Date

5-2024

Document Type

Capstone Project (Open Access)

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Department

Human Development & Family Science

Major

Human Development & Family Science

Abstract

This capstone project focuses on digital safety for adolescents who have already been or are accessing online spaces for the first time. Adolescents today have been growing up in the age of technology and are likely to have had access to digital devices, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and gaming consoles, from a much younger age than previous generations. Today, 96% of teens in the U.S. say they use the internet daily, with about 95% of teens reporting having a smartphone (Faverio & Sidoti, 2024). With adolescents accessing the internet more often, they must understand the risks they may encounter online and how to navigate it safely and responsibly. Adolescents are more vulnerable to online risks, such as phishing scams, grooming, or other dangerous behaviors. Because of this, there is a need for comprehensive online safety education that explains the potential risks they may come across with real-life examples and tools to navigate online spaces in safe and smart ways. My project will first describe the potential risks of the internet, using the four main categories of online risks (content, contact, conduct, and commerce). Secondly, the project will explain the potential dangers and benefits of talking to people online and online friendships. Lastly, the project will highlight examples of ways adolescents can protect themselves online using the acronym SMART (Stay Safe, Don’t Meet Up, Accepting Files, Reliable?, and Tell Someone) and how to implement it into their online lives. My capstone project will address this by providing a one-time workshop incorporating these three lessons in an interactive presentation that includes videos from adolescents' experiences and points of view and an assessment of their knowledge. This workshop will be presented at the Village Project’s after-school site in Seaside, California, with participants ages 12 to 15 years old who have access to the internet through digital devices.

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