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Some things never change. Today’s teenagers, like those of generations passed, still need a “crowd” to hang out with. Friends to talk to. Somewhere to belong. Whether it’s sports, music or academics, to someone between the ages of 13 and 19, a healthy social life counts. Big time.

The staff at Lely High School understands that although some things may never change, for today’s student, the social scene has taken a sharp turn in the past few years, going at a high rate of speed directly down a brand new public pathway — the information superhighway. Nowadays, the social life of a typical teenager involves boyfriends, girlfriends, myspace, chatrooms and blogging.

On Friday, Lely High School students were given real life stories, tips and general information on the importance of “playing it safe” on the Internet. During two separate 80 minute assemblies, guest speakers from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children urged students to protect themselves from the danger of potential predators online.

“It’s like this: 99.99 percent of the time, when the kids are on myspace or sites like that, they are talking to kids just like themselves,” explains Becky Cornacchia, business and computer technology teacher at Lely High School. “But it only takes one person to be a predator or want to hurt the kids. They realize but they don’t really believe it’s going to happen to them.”

HARMONY OSWALD / Eagle staff

Lely High School students use the internet with caution, after attending an assembly Friday, which taught students the importance of Cyber Safety.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Internet is the most effective tool ever invented for a sexual predator. One out of every seven kids ages 10 to 17 experiences sexual solicitation, oftentimes from peers, including exposure to sexual materials and sexual harassment online. Jeremy Nemeth, Marco Island resident and 9th grader at Lely High School, says Friday’s assembly taught kids to be aware of what can happen if they give out too much information online.

“A lot of people don’t realize how bad it can be and how easily they (potential predators) could exploit you on the computer. I think a lot of teenagers underestimate. There are some people I don’t even know that I try to add (as an online ‘friend’). And other people do that too. If you don’t know who they are, then you don’t know what they are capable of doing. A lot of people don’t take it seriously because they think it’s just a social center. Which it kind of is but it can lead to other dangerous things,” explains Nemeth.

HARMONY OSWALD / Eagle staff

Ninth grade Lely High School student, Jeremy Nemeth, a resident of Marco Island, reviews the National Missing and Exploited Children Web site at school Friday after attending an assembly regarding the importance of Cyber Safety for teens.

During Friday’s assembly, guest speakers explained that children are ideal victims of online solicitation, since they are naturally curious. Kids oftentimes desire attention, may want to defy parents and may be looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend. In an online “relationship,” kids may not know the truth about who they are meeting. Online predators often take time to “groom” child victims, gaining their trust over time.

“Today in class, I talked to the students individually. I called them up to the front of the room and talked to them about the assembly and how serious it was,” says Cornacchia. “I understand how kids want to do things on myspace and that they think everyone is on the same page that they are. It’s because they are innocent. They are young people. They are not thinking about bad things, they are thinking that everyone is just like them, and they do not realize that they aren’t.”

Through an online presentation, students were shown how easy it is for predators to get information from the Internet such as someone’s name, family’s names, age, school and directions to an exact address, in less than 10 minutes. Teens become targets because they disclose too much information and are less likely to report an incident to authorities.

HARMONY OSWALD / Eagle staff

Becky Cornacchia, Lely High School business and computer technology teacher (left) looks on as 9th grade student Katie Uvalle reviews the National Missing and Exploited Children website, after attending an assembling at school on Friday, regarding the importance of Cyber Safety for teens.

“Until they’ve had a personal experience or know someone who’s had a personal experience, they will probably continue doing it,” says Cornacchia. “I mentioned to the students today, ‘how many of you has your birthdate as part of your email address?’ And you would not believe how many kids have it that way. That’s one of the most valuable pieces of information and people are giving it out all the time. Why would you want someone to know your birthdate?” she asks in disbelief.

Aside from protecting themselves from predators, students also learned the importance of maintaining a good reputation. “What you do today will impact your future” was explained during the assembly. Employers looking on the Internet to research a potential employee’s background is slowly but surely becoming the “norm.”

“One of the things I mentioned to the kids in class was that I sponsor Future Business Leaders of America, and at one of the competitions, the debate was whether or not an employer should have the right to go in and research a prospective employee and use that information in the decision of whether or not to hire that person. Some students said ‘no,’ some said ‘yes.’ I think a lot of kids don’t realize that a lot of the stuff they’re putting out there could come back to haunt them,” says Cornacchia. “A picture taken using a camera cell phone for example, even though you didn’t give that person permission to use it, could be spread all over. It could come back and haunt you 10 years from now. A lot of things kids do are innocent and they’re just messing around. They don’t realize that technology is expanding so fast.”

Students should set their social networking site on “private,” which offers some protection. Communication should remain as open as possible between parent and child. Parents should let kids know that if anything questionable arises online, they are available to talk about it. Lely High School guidance counselors are also available for consultation.

“My parents talked to me about it when my cousin put pictures on the Internet and her parents got mad. So my parents had to look on my page to make sure I didn’t have anything on there,” explains Nemeth. “I am lucky though because I know a lot of people that aren’t allowed to put their name or their picture up. Like they said (at the assembly) today, you should take it into consideration if you don’t want people to use stuff on the Internet against you. If it’s something you don’t want everyone to see, then you shouldn’t put it up.”

For more information and other tips on protecting kids of all ages from Internet predators, visit www.netsmartz.org.