Digital Safety Maven Richard Guerry Speaks at Jmore’s ‘Parenting, Perils and Possibilities’ Event

September 13, 2023 Alan Feiler, Editor-in-Chief

Richard Guerry: "The day we went digital is the day we went into a fishbowl." (Photo by Hal Martin)

During his talk at Jmore’s “Parenting, Perils and Possibilities: Diving into Digital” gathering, Richard Guerry rambled around Goucher College’s Merrick Lecture Hall and repeatedly held up an electric barbecue lighter to ignite a flame.

“You see, it can keep you warm if you put your hand just above it … or it can burn you,” Guerry said to the audience, comparing the flame to digital technology. “You can get hurt by any tool — a lighter, a drill, a hammer. So we need to constantly communicate with our kids. [Technology] is their tool. We need to give them the skills to be as creative as they can be and have the opportunity for the next generation to learn from.”

A former corporate interactive marketing executive and author of “Public and Permanent: The Golden Rule of the 21st Century, Straight Talk about Digital Safety” (Balboa Press), Guerry is founder and executive director of the Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication.

Based in the Philadelphia suburb of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, IROC2 is a nonprofit striving to “promote responsible use of technology.” Guerry speaks at approximately 200 workshops and gatherings annually to schools, law enforcement agencies and other groups about such issues as cyber cruelty, communication in gaming, parental digital control and social media.

Co-sponsors and vendors at the Sept. 12 event included Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community Day School, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Krieger Schechter Day School, Gilman School, Goucher, Jewish Community Services, McDonogh School, the Park School of Baltimore and SAJE.

Media co-sponsors included PressBox, WTMD and WYPR.

Dr. Bushra Rizwan, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the psychiatric mental health program at Kennedy Krieger Institute, also spoke at the event.

Sounding at different times like a crusader, rapper and auctioneer, the rapid-speaking Guerry said his “golden rule” is to always remember that “digital activity is public and permanent.” He said too many adults and young people forget this simple fact and believe their photos, communications and posts are private.

“There is no complete privacy,” he said. “It all goes into the cloud, and the clouds and servers back it up. [Technology] is a window to the world, and we have to help kids understand that the window works two ways. The day we went digital is the day we went into a fishbowl.”

Too often, cyber cruelty — hate speech, racism, shaming and bullying — prevails among youngsters in their digital transactions, said Guerry, a father of two teenagers.

“We have to help our kids understand that something incredible happens with this,” he said, holding up a cellphone. “You might want to capture something forever, and that’s exactly what happens. We need to help them deal with anger in the digital world and help our kids understand that this can be a weapon.”

Guerry offered the example of Yuri Wright, a top football recruit in New Jersey who in 2012 was expelled from his high school for posting inappropriate and offensive Tweets.

“He wasn’t seven years old; he was 17,” Guerry said. “Think about all that his family went through [over the years to get Wright to the point of being a top recruit], and in one second in this young man’s life, he annihilated it all online. He lost everything.”

He also gave an example of a young woman who went viral when she was unknowingly filmed at a gasoline station and failed at repeated attempts to refuel her vehicle.

“Does the person who posted this [embarrassing] video understand that we’re all just one second from being that woman?” Guerry said. “Most people don’t realize there are so many cameras always around us. Be a role model. Change is possible but it starts with you. When you take a photo and post it, that’s long-term.”

Guerry compared allowing children and youngsters to become digital citizens without any communication and/or warnings to giving someone a driver’s license without any driver’s education classes.

“We talk about preventative stuff offline, but not about online,” he said. “From a young age, kids are posting. But then years later comes a background check for a job. We have to set guidelines for our children.”

Guerry emphasized that parents and guardians need to talk to youngsters about their communication habits while gaming online with friends, acquaintances and strangers. He gave the example of a 16-year-old he met at a workshop who told him of encountering a sexual predator while playing World of Warcraft.

“Just like we tell them not to talk to strangers, we have to tell them to limit their conversations with their friends and others while gaming, because there are millions of people [listening] out there,” Guerry said. “We have to tell our kids at a young age about how to talk while playing games.

“Our kids are growing up with this. If they can take the power and make it work for them, they can use technology to gain wisdom and be successful. If they understand that, they’ll be low-risk and highly rewarded.”

When talking to children and young adults about technology, Guerra said it’s important to look at the big picture and remind them that their digital imprint is part of their overall legacy.

“Ask them what they want the next generation to see,” he said. “Technology is public and permanent. What do you want to leave behind for the next generation?”

In addition, Guerry called on parents and guardians to keep up with the latest trends in technology.

“We have the tools to connect with the planet, so we have to communicate with kids and learn how to use technology,” he said. “Help them understand that these things are windows to the entire planet. If we can help our kids to learn how to use these tools, they can do incredible things.”