RCMP recommendations for keeping families safe online

PRINCE GEORGE—For many people social media has become a way for people to connect with loved ones, watch the news, and find entertainment. The Prince George RCMP is offering some safety tips to the community about social media. Some of those safety tips include:

• Keep personal details shared online or in chats to a minimum.
• Remember everything online is instant, public and permanent.
• Use the Grandma rule: if you wouldn’t say it to grandma, don’t say it online.
• Set the platform’s privacy settings to limit the information you broadcast on social media

The police also encourage parents to speak with their kids and teens about social media. Ask about what social media platforms they use and make sure you are comfortable with them sharing information that way. Talk with them about what to do if they see or have done something online that makes them uncomfortable.

We spend a lot of time in schools speaking with children and youth about social media. We start with the grade three students, talking about general online safety and privacy. As the students get older, we start talking about topics like sexting and sextortion, cyberbullying, and even human trafficking. It’s important that students learn about the potential risks involved when they are using social media.