Our Youth Refuge recently got the internet connected for the young people living at the Refuge. Over the past few months, we have noticed young males and females using FACEBOOK, myspace, msn, tagged etc.
The pictures that are sent and received between all the people in cyberspace seem to be of a highly sexual nature, naked pictures are being received on a daily basis to and from our young people. Most young people say they are a lot older than they are, and post information about their favourite sex positions!
We have all the latest security systems in place, although they can’t control the content of what photos and information are being passed! They just keep coming through and hidden in residents' profiles for different sites that are password protected, therefore it is almost impossible for youth workers to police and delete (without the help of young people trying to get others into trouble!!).
We feel the internet is very important part of young people’s daily communication to friends and family etc.
Management have now given us two options: stop these images from coming through or the internet gets disconnected.
We are running out of ideas! Please help.
What can they do? What would you do?
This is a difficult subject and different centres have different approaches. We have found the use of filters a waste of time as most young people know how to get around them without much difficulty.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion and our approach is to have staff monitor the internet use and warn the young people to keep it decent or the internet goes.
Cheers
I think a little bit of shoulder surfing is necessary here. Like with any young person exposed to a world of new possibilitiers, subtle guidance is reccomended.
ReplyDeleteIt is not a good idea for any young weprson to have the internet in a private room, whether in a refuge or not. The net should be available in public places where workers can monitor, but not lord over what is going on.
It also might be a good time to have a talk about sexual health and confidence, asking about wht those pictures might mean, or say about you.
Talking about their net footprint can eb useful too, do they know who actually could get access to that photo, and what it could mean for them?
Try getting them to read a monthly article in Girlfriend Magazine about sexual safety and security, wrtieen by Tom, the 16 year old who cracked the governemtn internet porn filter. He has some great stories and ideas
An information session that ultimately determines access to the computers where passwords are obtained in the form of a license. JUST WAIT THIS CAN BE FUN!!!!!
ReplyDeleteDuring the FUN (not lecture) session show a great DVD by Cybersmart (GET FOR FREE FROM www.cybersmartkids.com.au) which is titled 'Wise up to it'. It is the story of four young people and their experiences/stories with cyberbullying, online stalking and online grooming. Also in your session have a look at the clips from UTube : 'Everyone know Sarah' and 'Meighan Meyer'. There are thousands but I particularly feel these are hard hitting and will get a point across to the dangers of the internet and posting images.
During the session include some communication games such as Chinese Whispers. Its a great game and quickly points out the obvious, in how communication can be lost in a very short space never mind the internet. There are heaps of communication games you can Google to make it fun but also make a point.
During the session you also have the chance to outline your refuges expectations and along with that issue passwords to your newly educated cyberyouth with the agreement they abuse, they lose!
You could also have a conversation with the young people about the fact that management has given you the option that it needs to stop of they'll lose the internet. Ask the young people how they feel about this & what strategies they want to have a place. This conversation can also include why a management committee would make this ultimatium re: keeping young people safe. This could be used in combination with all the other suggestions as well.
ReplyDeleteIn a similar vein, YAPA has just received this question from a youth worker:
ReplyDeleteWe are having a few issues in our town regarding youth and sexuality. Recently a young 14yr old filmed herself masturbating and put it on the net and mobile phones.
Also a group of young boys (10 -14yr olds) have been accessing porn sites on mobile phones.
Would anyone have advice/ suggestions on dealing with these matters?
This last one is a tough one.
ReplyDeleteLast year as part of a TAFE course, we did an exercise where we cut pictures from magazines which represented our interests, families and lives in general.
We pasted some pictures on the outside the bag, that was all the stuff we are willing to share with the world. The rest went inside the bag...which were personal and not shared with others.
I wonder if that sort of activity where we think about boundaries could be useful?
triple j Hack - 2 recent shows are relevant here:
ReplyDeletewww.abc.net.au/triplej/hackhalfhour/programs
My Face:
22/9/08: Will you end up regretting what you reveal about yourself online? We explore why we post so much personal information in blogs, vlogs and on social networking pages and we'll look at what the repercussions and advantages might be for our relationships and career. Will all this information become part of a permanent record? How can it be accessed and used in the future? We hear from Australia's number one YouTube vlogger Natalie Tran (aka community channel), triple j film critic Marc Fennell, a self proclaimed trash-bag from the Gold Coast and even a sneaky hacker and we explore it all through the eyes of 16 year old Sophie.
Porn:
13/10/08 ABC2 8.30pm: How has technology changed the way we use porn? There's truckloads of free porn on the net and these days you can get it no matter where you are - mobile phones are increasingly being used to not only store porn, but to shoot it and share it around. So what impact is all this easy access to porn having on us and our relationships? We'll hear from lovers and haters of porn, people who make their own and others who say it ruined their relationship.
I also work in a refuge setting with the internet also being a new thing. We limit the use of the computer anyway be it internet or not in order to make things fair for all young people. THis means young people need to book the computer and can only use it for one hour a day and evening. Then we monitor use. If material is of an offensive or inappropriate nature then the young person loses their time on the computer or may be not allowed to use it again for a period of time. The idea is that young people are just as curios as they have always been about sex and porn etc but these days have many more mediums to access it. We just need to be better at talking to them about it and challenging them on it.
ReplyDeleteCan I suggest that you review the positioning of the computers in your service in such a way as to encourage both natural surveilance and also worker surveilance in the room where your computers are located?
ReplyDeleteI also think that you actually need to honour your Management Committee's directive and tell the young people that they will lose their internet privilege if they are observed breaking the rule again. You could do this for all clients, or you may deliver this consequence on an individual basis: i.e. Sorry Rick, but I saw that, and now you will not be able to use the net for a week."
I have found that the application of rules that are clear and fairly delivered can make a big difference to these kinds of situations.
A 2009 Sydney newspaper article about a graffiti court case (you know the one) makes reference to the young offender’s social networking site, quoting things from it in a way that attempts to paint a particular picture about the young person’s attitude. How did the newspaper find the person’s social networking site page?
ReplyDeleteI’m interested to know what other youth workers think about this? Presumably, media sources could search any and all names that come up attached to news stories and then publish details of any website they happen to find something on. Should we be warning young people about the information they post on-line, or to what degree they allow it to be seen?
So, more to the point, is it common practice for the media to publish networking-site details of people in the public eye? And what, if anything, should we do about it? The application of such practice could have a big impact on young people (what if, for example, a rape victim had details of her social networking page made public in a newspaper in order to question her credibility?) . The potential situations that could arise are of great concern to me as a youth worker.