Whether it be a cell phone and text messaging or a social networking Web site like Facebook, children use technology today more than ever.
That's why the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Springfield Township Police Department spent Thursday speaking to students about technology responsibility.
"We are talking about cyber issues, cyber ethics, cyber safety, cyber bullying," said Kathleen Nichols, of the attorney general's office. "We're going to talk about inappropriate use of technology like in cases of sexting. Inappropriate use of cell phones, things like that."
Students will sometimes try to hide behind a screen name or a text message and think that saying hurtful things is OK.
"Kids have said to me that it's so much easier to say things to other kids via the Internet or texting that they wouldn't necessarily say to somebody else's face," said Aimee Schweers, with the Springfield Township Police Department. "It's nameless, faceless bullying."
Technology can also open up kids to criminals, so education for both student and parent about technology safety is important.
"We have security measures and firewalls and restrictions on what students have access to on the Internet here at school," said David Malone, Springfield principal. "But often times, problems that arise at home or outside in the community spill over into the school."
Schweers said parents can first talk to their kids.
"That's the best tool, is communication," she said. "But they can also look at history settings on the computer. They can make sure their privacy settings are set, their parental controls are set, on their gaming, on their computer, on their cell phones."
