Students Helping Students Navigate Safely

Share your online safety skills

i-MENTORs are students just like you in grades five through 12 who promote online safety. After attending special training, you become a certified i-MENTOR. This is your chance to step up and become an online safety leader.

Maggie H.

Maggie H., like many 15-year-olds, spends a lot of time online talking and sharing pictures with friends. She joined the Teenangels chapter in New Rochelle, New York, just a few months ago to help middle schoolers practice online safety and to fight cyberbullying. Here’s her advice for kids of any age:

Q: Give us an example of how you use your common sense online.
A: Online street smarts are very important. You constantly need to be aware that you never truly know who you’re talking to. If you receive unsettling or inappropriate information online, use your common sense and report it. By using street smarts, you can protect yourself online.

Q: How much time do you spend protecting your online reputation?
A: Every time I use the Internet, I’m working to protect my reputation. Staying safe online is not a one-time thing, it’s an ongoing process that you need to be aware of every time you log on.

Q: How do you stay safe when talking with new people online?
A: The best thing to do is to avoid talking with people you don’t know. That way you can be sure you’re keeping your information safe. But, if you’re in a situation where you have to communicate with people online you don’t know in person, be careful what you say to them. Try not to tell them where you live, the sports teams you’re on, or where you like to hang out.

Q: What kind of information do you keep private?
A: All of my pictures, messages, and videos are kept private behind a password. And since nothing you post online is 100% private, I make sure all the information I put on the Internet would be appropriate for my parents, the police, or my school principal to see.

Danielle, 15, joined the Teenangels in Jacksonville, Florida, a few months ago to help teens and tweens learn more about online safety. We asked to her to share her tips for staying safe online. Here’s what we learned:

Q: What are a few of your favorite online activities?
A: I love playing games and going on social networking sites.

Q: Tell us your top tips for staying safe online.
A: I don’t give out my last name, I don’t give out my address, and I don’t give out my phone number.

Q: Give us an example of how you use your common sense online.
A: I never talk to people I don’t know.

Q: What information do you share about yourself online?
A: Only my first name.

Q: What do you tell kids who want to get involved with online safety? What can they do?
A: Try your hardest to protect everyone. Come up with new ideas to help your local Teenangels chapter.

Gabriella, 13, has been a Teenangel in Woodridge, New Jersey, for the past two years. When she’s online, she loves listening to music, talking to friends, checking out her favorite blogs, and watching funny videos. We wanted to find out she keeps things safe when she’s having fun online. Here’s what we found out:

Q: How do you stay safe online?
A: I don’t give away any personal info — that’s my top tip for staying safe. You should also never post anything online that you wouldn’t want your parents, principal, prospective employers, or colleges to see. Not talking online to people you don’t know is smart, too.

Q: How do you stay safe when talking with new people online?
A: I would be wary of any information given to me by them. It‘s also important not to trust them with personal information.

Q: Have you, or any of your friends, ever been cyberbullied?
A: I haven’t, but a few my friends have been cyberbullied — they had their passwords stolen and abused.

Q: What advice do you give to someone who’s being cyberbullied?
A: There’s always somewhere or someone you can go to. Wiredsafety.org, stopcyberbullying.org, etc., are there to help. Talk to a trusted adult about it.

Q: What do you tell kids who want to get involved with online safety? What can they do?
A: Talk to someone at your school about starting up a Teenangels chapter or just spread the word about how to be safe online yourself. Leading by example always helps as well.