Internet Safety

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Experts Say Some Kids More Internet Savvy Than Parents

State police and Internet experts joined forces Tuesday to teach local parents some Internet secrets that their children likely already know.

Web sites such as Myspace.com have been getting a lot of attention lately, with concerns over what children are putting on the Web for anyone to see. On Tuesday, some local parents went to school for a lesson on what their children could be up to online.

"I'm hoping I'll learn more to protect her," one parent said.

West Warwick schools provided the tutorial.

"Unfortunately, there's a lot of parents out there who aren't as Internet savvy as their children," said Larry Lamothe, of the West Warwick School Department.

"There's a whole other almost subculture on the Internet where students fall prey to lots of bad people," said Scituate Middle School Principal Dr. Lawrence Filippelli.

With help from state and local police, Filippelli developed the program aimed at keeping predators away from children.

A major topic was Myspace.com, a Web site where children can post personal information. Filippelli said middle school children especially do this.

"They're giving their addresses. They're giving what schools they go to, what teams they play on, and it makes it extremely easy for someone who is computer savvy to figure out that information and use it against them, and possibly harm them," Filippelli said.

"It's a peer pressure kind of thing, because everyone's on it. Everyone wants to be on it. But, with all the dangers, I don't even know all the dangers, and that's why I'm here tonight," parent Kim Henry said.

Parents were encouraged to keep computers in open areas, supervise instant messaging and understand that children could have multiple e-mail addresses and personal Web sites.

"They use it as their main source of communication now with friends. There's no more talking on the phone. When I grew up, you talked on the phone with your friends," parent Jesse Corp said.

Myspace.com created a stir a few weeks ago in West Warwick, when a student claimed to have seen a threat posted on the Web site.

In Connecticut, the attorney general wants to investigate the site after a number of girls fell victim to predators.