(Photo: More than 200 moms and daughters attended a Girls Scouts forum on online safety. Ana Tintocalis/KPBS)
The Girls Scouts of San Diego County
is turning its attention away from cookies and campouts and focusing on online safety and cyberbullies. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has this report.
Hundreds of moms settle into their seats with notepads and pens in-hand. They've come to learn what girls are doing online, what technology the girls are using, and how parents can protect them.
Parent Chrissie Allen recently caught her 11 year old using mom's personal information to meet people on a Myspace.
Allen:
So she had my birth date and there was a 37-year-old man requesting to be her friend when we happened to walk in.
That's why Girls Scouts officials feel it’s important to get parents dialed-in.
Experts say the majority girls chat online without their parents’ knowledge. About 50 percent chat with strangers.
Research also shows girls are posting more photos and videos of themselves. Some are innocent. Others are risque.
Dr. Nora Faine says this is the new way girls vie for popularity and attention.
Faine:
There were always girls who did things that were outrageous as far as the behavior. What the technology has done, though, is allowed girls to broadcast this to a wider audience.
The wider audience includes sexual predators. But that's not the only problem. Cyberbullying is also on the rise.
Seventeen-year-old Jordon Fink says its common for female cyberbullies to circulate digital images taken in private settings such as a lockeroom or bathroom.
Fink:
They can play it off as funny. And everyone who was part of it or knew about it is notified that it was a joke. That it was never meant to actually hurt anybody. But it’s unfortunate when it does happen.
More than 200 mothers attended the online safety forum. Its one of many events tied to the
Girls Scouts Healthy Girls, Healthy Lives
Initiative held in cities nationwide.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
For more information on online safety, check out the following websites: