The tendency of adolescents to self-promotion in NCPs is often linked to the inability to conceal personal details such as name, age, school of study, home address, contact details, clubs/groups to which they belong, etc. This is reinforced by their innate innocence and honesty. At the same time, showing photos of activities he or she does, people he or she associates with, and even snapshots of private moments expose the minor to the eyes of many strangers. Among them, the harassers identify those elements that give them the right information to proceed with the abusive act, making their “job” easier. Help adolescents to understand the dangers of showing their personal data online, through examples of doing a simple search with their full name on the internet. Search with them for stories of teenagers who have been victims of sexual (and not only sexual) harassment by showing their personal data online. Then discuss with them how a safe profile would look like (what information would be included) in the MSM. It is important that adolescents understand that their private moments should not be posted in any form on the internet as this automatically makes them no longer private, with all that this implies. Even if they protect themselves and avoid sharing their private moments, they may still be shared by third parties who were involved in one of their private moments. For this reason, they are advised to avoid any recording (videotaping, filming, photographing, etc.).
The Child’s Right to Privacy
Look at Article 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and read it with students:
Article 16
- No child shall be subject to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, or to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
- The child is entitled to be protected by law against such interference or abuse.
Then distribute the following questions to the students and ask them individually after reading each question to answer YES or NO
- There’s a picture of you in Internet;
- You have posted your mobile phone on a media profile social media?
- Have you accepted as “friends” people you don’t know? in your real life?
- You received an email from someone who you don’t know and opened it to read it?
- Do you have shared photos on the Internet?
- Have you ever been sent an unsolicited text message?
Emphasize that if they answered YES to any of the above questions, then they may not be as much in control of their privacy as they may think. Macaroni, S. & Siafarika, E., (nd).
Youth Tech. Guide for facilitators of experiential workshops on the safe use of technology , Ed. A. Tsitsika. Adolescent Health Unit (AHU) and “Together for Adolescent Health” scientific organization.
