|
Their Space . . . Or Yours? Internet Issues
Come to Camp
Stephen G. Wallace, M.S.Ed.
The popularity of social networking sites,
such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com, raise
important issues for camp directors intent
on protecting their campers—and their
camps—from the dark side of the online
world.
Traditional concerns about youth and the
Internet took a high-tech turn with the
advent of this new breed of the "local" hangout—places
where young people post personal information
often accompanied by pictures of themselves
and their (perhaps unwitting) friends.
Free to all comers, such forums provide
easy and anonymous access to anyone searching
for e-mail addresses, cell phone numbers,
or details about body type, sexual preferences,
or alcoholic beverages of choice. And the
information flow doesn’t stop there.
A recent Dateline
NBC investigation of
teen pages found scenes of binge drinking,
apparent drug use, and sex acts.
So concerned are school officials that
some are considering banning the posting
of personal pages by their students. And
so concerned are law enforcement officials
that at least one state, Connecticut, is
investigating the link between these sites
and incidents of sexual assault.
Wiredsafety.org, an online safety, education,
and help group, points out that while users
sometimes share their personal information
in order to find romance, this is not okay
for kids. Indeed, the Santa
Cruz Sentinel recently reported the arrest of a twenty-six-year-old
California man on charges of felony child
molestation of a fourteen-year-old he met
on Myspace.com.
But child predators aren’t the only
problem—and harm to youth not the
only risk.
A review of Myspace.com reveals "group" pages
created by teens and incorporating the
name, and sometimes the logo, of their
school or camp. These virtual campfires
allow for cyberbullying and the unsupervised
exchange of often-inappropriate ideas and
pictures that would never be tolerated
within the confines of a classroom or cabin.
In some instances, content amounts to
sexual innuendo and in others not-so-subtle
sexual solicitation. Also featured are
photos of kissing, fondling, and groping
and dialogue about getting high, getting
wasted, or just plain getting mad. And
all of this under the banner of organizations
committed to education, youth development,
and safety.
A natural reaction might be to simply
ban teen participation in online networking.
But attempting to deny campers’ access
may not be the best approach—and
may ultimately fail anyway. There are,
however, other important steps we can take
to keep our campers and our camps safe.
Keeping Campers and Camps Safe
So, what’s a camp director to do?
- Establish and disseminate policies
regarding the posting of personal information
online.
- Prohibit the use of images (pictures
or logos) of or from your camp.
- Visit the sites to monitor compliance.
- Notify campers and their parents about
violations of your policy.
- Follow through with consequences.
Educating Parents and Teens
Camps can also play a valuable role in
educating families about the threats
posed by social networking sites. Wiredsafety.org
offers some online safety guidelines
for parents.
- Personal information stays personal.
- Make sure your child doesn't spend
all of his or her time on the computer.
- Keep the computer in a family room,
kitchen, or living room, not in your
child's bedroom. Knowing you are watching,
kids are less likely to put themselves
in risky situations, and you can safely
oversee what's going on.
- Learn enough about computers so you
can enjoy them together with your kids.
- Watch your children when they're online
and see where they go.
- Make sure that your children feel comfortable
coming to you with questions.
- Keep kids out of chat rooms unless
they are monitored.
- Discuss these rules, get your children
to agree to adhere to them, and post
them near the computer as a reminder.
- Help them find a balance between computing
and other activities.
- Remember to monitor their compliance
with these rules, especially when it
comes to the amount of time your children
spend on the computer.
- Get to know their "online friends" just
as you get to know all of their other
friends.
- Warn them that people may not be what
they seem to be. Predators often pose
as children to gain our children's trust.
Developing Protocols for Staff
Camps might also develop protocols for
their staff, prohibiting, for example,
any online exchange that would be considered
a violation of existing personnel policies
and the posting of any inappropriate
information or photos that can be accessed
by campers. Finally, camps may
wish to consider using these sites as
screening tools when hiring counselors.
Don Schroeder, an employment lawyer in
the Boston office of Mintz Levin, says, "While
you may not be able to keep people from
doing what they want on the Internet, you
can certainly take action if you don’t
like what you see," including dismissing,
or not rehiring, any staff member found
to be in violation of the policies you
have created.
As with most things Internet, social networking
sites offer content both bad and good.
At worst, they perpetuate bawdy exhibitionism.
At best, they provide a place for the meaningful
exchange of creative ideas, memories, and
dialogue, keeping young people connected
to the friends and experiences that matter
most.
In that way, your space is their space,
too.
Stephen Wallace, M.S.Ed., has broad
experience as a school psychologist and
adolescent counselor. He serves as director
of counseling and counselor training at
the Cape Cod Sea Camps, chairman and CEO
of SADD, and adjunct professor of psychology
at Mount Ida College.
© Summit Communications
Management Corporation
2006 All Rights Reserved
An in-depth article
on the complexities of social networking
and its impact on the camp community
will be published in the September/October
2006 issue of Camping Magazine.
The American Camp Association has set
up an e-mail discussion group about
the issues addressed in this article, and
the myriad of other concerns raised with
online social networking sites. To join
in the discussion, simply sign up below:
Top
of page
New CPR Guidelines Coming This Spring
from American Heart Association and American
Red Cross
The American Heart Association
and the American Red Cross have revised
their guidelines for chest compressions
in their Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
Courses, increasing the repetition from
fifteen compressions for every two
breaths to thirty compressions for every
two breaths. The change in compressions
will affect currently certified staff and
staff receiving the updated training
beginning in June. For more information,
read the Winter 2006
issue of The CampLine.
Top of page |
