

We want to know your opinion. How do you feel about this issue? Should teachers and students be permitted to connect online? Join the discussion by posting a comment below!

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Hey, your child’s a “good kid.” Nothing to worry about…

Okay, so maybe you’ve noticed that he or she has been glued to a cell phone lately, but c’mon, what kid isn’t?!  Besides, they only send text messages to their friends once in a blue moon… right?

Actually, not quite.

According to a new report released by Nielsen, American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 send approximately 3,339 text messages per month. Girls send an unbelievable amount of text messages at 4,050 per month while boys send only 2,539 per month.

This study illustrates two important facts: 1) With numbers this high, teens are obviously becoming extremely dependent on their devices… dare we say addicted to the texting habit? and 2) Because voice-calling is not as important to teens anymore (and certainly not utilized as frequently as text messaging), parents now have more reasons to consider monitoring their child’s cell phone activity. (We call this "Mobile Monitoring" and it can be done from anywhere).

Let’s be honest. Unless you physically have your child’s cell phone in your hands and start to futz around- poking and prying- you won’t hear or see much of anything. With all the stories about sexting, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, textual harassment, and more in the news lately, it’s more important than ever for parents to be “in the know” about who their child is communicating with via cell phone and what type of content is being sent and received.

Tell us your thoughts. Do you think teens send too many text messages? Do you worry about your child's texting habits? What do you think is the best solution?

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

"Educating people about the lasting and damaging impacts of ignorant and hateful comments is a responsibility shared by parents, educators, organizations like GLAAD, and services like Facebook," said Facebook spokesperson Andrew Noyes.

Facebook has also agreed to remove any hate speech that violates the site’s Terms of Service. The news is a positive step for the social networking giant, as cyberbullying continues to pose serious problems for both teens and children. Just this week, WJBK News in Detroit uncovered an astonishing cyberbullying case in which a terminally ill 7-year-old girl named Kathleen Edward was bullied by her 33-year-old neighbor who posted a photograph on Facebook of Edward’s face as part of a skull with crossbones.

Sadly, online harassment often outlives the cyberbullying victims themselves because cruel messages are sometimes posted on victims' Facebook memorial pages, as we’ve seen in the cases of Clementi, Phoebe Prince, and others. Now, Facebook users can feel more protected and report any form of cyberbullying or harassment via the site’s Help Centre.

To download a FREE cyberbullying poster for your community or school and help promote cyberbullying awareness and prevention, click here.

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!

Device-Based Security Measures

• The absolute minimum- Maintain 3 types of protection on your computer at all times:  firewall, anti-virus software, anti-spyware software
• Keep up with updates- Keep your software current. If the updates aren’t automatic, don’t ignore your update notifications for long.
• Back up your data- Back up your vital data on an external device or an Internet subscription back up service, and store it offsite.
• Create difficult passwords- Use a mnemonic based on personal info to create a tough-to-crack but easy-to-remember password. If compromised, change your password immediately. Otherwise, change passwords every 3 months.

Online Fraud Prevention

• Know who you’re dealing with- Delete any email from an unfamiliar email address, especially if it contains an attachment. Never give out personal information. If your anti-virus software questions a site, don’t access it.
• Phishing- Delete any email asking for money; these are scams to steal your identity. Avoid responding to an email or popup asking for personal info.
• Online Shopping- Look for BBB or TrustE seals of approval on sites. Before you provide credit card info, make sure the site’s URL address begins with “https” vs. “http” to ensure security.

Personal Information Protection

• Know who you’re dealing with- Be weary of information sharing. Make sure you know who is on the receiving end whenever you provide personal information.
• Data sharing and social networking- Avoid posting personal info and/or your whereabouts, turn off geotagging on your smart phone, never accept invitations to link with unfamiliar “friends,” use avatars or pet photos as profile pics, think before you post any opinions, and set and maintain your security settings.

Useful Resources

• National Cyber Security Alliance http://www.staysafeonline.org/
• Microsoft  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/default.aspx
• The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team  http://www.us-cert.gov/index.html
• iKeepSafe.org  http://www.ikeepsafe.org/
• GetNetWise  http://getnetwise.org/
• Connect Safely  http://www.connectsafely.org/
• SafetyWeb's Blog http://blog.safetyweb.com/

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!