Protecting kids online is so important to Lauren Nelson that she put herself in the center of a sting operation with the help of America’s Most Wanted and the Suffolk County, New York Police department. Miss America served as bait for accused online predators, and the operation led to several arrests.
Here’s Lauren’s personal statement about why this issue is so important to her:
“One of my goals, as Miss America 2007, is to heighten the awareness for protecting our children on the Internet. It is critical for parents to police their children’s keyboards because one out of seven children have been approached by an online predator. Unless parents monitor what sites their children are visiting and use available software, their child could be at risk.
The topic of Internet Safety became important to me when, at age 13, some friends and I were approached in an Internet chat room by someone who we later discovered was an online predator. We made the mistake of giving out our personal information, including names, location and ages. A week later, we received inappropriate photographs in the mail. We immediately told our parents, and were lucky that the situation was defused without incident. We learned a valuable lesson about how to protect ourselves online. It is my hope that children will learn these lessons before they find themselves in a dangerous situation like my friends and I did.”
Lauren takes her message of online safety to parents and kids across the country, and she’ll be contributing regularly to the AMW Safety Center. Here’s a question-and-answer session that Miss America conducted recently:
1. Q. A lot of my friends have MySpace, and I want to get it too so I can look at people’s pictures and send my friends messages and stuff. Is there a way for me to have MySpace and still stay safe on the internet?
A. Be careful … forums like this can be sometimes the most dangerous places on the internet. You are required to be 14 years old. If you are old enough, the most important thing is to first talk to your parents about it. Make sure it is OK with them, and then have them help you set your account up. Adjust the privacy settings so that absolutely no one except friends that you confirm can see your profile, and never confirm strangers. Also, don’t put your last name, the town you live in, the school you go to, or any personal information.
2. Q. I got a digital camera for my birthday and I really want to put my pictures online so my friends can all see them…is that safe?
A. Websites that allow you to post photo albums make your pictures available to every single person who has access to the internet, and pictures often reveal personal information that is important to keep private online. There are much safer ways to share photos with friends. You could have them printed out, or you could also set up an email account with your parents and use it to send your friends pictures.
3. Q. Sometimes I like to go in chat rooms and talk to people about my favorite TV shows after I watch them. They are fun to talk to because they like the shows just as much as me. I’ll be safe in those chat rooms since we just talk about TV, right?
A. I know that it is fun to discuss TV shows after you watch them, but talking to people you don’t know online is never a good idea. You would not talk to a stranger on the street, so don’t talk to one online. Instead, ask friends or family to watch a show with you, and then talk about it with them. I think it’s more fun to talk about things in person than on the computer, anyway.
4. Q. Instant messenger makes it easier to get to be friends with people who I only know a little bit from school. Can I read messages from screen names I don’t know if they IM me? They’re usually from people I go to school with.
A. Never accept messages from people that you do not know online. Even if you think that you know them, it could be someone pretending to be a friend. If there is someone that you want to talk to with Instant Messenger, just exchange screen names in school or over the phone. That way, you both know for sure who you are talking to.
5. Q. Is it OK to talk to people I don’t know if I’m playing games against them online? It makes it more fun.
A. I stick with the ground rule of never talking to strangers online. If you need to say something that is related to the game, such as, “It’s your turn,” or “Good play,” that’s fine. But do not engage in a conversation with your opponent, and if he or she starts asking you personal questions, do not respond and exit the game.
For more to help you protect your kids online, check out the AMW Safety Center’s Parent’s Toolkit to Keep Kids Safe Online.
For more information about Lauren Nelson, Miss America 2007, check out: the Miss America Organization.
22 Comments on "Miss America 2007, Lauren Nelson: Protecting Kids Online"
Bob Macchia
Mr. Walsh, our LI Newspaper, NY Newsday criticized this segment of AMW and said that the cops were looking for some celebrity status and AMW was looking for their ratings to soar. I wrote back to the columnist and told them that I didn’t care if the cops received celebrity status and if AMW’s ratings soared. What was done here with Miss America was great, eliminating sick child sexual predators from the streets. They printed my letter in NY Newsday on May 17, 2007. Keep doing a great job and thanks for looking out for us, Bob Macchia, West Babylon, NY
Ricardo Tondo
CONGRATULATIONS! The commitment and valentía of celebrities in the detection of criminals cause an alert in the community. It is an excellent tool. All of them and many must more be used against this type of crimes that attempt against the base of the institutions: our children. They have a volunteer but:Follow the successes. Sincerely, Ricardo Tondo Buenos Aires Argentina
Paul Millard
I still find it offensive that Miss America Lauren Nelson
did this fine work in the sting to get these preditors off
our streets and away from our children and then refused to testify at trial, it’s like hitting a home run and
stopping at 3rd base, sorry I just feel let down by that.
AMW Safety Producer
Mr. Millard,
Thank you for participating in the AMW Safety Blog but your information is out of date. Not only did Ms. Nelson agree to testify in the case but the Suffolk County DA published a written apology for spreading misinformation by saying that she was unwilling to testify.
Lauren Nelson is very dedicated to this issue and willing to do whatever it takes.
