RACINE, Wis. — Living in the digital age poses unique challenges for parents trying to keep their kids safe.
One of those challenges happened in the Walden III Middle School cafeteria when a graphic and inappropriate video of a student was airdropped by another student to the other children in the room.
Brandon Amason's sixth-grade son was playing a game with his friend on his friend’s iPhone when that video came up.
Later that afternoon, the Racine Unified School District sent out a letter to parents saying there was an incident in school but there was no safety threat to students or staff.
But Amason felt they didn't do enough to make parents aware of what happened.
“I’m not gonna say the school could've done anything to stop it,” explained Amason. “It’s terrible that it happened, but I don't think that the school, particularly the district, responded well in trying to make sure that this was contained and that this file was deleted.”
Amason shared his concerns with the district, who then sent out an updated mobile policy for devices in school, making them not allowed during school hours.
TMJ4 spoke to a representative from the school district who says their first priority is keeping all the children involved safe. They said during parent-teacher conferences this week, teachers at the school have been speaking to parents about the incident.
"I think the school needs to do everything they can to educate the parents on this," said Amason. "This was an opportunity to say, 'this happened, check your kids' phones, check on your kids.'"
He says the lesson for parents is to be vigilant because situations like this can happen to kids anywhere.
To make sure an iPhone’s airdrop is secure, the user must go to Settings > Airdrop > and make sure it’s on ‘Receiving Off’ or ‘Contacts Only.’ If it’s on ‘Everyone,’ anyone in range can send photos or videos.
