Be Cyber Safe

So something that is a hot topic in the world we live in is cyber bullying and the dangers of anonymity online. I haven't experienced cyber bullying (in explicit terms) personally but many people that I know have and recently an organization that I'm involved in was talked about on an anonymous site. Basically, there were things, good and bad, said about this group and there was very little we could do about it because we can't control what people type into their phones. I just want to say that I think anonymous apps (like Yik Yak and even Twitter) can be very dangerous and should be handled very carefully. Even though apps like Facebook and Twitter have a profile of the person operating the account, none of the information has to be true. It just gives people so much power over others. Now, I am also a journalist and these online sites are kind of my life, so how do we cut out the good form the bad? There isn't any clear answer that I can think of. These are a few things that I think are very important when using any of these sites.

1. Unless it is your professional account, make it private. I have a number of personal and professional accounts and a lot of my stuff is private. It's not that I have things on there that I don't want seen, I'm under no delusion that private really means private on the internet. But it does mean that, normally, people can't comment on any of your stuff. Also, if people are just looking for anyone to be mean to and they see they would have to work to get to you, they normally move on. 
2. REPORT EVERYTHING! I cannot stress this enough. I have known people that have been getting messages or things that are strange or threatening or damaging and haven't done anything about them. You should never reply and you should always report. Pretty much every major app company has a policy in place to remove accounts. But, you have to do your part. There is no way that Facebook can find every mean thing ever typed on its site but that doesn't mean that they don't care. Also, replying just encourages their behavior even if you ask them to stop. 
3. If you are a parent with younger children (think middle school or lower high school) you should probably try to keep an eye on their accounts. I am in no way encouraging snooping or spying on your kids, that is a horrible invasive thing to do. But if you are respectful and don't comment on every single status update and stalk all of their friends, more than likely they will be fine with letting you follow them or be their friend. I personally don't really like my friends parents following me on sites if I don't know the parent very well just because I feel judged but I don't care at all about my own mom (but I am 20 so....). 

Basically my point is if you are in a situation that is bad, tell someone and limit as much access others have to you as you can. If you want to watch a great movie that ABC Family made about cyber bullying check out Cyberbully with Emily Osment, it really describes what a lot of kids go through with cyber bullying. Also, please please please be smart about what you post. I don't care if you are over 21, that drunk picture is not as cute as you think it is. I promise. 

Stay beautiful,

Toto