Bonnie Clagg
Hi,
I am retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Oklahoma City, Ok. I would very much like to become a member of the Preverted Justice team to help stop online predators. Is there anyway possible that you can tell me who to contact regarding it? I have attempted, but have had no response.
I appreciate any help you can give me.
Thanks,
Bonnie Clagg
bfc0217@msn.com
Marilyn Feliciano Vega
WAY TO GO JOHN WALSH, SINCE I’VE BEEN THROUGH RAPE THREE TIMES ALREADY,I AM GRATEFUL THAT FINALLY SOMEONE IS STANDING FOR ALL THOSE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE VICTIMS OF RAPE EVRY 5 MINUTES SOMEWHERE IN THIS WORLD IS GOOD THAT YOU MAKE SURE THAT THOSE SORE LOSERS HAD WHAT THEY DESERVE:GO TO JAIL.
P.S: I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME PART OF YOUR INNITIATIVE OF PUTTING AWAY THE PERSONS HURTING KIDS.BY THE WAY I’M A MOTHER MYSELF OF THREE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN.
ashley
I think this is very good i think that the kids should not put their information on the internet with this predators that could instaly come to there house and they could open the door and instaly be dead! or raped or shawt or kidnapped or brutal beatings
i have a myspace i do not have a picture i have a cartoon i will never put picture of me
my friends ask me why dont i have a picture i say becuse it is more safer
i never put none of my information i put a fake country too i live in florida put i put washington and my age is very fake!
Paul Millard
Ok that is awesome to hear, I never heard about the
apology, I guess the media didn’t think it was as
important as the original story, cool she is my hero again !
shillah
hey it is me shillah and i think this os a good sight for every one i am 11 and i am couris to know how to keep safe and i hope this sight well help but i think that what you are doing is very good for children and because it is good for there health and because it will help me and it well guide people for safty so my coment is that you solud do what you can well you can.
Ellen-Marie
Hey,
this is some great work you guys do. I don’t have a myspace and rely don’t want one i have an e-mail and thats all i need. I love your show i try to watch it every Saturday but i always can’t. Thank you for getting those predators off the street.
Jeneanne
I think what you are doing is so necessary. I found a my space screen name my 14 yr old daughter had just viewed and it was sexually explicit and vulgar, also this young girl had a pic posted in her bathing suit. I called my daughter in and said…I hope this isn’t what you are doing on my space. I believe there needs to be regulations and monitoring of some kind. I believe most parents are not paying attention. Thanks for your help. It is needed.
Jeneanne
There are ways to monitor your child online.
Roxanne Walker
I liked that show. I to became a victim of a monster. I hope the monster who did horrible things to me is behind bars. These sexual predators are bad people. I believe they cant be rehabilitaed and put back into society. I wish John would come and clean up my state of nebraska.
maxx
would like to help you in this project . let me know what I can do to help. keep up the geat job on a well done project protecting our childern.
toni
well i have been through this i was talking to a boy on myspace. my step mom n my dad fount out about it. i got in alot of trouble was it i would have meet that guys what could have happen to me? killed raped their is so many things. now i watch out what i do at all times..
i just want to say i love my step mom n my dad for putting me on groundation because i some what learn my lesson. im not ready to die or get raped..ily toni
Sue Yang
i’m very concern about this manner…because there are alot of predators online lerking on little kids…i too have experience it..but the only thing is how do i report such issue to the police when this manner occurs…it’s not that i want to cause trouble…it’s tat this act is illegal and still those people who tends to break the law don’t care….
Emily
i know that when going on sites like myspace which i have can be dangerous but i never talk to any one only my friends and one day my sisters told me that i could get killed,raped or kidnapped and they also told me that i should never agree to meet anyone in person when i was talking to them online and i know that thanks to AMW and all the online predetors that they’ve shown i’ve been more careful and and i want to help catch them like Lauren Nelson did
Bateyed Commander
Gidday guys, I am what people call a computer geek, i am no where without my laptop. after reading a few of these comments I was thinking about a few programs my parents used on me and the best one I can think of is NetNanny its not free but its worth every penny, over here in New Zealand it was going to cost mum and dad $150 but they got it to protect us kids,,, all I can say is buy it and use it, you can put a time on for when the kids get online, and when the time is over NetNanny cuts off the internet,,, Anyway moving on from that, now i too have been victom to online stalker’s, i have my numbers and age and photo of my self on bebo but only my friends can see all that, i never have my profile public, when i was been stalked online it wasn’t on a website it was on an online chat room program i was 15 at the time, I had made alot of friends on this program and I ran to one for help about this guy (i’m male by the way) my friend was an admin in the room i went into and i gave her this guys nic name and she went to the help room and reported him,,, i am now an admin in one of the rooms and i have had about 50 guys over the age of 26 come into my room in the last 4 weeks, not a single one of them has been on the program since.
holly barrow
hey lauren well like i went to that internet safety thing at rms in florida thruesday and you done such a awesome job good job darlinn [:
Reggiona&Solonia
hi john walsh i love you so much
Reggiona&Solonia
hi you got friends
Reggiona&Solonia
i be on myspace so my mom told me to stay off
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