2008 Woodie Awards
R.I. middle school principal discusses Internet security issues at Forensic Seminar
Chris Curtis
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: News
03/11/08 - Dr. Lawrence Filippelli presented a lecture Friday about the topic of Internet security from his unique point of view as a middle school principal.
The lecture, held in Pastore Hall as part of the Forensic Science Seminar Series, focused on Internet predators, the dangers posed by social networking Web sites, and the recent phenomenon of cyber-bullying.
It is the new modes of communication embraced in recent years, such as instant messaging and video dialogue that are responsible for the new forms of victimization, Filippelli said.
"This is the way that kids are choosing to communicate with each other and it has many different facets of problem," Filippelli said. "What kids don't realize is that [sex offenders] are more often than not the other people on the other ends of the IMs."
Filippelli is principal of Scituate Middle School in Rhode Island as well as supervisor of the Crisis Response Team for Scituate schools and an adjunct professor and lecturer at Johnson & Wales University.
Filippelli's first brush with Internet security happened at his school after a student was sent to his office.
The student's cell phone had rung in class and after questioning, told Filippelli the caller was an unknown man who had been calling her regularly. He later discovered that the girl had posted detailed personal information online, which helped the stranger locate her.
Filippelli said sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com are largely responsible for the increase in cyber-stalking. Many younger users are posting personal information online, partly because they are not mature enough to recognize the possible consequences.
"From that age of about 12 to 21-years-old, the frontal lobe of their brain is not developed enough to make those long-term decisions," Filippelli said.
Filippelli also attributed this behavior to technology addiction.
"We see the kids exhibit almost the exact same symptoms as when they're addicted to a drug when they're addicted to technology," said Filippelli.
The lecture, held in Pastore Hall as part of the Forensic Science Seminar Series, focused on Internet predators, the dangers posed by social networking Web sites, and the recent phenomenon of cyber-bullying.
It is the new modes of communication embraced in recent years, such as instant messaging and video dialogue that are responsible for the new forms of victimization, Filippelli said.
"This is the way that kids are choosing to communicate with each other and it has many different facets of problem," Filippelli said. "What kids don't realize is that [sex offenders] are more often than not the other people on the other ends of the IMs."
Filippelli is principal of Scituate Middle School in Rhode Island as well as supervisor of the Crisis Response Team for Scituate schools and an adjunct professor and lecturer at Johnson & Wales University.
Filippelli's first brush with Internet security happened at his school after a student was sent to his office.
The student's cell phone had rung in class and after questioning, told Filippelli the caller was an unknown man who had been calling her regularly. He later discovered that the girl had posted detailed personal information online, which helped the stranger locate her.
Filippelli said sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com are largely responsible for the increase in cyber-stalking. Many younger users are posting personal information online, partly because they are not mature enough to recognize the possible consequences.
"From that age of about 12 to 21-years-old, the frontal lobe of their brain is not developed enough to make those long-term decisions," Filippelli said.
Filippelli also attributed this behavior to technology addiction.
"We see the kids exhibit almost the exact same symptoms as when they're addicted to a drug when they're addicted to technology," said Filippelli.