Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Keeping up with the latest lingo aids parents with safety issues
By MIRANDA REMAKLUS
mremaklus@paragoulddailypress.com
Even though parents spend their hard earned money to purchase their teenager a cell phone, laptop or iPod, Greene County Tech Assistant Superintendent Amy Lucius said she doesn’t believe those parents know how much use those purchases get.
Lucius said the online world is a place where teens can expressive themselves with a language all their own.
She said she tells parents they need to know the passwords to their child’s cell phone, their computer and to make sure that computer is in a central area where a parent can keep watch of the child’s activities.
Lucius described the language used in text messaging or on the Internet as a kind of “snappy lingo.” Lucius said the language is, in a sense, ruining the English language because it doesn’t allow the student to form complete sentences.
“Students are using this text lingo in their essays,” she said. Lucius explained while they do deduct points, they will allow the student to go back and explain what they are trying to write.
Lucius has a dictionary available to decode this lingo. She said some of the texting language should be alarming to parents.
The following is a sampling of the texting language and its definition.
• POS — parent over shoulder
• PAW — parents are watching
• i <3 u — I love you
• A/S/L? — age/sex/location?
• 12345 — talking about school
• AFK — Away from Keyboard
• BF — Boyfriend
• GF — Girlfriend
• KOTL — kiss on the lips
“You have got to get in your child’s business and find out what they are doing and who they are chatting with,” she said. “You can’t let your children go so much. Kids want discipline. Parents provide funding for those electronics, and because of that, parents still have some control.”
Lucius said most parents don’t know about logging on to Facebook or Myspace. “Most parents don’t know about these sites, but sexual predators do,” she said. “We want children to learn these technologies but you can not teach with them when they are distracted by these technologies.”
Lucius said parents should go on their child’s Myspace or Facebook pages and see how much information they have on there about themselves. Parents should also check about photos. Lucius said embarrassing photos can travel the Internet quickly and they can never be deleted once they are initially out there and available to download.
Lucius said Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel provides the following online safety tips for parents and their children.
• Don’t provide personal information online.
• Anything you share online becomes public.
• Don’t send a picture to someone you don’t know.
• Never assume the person you are talking to online is really who they say they are.
• Never agree to a face-to-face meeting with someone you’ve met online.
• Don’t respond to mean or threatening messages.
• If someone makes you comfortable, tell a trusted adult.
According to McDaniel, be suspicious of anyone who wants to know too much about you. He said you never have to tell anyone where you live, your last name or anything else personal.
“It’s never a good idea to meet someone in person who you’ve met online,” McDaniel said. “Think about the potential dangers. You never know when a 5’6” blonde female teenager could mean a 6’3”, hairy and middle age male.”
Lucius said the online world is a place where teens can expressive themselves with a language all their own.
She said she tells parents they need to know the passwords to their child’s cell phone, their computer and to make sure that computer is in a central area where a parent can keep watch of the child’s activities.
Lucius described the language used in text messaging or on the Internet as a kind of “snappy lingo.” Lucius said the language is, in a sense, ruining the English language because it doesn’t allow the student to form complete sentences.
“Students are using this text lingo in their essays,” she said. Lucius explained while they do deduct points, they will allow the student to go back and explain what they are trying to write.
Lucius has a dictionary available to decode this lingo. She said some of the texting language should be alarming to parents.
ADVERTISEMENT |
• POS — parent over shoulder
• PAW — parents are watching
• i <3 u — I love you
• A/S/L? — age/sex/location?
• 12345 — talking about school
• AFK — Away from Keyboard
• BF — Boyfriend
• GF — Girlfriend
• KOTL — kiss on the lips
“You have got to get in your child’s business and find out what they are doing and who they are chatting with,” she said. “You can’t let your children go so much. Kids want discipline. Parents provide funding for those electronics, and because of that, parents still have some control.”
Lucius said most parents don’t know about logging on to Facebook or Myspace. “Most parents don’t know about these sites, but sexual predators do,” she said. “We want children to learn these technologies but you can not teach with them when they are distracted by these technologies.”
Lucius said parents should go on their child’s Myspace or Facebook pages and see how much information they have on there about themselves. Parents should also check about photos. Lucius said embarrassing photos can travel the Internet quickly and they can never be deleted once they are initially out there and available to download.
Lucius said Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel provides the following online safety tips for parents and their children.
• Don’t provide personal information online.
• Anything you share online becomes public.
• Don’t send a picture to someone you don’t know.
• Never assume the person you are talking to online is really who they say they are.
• Never agree to a face-to-face meeting with someone you’ve met online.
• Don’t respond to mean or threatening messages.
• If someone makes you comfortable, tell a trusted adult.
According to McDaniel, be suspicious of anyone who wants to know too much about you. He said you never have to tell anyone where you live, your last name or anything else personal.
“It’s never a good idea to meet someone in person who you’ve met online,” McDaniel said. “Think about the potential dangers. You never know when a 5’6” blonde female teenager could mean a 6’3”, hairy and middle age male.”
 |
||
| Paragould Personalities ... |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of paragoulddailypress.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
Please note: We provide our story commenting feature in order to solicit feedback, debate and discussion on topics of local interest. Please keep in mind that civility is a necessary component of productive conversation. All blatantly inflammatory or otherwise inappropriate comments (i.e. vulgarity, marketing, etc.) are subject to rejection and/or removal. Comments will appear if and when they are approved. Thanks for reading, and thanks for participating.