safety tips

Safety Tips

How to use our site safely...

Vervegirl.com can be a fun place to connect with friends, share content and exchange ideas but its important to remember that when using vervegirl.com or the Internet in general what you post could embarrass you or expose you to danger. Here are some common sense guidelines you should follow when using Youth Culture Inc or the Internet:

• Protect your information - Use the privacy settings to control who can visit your profile. Remember that if you don't use privacy features, anyone can see your information. Don't forget that your profile and Vervegirl™ rooms are public spaces. Don't post anything you wouldn't want the world to know (e.g., your phone number, address, IM screens name, or specific whereabouts). Avoid posting anything that would make it easy for a stranger to find you, such as where you hang out every day after school.

• Never meet with strangers - Avoid getting together with someone you meet online. People aren't always who they say they are. Be careful about adding strangers to your friends list. It's fun to connect with new Vervegirl™ friends from all over the world, but avoid meeting people in person whom you do not fully know. If you must meet someone, do it in a public place, during the day and bring a parent along.

• Photos - Think before posting. Avoid posting photos that allow people to identify you (for example, when they're searching for your high school) or contain especially suggestive images. Before uploading a photo, think about how you'd feel if it were seen by a parent/grandparent, college admissions counselor, or future employer. Don't post anything that would embarrass you later.

• Check messages in your rooms regularly - If you activate the message board in your room, check back frequently. Don't respond to mean or embarrassing comments or messages. Delete them, block offensive people from commenting further and report the abusive person to Youth Culture Inc. Also, never respond to emails from strangers that ask personal questions.

• Be honest about your age - Our membership rules are there to protect people. Don't mislead people into thinking that you're older or younger. If you are under 13 and pretend to be older, Youth Culture Inc. will delete your profile. If you are over 18 and pretend to be a teenager to contact underage users, Youth Culture Inc. will delete your profile.

• Respect - Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate content should be reported. If you feel someone's behavior is inappropriate, react. Talk with a trusted adult, or report it to Vervegirl™ or the authorities.

• Trust your gut if you have suspicions - If you feel threatened by someone or uncomfortable because of something online, tell an adult you trust and report it to the police and Youth Culture Inc. Don't get hooked by a phishing scam. Phishing is a method used by fraudsters to try to get your personal information, such as your username and password, by pretending to be a Member you trust.

• Additional information - For additional information regarding online safety contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center or OnGuard Online. To learn more please see these other resources:

http://www.blogsafety.com
http://onguardonline.gov/socialnetworking_youth.html
www.Netsmartz.org
www.SafeTeens.com
www.WebWiseKids.org
www.BlogSafety.Com
www.SafeFamilies.org

For teens, Vervegirl™ is a popular online hangout because the site makes it easy for them to communicate and share photos, music, images and text with their friends.

The Internet can be a fun place and useful resource for teens. But like other public places, it is also full of risks and potential dangers. No one person can ensure online safety for teens but parents and guardians play the most important role. Parents should make every effort to talk openly with their teens about their online experiences and seek support and advice from other parents, educators, online safety specialists, and teens themselves. Every parent should develop an online safety plan for their teens. Here are some suggestions and guidelines about using online communities:

• Talk to your kids about why they use Vervegirl™, how they communicate with others and how they represent themselves on Vervegirl™. Make sure they understand basic Internet and social-networking safety guidelines. These include protecting privacy (including passwords), never posting personally identifying information (such as last name, social security number, address phone number or credit card numbers), avoiding in-person meetings with people they meet online and not posting inappropriate or potentially embarrassing photos. Suggest that they use the vervegirl.com privacy tools to share information only with people they know from the real world and never admit "friends" to their pages unless they are certain who they are.

• Kids shouldn't lie about how old they are. Vervegirl™ members must be 13 years of age or older. We take extra precautions to protect our younger members and we are not able to do so if they do not identify themselves as such. Vervegirl™ will delete users whom we find to be younger than 13, or those misrepresenting their age.

• Vervegirl™ is a public space. Members shouldn't post anything they wouldn't want the world to know (e.g., phone number, address, IM screen name, or specific whereabouts). Tell your children they should avoid posting anything that would make it easy for a stranger to find them, such as their local hangouts.

• Remind them not to post anything that could embarrass them later or expose them to danger. Although Vervegirl™ is public, teens sometimes think that adults can't see what they post. Tell them that they shouldn't post photos or info they wouldn't want adults to see.

• People aren't always who they say they are. Ask your children to be careful about adding strangers to their friends list. It's fun to connect with new Vervegirl™ friends from all over the world, but members should be cautious when communicating with people they don't know. They should talk to you if they want to meet an online friend in person, and if you think it's safe, any meeting should take place in public and with friends or a trusted adult present.

• Harassment, hate speech and inappropriate content should be reported. If your kids encounter inappropriate behavior, let them know that they can let you know, or they should report it to Vervegirl™ or the authorities.

• Don't let your children get hooked by a phishing scam. Phishing is a method used by fraudsters to try to get personal information, such as username and password, by pretending to be a trusted Member.

• Be open with your teens and encourage them to come to you if they encounter a problem online— cultivate trust and communications because no rules, laws or filtering software can replace you as their first line of defense.

• Consider requiring that all online activity take place in a central area of the home, not in your child's bedroom. Be aware that there are also ways children can access the Internet away from home, including on many mobile phones and game players.

• Try to get your children to share their blogs or online profiles with you. Use search engines and the search tools on social-networking sites to search for your child's full name, phone number and other identifying information.

• Tell your children to trust their gut if they have suspicions. If they feel threatened by someone or uncomfortable because of something online, they should tell you and then report it to the police and Youth Culture Inc.

Additional information. For additional information regarding online safety and to learn more please see these other resources:

http://www.blogsafety.com
http://onguardonline.gov/socialnetworking.html

Click Here to remove your child's profile from Vervegirl™

www.Software4parents.com
www.k9webprotection.com
www.SafeFamilies.org
www.Netsmartz.org
www.WiredSafety.org
www.GetNetWise.org
www.SafeTeens.com
www.BlogSafety.com
www.SafeFamilies.org

Updated as of Mar 7, 07

Youth Culture  |  401 Richmond St. West Suite 245  |  Toronto, ON M5V 1X3  |  t. 416 595 1313  |  f. 416 595 1312