The internet and social media is huge in our students' lives. Even my fourth graders, who are under the age of 13, are always talking about Tik Tok, Snapchat, Messenger Kids, and more. So many of my students have said to me they rather stay inside and be on their phones or playing video games, than playing outside with their friends. Hearing them say this is mind blowing to me. For one, my fourth graders shouldn’t even be on social media websites as they are well under the age of 13. Also what kid doesn’t like to play outside?
CIPA & COPPA
With kids being so active on the internet, there have to be laws in place to protect students while they are in school. There is CIPA (The Children's Internet Protection Act) and COPPA (The Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act). Under CIPA, if a school is receiving funding by E-Rate there are some things the school needs to do.
School districts need to have filters on their internet so students do not have full access to all things on the internet.
Schools should teach students about how to be safe while online
COPPA is what helps protect our younger learners, anyone under the age of 13. This law helps ensure their information will not be collected.
What do I think?
My initial thoughts about these laws are that I am happy that there are laws in place to protect our students while in school using the internet. However, part of me is wondering if these laws are truly enough. From what I understand from the Universal Service Administrative website, E-rate funding is given to schools and libraries who apply for fundinging. Therefore, I assume that not all schools and libraries receive these funds because I am sure not all of them apply. Therefore, not all schools and libraries are protected by CIPA. Does this then mean not all schools have filters for students using the internet? Do not all schools teach their students how to be safe while online?
The Magic of 13
I have also tried to find why the age 13 seems to be the set age when it comes to things related to children and the internet. 13 is the age that COPPA will protect you until. 13 is the age you can sign up for social media. What makes a 13 year old so much different from a 14 year old? They are still not legal adults. Why are all students, while in school, not protected? Or at least until they are 18. I think we should be protecting all children.
I also agree with Danah Boyd’s comment regarding COPPA teaching kids to lie. I 100% agree with his comment because I see it first hand. I teach fourth grade which is nine and ten years olds. I have had some various cyber bullying incidents reported to me by students. When having to contact home, parents have told me “I didn’t know my child was on Tik Tok” or “My child isn’t 13. How did they get access to that?” I then inform the parents that they can lie about the year they were born to sign up for these platforms. My school district actually had a detective from a local police force that deals with cyber bullying and predatory incidents come and talk to students under 13. The detective talked to the students about the many reasons why they should not lie about their age, the dangers of social media, and more. I think if the age was raised it would make it harder for younger children to be able to have access to social media. If we raise the age it will also protect more students under COPPA.
Reflect
Overall, laws are always a lot to wrap your head around. As an educator we want our kids to be protected and safe while using the internet. Period. The Internet is a huge part of school systems now and we need to make sure technology in education is used for that purpose. To engage and enrich our students. We then want to make sure we teach our students how to safely use the internet when they are not with us.
Hi, Ashley! I enjoyed reading your blog. We have similar thoughts for these laws, that they are not enough to protect all children. I think you raise some important questions, especially if schools are not funded by the government, what kind of internet protection do they have?
ReplyDeleteI also believe that lying about your age is so easy!! I'm glad that your school addressed the situation with your students. I also think it's important to have these conversations with kids at every grade level, so that they continue to learn about the dangers of the internet!