Targeting teens Using the web makes teens a target. Posting too much personal information for those millions of cyber eyes to see can cause some big problems and can even invite a threat to your life. As Mary learned, not everyone on the Internet is who he or she says they are. Adults will sometimes pose as other teens, posting fake photos and nice messages to gain trust. They use their fake identity to access the personal information of others, such as home address, phone number, or school name. "That's not the most common scenario ," says David Finkelhor, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire. "Only 3 percent of teens aged 10 to 18 who use the Internet report being asked to meet offline. But the danger is real." Safety measures Mary's Myspace profile is set to "private", which means that only the people she adds under the "friend" category can access her page. She also doesn't have any pictures of herself on her site. The only self-identifying material she has posted is her name, grade, and a list of hobbies. Stay safe and have fun online Experts say almost 90 percent of U.S. teens are online. But not everyone knows how to surf the web in a smart way. With these tips, you can have fun, stay safe, and avoid embarrassment! *Pick a safe password. Make sure your password is something that other people won't be able to guess. *Pick a safe username. Make sure yours doesn't say too much about you, "Happy girl 13" is better than "Alice Waters 13". Don't include your name, age, or where you are from. Never tell a stranger your name, school, address, age, birthday, phone number, or friends' name. Why are numbers in letters used when we pick a safe password?
Numbers are easy to write Using numbers are cool online The safe password is more unlikely to be guessed Numbers are popular online