Provided by the Bristol Township School District:
Credit: Amy Ewing
With teenagers spending more time than ever online, it’s vital they are able to recognize potentially dangerous situations. NOVA (Network of Victim Assistance) brought their virtual program “Internet Safety for Teens” to Neil A. Armstrong Middle School’s life skills students on Thursday, May 6.
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Throughout the program, NOVA educators Tory Baram and Mary Richter highlighted three main areas of concern: cyberbullying, picture sharing and predators. They provided students with examples of each and strategies to respond. For example, if a student is experiencing cyberbullying, students should stop, block and tell. Stop: stay calm and in control; block: block or unfriend; and tell: tell a trusted adult.
In order to help create a positive and safe online environment, students should be respectful to themselves and others. They should never request, send or forward inappropriate information, and always be careful with what they decide to share and post online.
Baram and Richter interacted with students throughout the presentation with questions about how they use the internet and the experiences they have. They also played short videos about teens who experienced negative and dangerous situations online, and how the teens resolved the issues with trusted adults.
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Whether teens are experiencing cyberbullying, asked to share an inappropriate picture or thinks they could be dealing with an online predator or catfish, they should take time to stop, think and decide before acting.
Baram and Richter highlighted that it’s essential for students to have a “fab five.” These are five trusted adults that students can turn to if they or someone they know needs help. They could be teachers, school counselors, principals, parents or guardians and of course, NOVA. NOVA representatives provide confidential support and information 24/7 through their hotline, and can also be reached via text, chat or email.
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“The NOVA curriculum has become an integral part of our School Counseling Department’s classroom programming at Armstrong,” said Karla Davis Jones, Armstrong school counselor. “Today’s ‘Internet Safety’ program continues NOVA’s tradition of excellence by informing our students of timely and invaluable life skills to respond to online activity; they teach our students how to keep themselves safe.”
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