PUPILS in the north-east are being warned against the dangers of posting personal information on social networking websites.
Concerns have been raised after it was found that youngsters who have pages on sites such as Bebo, Myspace and Facebook could be leaving themselves open to abuse.
During a recent series of visits to primary schools in Aberdeen, Grampian Police school liaison officers were alarmed to find that some pupils were not taking the opportunity to keep their profiles private, despite them often containing personal information. If a social networking site is privatised it can still be viewed by anyone who is accepted as a “friend” by a user, even if they are a complete stranger.
The findings prompted a competition to design a poster to help young users become more vigilant. The winner was announced yesterday.
School liaison officer, Constable Fiona Findlay, said the sites made it easier for paedophiles to track down victims, and even if pupils privatised their sites they should be careful who they allowed to see them.
She said: “Young people shouldn’t accept people on to their friends’ lists if they don’t know them in real life. People can lie online. And it’s a lot easier for people to obtain personal details since the introduction of social networking sites.”
Fellow school liaison officer, Constable Lynn Steele, said: “Many young people feel safe in this virtual ‘home environment’ and do not appreciate that placing their personal details and photograph on the web for the world to see is no different to handing them out to a stranger in the street.”
The force has now issued guidelines for site users and details of where to seek help or advice or to report abuse.
They advise users that they should not give out any personal details to online friends, or post details such as their e-mail address, home address or mobile phone number on their site. They should also avoid posting photographs of themselves or their families. Users should not reply to bullies who may spread gossip or make threats online or by mobile phone, and they should report online bullying to an adult.
They are also advised to avoid meeting up with strangers without a trusted adult, and to avoid opening files from people they don’t know, such as junk e-mails.
If young people feel uncomfortable, or if something has happened that is upsetting them, they should not feel ashamed or embarrassed to report it to the police.