Students learn about the dark side of technology
A teen romance of the 21st century might go something like this: Girl receives Facebook friend request from boy who says he saw her at a basketball game. Girl likes his profile photo, so she accepts. Boy starts messaging girl and eventually learns all kinds of details about her.
“What she didn’t realize,” investigative technology expert Jim Dill revealed,” was that 16-year-old boy was really a 56-year-old male. There’s no way you’re going to know this, because on social media, anybody can assume a new identity.”
Dill presented separate programs Jan. 25 of “Teens and Technology: Hidden Dangers and Unintended Consequences” to students at St. Thomas More School in Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair High School’s ninth- and 10th-graders.
“The thing that you need to understand is: When you distribute a picture of a juvenile, that’s child pornography. They don’t care whether you’re 13, 15, 16.”
Continuing to tell the actual story of a 14-year-old Ohio girl who was deceived by a much older man, Dill described how her supposedly high school-age admirer asked for a photo of her wearing a bra and panties.
“She knew she shouldn’t do this,” Dill said, “but she did, anyway.”
Then came the request for a topless photo, which she refused to submit.
“Now, this is where it gets bad,” Dill told his audience of fifth- through eighth-graders, plus some of their parents, at St. Thomas More. “He said to her, ‘Oh, I think you’ll send me that photo, because if you don’t, I know your mom and dad. I know your church group. I know all your friends.”
When he threatened to distribute her underwear image among them, she complied with his demand.
“It’s a crime. It’s called ‘sextortion,'” Dill explained. “Predators do this all the time for photos and other things, and I just want to make you aware: This happens a lot.”
A retired deputy chief for the state attorney general’s office with 35 years of law enforcement experience, Dill presented several other case studies to illustrate what he termed a “very adult topic,” with the goal of helping students avoid serious trouble.
By Jacob Calvin Meyer
Staff writer
jmeyer@thealmanac.net
Upper St. Clair High School students listen a social media presentation from Jim Dill and District Judge Ronald Arnoni.
“Let’s face it. You guys know technology. You know how to use technology, probably better than your parents do and a lot better than how most folks do,” Dill told the older Upper St. Clair students. “But a lot of times there’s a big difference in knowing how to use technology and knowing how technology works. But you’ve got to learn how to do it intelligently and not make those mistakes.”
A study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, for example, showed that one of every four explicit photos of teens eventually found its way to an adult’s computer.
“They send each other pictures,” Dill said about teen couples. “They break up. They’re angry with each other. So what do they do with the photos? They post them on social media, and a predator ends up getting them.”
Dill also emphasized the potential consequences of such actions.
“The thing that you need to understand is: When you distribute a picture of a juvenile, that’s child pornography. They don’t care whether you’re 13, 15, 16.”
Principal Joe Rosi, who places an emphasis on technology education at St. Thomas More, explained the benefits of programs like Dill’s.
“Sometimes the internet can be a dangerous place,” he said. “And it’s part of our job as educators to give the kids the tools to be able to not only avoid the pitfalls but understand what responsibility means when somebody hands you a cellphone.”
Dill reiterated that point, saying technology offers incredible opportunities and danger.
“My goal is to make you think one extra second before you hit that send button, because once you hit that send button it’s gone and it’s really hard, or impossible, for it to be deleted,” he later told the Upper St. Clair students. “You’re carrying a portable computer with you with amazing capabilities. Make sure you protect that the way you should be. … Think of the information someone could learn about you if they have your phone.”
Joining Dill on stage, District Judge Ronald Arnoni said it was an important discussion to have with kids.
“I am passionate about this because I have kids, and I see this stuff day in and day out in my courtroom,” Arnoni said. “That’s why I’m here today. I don’t want to see you in my courtroom.”