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COX COMMUNICATIONS’ 2nd ANNUAL NATIONAL TEEN SUMMIT ON INTERNET SAFETY PROVIDES KEY INFORMATION ON SAFER INTERNET USAGE

Summit Provides Information and Discussions Encouraging Teens to Behave More Safely Online

 ATLANTA – Cox Communications, Inc. and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) held the Second Annual National Teen Summit on Internet Safety today in Washington D.C. Fourteen high school students from Cox communities nationwide participated in discussions on Internet safety and behavior led by children’s advocate John Walsh and Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson.

2nd ANNUAL NATIONAL TEEN SUMMIT
Emma Meers of Enfield, CT, was the Teen Summit Representative representing Cox Communications NE in Washington. Pictured from (L to R) are her mother Jill Meers, Emma Meers, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), and Ana Paiz, Community Relations Manager Cox NE

For further media downloads, please visit the Media Images/Video Download Page During this year’s Summit, in-depth discussions explored many of the Internet issues affecting teens and their parents and guardians including teen activity on the Internet, the potential risks of Internet use, and what adults can do to make the Internet safer for their children.

”Many troubles on the Internet involve teenagers whose parents are not aware of what’s going on,” said Jonathan House, a teen from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “I think it is important for parents to allow Internet use, but they should first educate their kids on its risks."

Another focus of discussion at this year’s Summit was the mix of encouraging and troubling news revealed by the most recent survey on Internet safety conducted by Cox and NCMEC. With nearly identical questions to that used in the organizations’ 2006 study, compelling year-over-year trends about teen Internet use and online behaviors were uncovered. While the 2007 survey revealed that more parents and guardians are monitoring Internet use and are talking to their children more about the potential dangers of the Internet, the behaviors of young people online still hold cause for concern. Many teens still remain unconcerned about the potential risks of sharing personal info online and nearly two-thirds post photos or videos of themselves.

 

 

“The first line of defense in keeping our kids safe is the parents in the home, so it is more important than ever before that parents and guardians learn how to talk to their kids and educate them on the dangers of the Internet and how to avoid them,” stated Walsh, host of “America’s Most Wanted” (FOX). “There are people out there who, despite knowing they can get caught, have the compulsion to commit horrible acts against children by way of the Internet.”

Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson, whose personal platform issue is Internet safety, shared her own personal experience in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers for children on the Internet. “When I was 13, my friends and I made the bad decision to share personal information on the Internet with someone we later learned was a sexual predator,” said Nelson. “We told him our names, ages and where we lived. My friend later received inappropriate photographs from this person. We told our parents about what we had done, and the situation was defused without incident. Unfortunately, not all kids are as lucky as we were, and not all stories dealing with the potential dangers of the Internet end without serious incident.”

 Following the Summit, the teens headed to Capitol Hill where they met with Senators and Representatives from their respective states. Here the teens helped bring awareness to the issue of Internet safety in discussions about the positive and negative aspects of Internet use from a teen perspective.

 The Teen Summit is an extension of Cox Communications’ ongoing Take Charge! initiative (www.cox.com/takecharge), which helps parents, guardians and kids make smarter media decisions. The Teen Summit will air on Cox’s local cable channels nationwide starting later this summer.