FRIEND REQUESTS

Barry Weaver, Jessica Shafer, Dan Finney,

Daniella Ellis, Dylan Rodd

AND Will Lyons

FRIEND REQUEST

WHAT IS IT? A friend, in real life, is someone you are close with and comfortable around.

An online friend, however, is person added to your list of friends on a social

networking website.

For example, on Facebook, you can select a user and click "Add as Friend" to

send a friend request to that user. When the user receives your friend request,

he or she may choose to accept or decline the invitation. If the user accepts

your request, he or she will be added to your list of friends. Likewise, you will

be added to that user's list of friends as the same time. Xbox Live, as well as

other organizations include similar features.

Once you become friends with a user, that person will be able to access your

profile with the additional viewing rights. This means he or she may be able to

view more of your profile and post comments on the "wall" of your profile

page. (definition adapted from: http://www.techterms.com/definition/friend).

ACCEPTING FRIENDS

Online friends can be a great way to:

Connect with friends when you can’t get together in

person

Strengthen friendships through shared interests

Build a group of online friends who are safe and fun to

interact with

ACCEPTING FRIENDS

Is chatting while gaming the same as a friend request?

Image taken from google images

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

Online friendships can be great, but they can also be

dangerous.

Chatting with or friending strangers can put you at risk to

be contacted by an online predator (a person who intends

to harm another person by first contacting them online).

CHATTING DURING GAMING

You may think chatting to strategize during gaming is

harmless, but it can be dangerous, too.

Predators will listen carefully to anything you say. You

may only give tiny bits of information, but a predator can

actually be very good at piecing information together with

intent to harm you.

ACCEPTING EVERYONE

Do you accept anyone who requests you?

When do you draw the line of who to accept and who

not to?

- Do you know them or just know their name?

- If you don’t know them, just hit “ignore” or

“decline” and do not even ask them who they

are.

AVATARS

An Avatar is either a graphic image to represent a person or a screen

name that is completely different from the person’s name. Avatars are a

smart way to keep your identity private when gaming or publicly posting.

If a friend request comes from an Avatar account, you can

- Ask your friends if they know who the person is

If you use an Avatar account, you can

- tell your friends in person what your account name is

- attach a message telling them who you are

ACCEPTING FRIENDS

Do you know the person in person?

-Outside of the social network you are using.

-Does your friendship just stay in school?

Would they come to your house?

-Would you care to spend time with them outside of school?

ACCEPTING FRIENDS

Just because you have mutual friends, do you accept them?

Image taken from google images

ACCEPTING THE WRONG PEOPLE

Over the summer my sister was involved in a chat room using my

phone. She was talking to this guy and somehow this guy had gotten all

of my information through Facebook because I had Facebook connected

through my phone. Later that night I received a friend request from this

guy and I accepted him because I had a few mutual friends. The next

day I had 5 or 6 messages from him stating all of my information. He

started calling me inappropriate names and asked how far my home

town was from his location. He also asked how I was doing in school

and stated my school by name. I was scared. I had to delete my

Facebook then, I ended making up a new one.

SOMETHING TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER

You may think that just because someone goes to your school

that you are safe. It has happened that people have accepted

friends with a person that they knew from school who

downloaded photos and used them in inappropriate ways.

Imagine seeing yourself in a place where you actually

weren’t, or on a body that is not yours, or even seeing your

personal photo for sale! You may think someone is harmless

just because you do know who they are, but you have to think

about how well you know them and trust them.

WHAT TO DO?

If someone that you trusted turns out to be untrustworthy,

do not be embarrassed. It is more important that if

something is going wrong that you tell at least two adults.

In certain circumstances, the adults may need to call the

police.

Do not perform pranks on your friends online. Pranks

often go wrong and you may find yourself in big trouble

with adults and possibly the police.

DO YOU REALLY KNOW THE PERSON?

Do you actually know the person?

- What is their personality like?

- Where are they from?

-Can you trust them with your photos, and

your personal information?

ASK YOURSELF…

Do you really know all of your friends?

Do you have a limit on how many friends you should

have?

Have you talked to every one of your friends in the

past 6 months?

IF A FRIEND IS NOT BEING A FRIEND

If you have a friend who is not being nice to you online, you have a few

choices. You can:

-Take a break by ignoring them

-Tell a trusted adult

-Temporarily block them

-Un-friend them

Please realize that friending and un-friending should not be taken lightly.

It hurts another person’s feelings. Try to only un-friend someone if they

are a person who doesn’t make you happy to be around them a lot of the

time. It is important to surround yourself in life and online with people

who make you feel good about yourself and are comfortable to be around.

DR. NICOLE YETTER

DR. NICOLE YETTER

Dr. Nicole Yetter is extremely passionate about creating a safe and

respectful working/learning environment for all! She received her

Bachelor’s Degree in Rehabilitation Services Education and a Minor

in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. She obtained

her Master's Degree in Guidance K-12 from the State University of

West Georgia. Recently, she earned her Doctorate in Education from

Grand Canyon University. Dr. Yetter's dissertation reviewed the

effect of implementing classroom meetings on student performance

indicators including; academic performance, attendance,

documented discipline, and bullying behaviors.

DR. NICOLE YETTER, CONT.

Dr. Yetter is also a Certified Olweus Trainer and has her AAC II (Associate

Addictions Counselor). Over the past 16 years, Dr. Yetter has worked with

and spoken to thousands of students, educators, parents, and community

members on an array of topics. These included; Substance Abuse, Grief &

Loss, Decision Making, Empathy, Bullying, Internet Safety, and other related

topics. Most recently, she was a featured presenter at the 2012 National

Conference on Bullying in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Yetter also acts as an

Educational Consultant for various School Districts across the country, the

PA Bullying Prevention Support Plan Workgroup, and The CyberBully

Hotline, just to name a few. She currently resides in suburban Philadelphia

with her husband and children where she is employed at a large suburban

high school as a Guidance Counselor and Safe Schools Coach.

RESOURCES

Article:How Internet Predators Select Their Victims: http://

www.safer-internet.net/how-internet-predators-select-their-victims.html

Xbox Live Privacy Settings: http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live/online-

privacy-and-safety/online-safety

Facebook Privacy Settings: http://www.facebook.com/help/privacy

Facebook Friend Requests – Is “Not Now” a Safe, Polite Option or a

Privacy Problem? http://topsecretsurfer.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/facebook-

friend-requests-is-not-now-a-safe-polite-option-or-a-privacy-problem/

CREDITS

A HUGE thank you to:

Kurt Schollin, from Bucks County Intermediate Unit, for guiding Palisades

High School students through Elluminate webinar software.

Dr. Nicole Yetter, for generously volunteering her time and expertise on cyber-

safety.

Janice Conger and her 4th Grade students at Arrowhead Elementary, for being

wonderful participants.

Joel Filling and all of the 6th graders who filled out our student surveys.

Jaime Guthier and the Academy teachers who made this a truly

interdisciplinary project.

Palisades High School and School District Administrators for supporting our

webinar.

CREDITS

Teachers involved in this lesson:Rob Reilly, Academy Teacher, Palisades High SchoolKaren Hornberger, Library Media Specialist, Palisades High School