Cyberbullying

With the internet offering many places to chat with friends and meet new people, it also allows for conversations to take place that no one else knows about. Although most interactive websites have controls and limitations to protect your information or to block people you don't want to talk to, there are ways to get around those limitations, having your child exposed to a cyberbully. Most of the time, when a child is being cyberbullied, their parents are unaware of the situation and it makes it hard for their child to come clean about what has been happening to them. I think that society should talk more to children about the affects of cyberbullying and how to prevent it, as well as have more awareness so that children who are being bullied over the internet don't feel so alone, and feel as though they have someone to talk to. Here is a link to a site where you can find out more on cyberbullying and how to prevent it:

http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html

Don't Judge a Website By Its Popularity

More and more people are turning to the internet for almost everything. They go to investigate medical prescriptions or to find their future spouse. One out of eight couples married last year in the United States met online and there are 31 billion searches on Google every month. I remember when I was younger and was learning about the world of the internet and networking sites, I was hesitant to put my personal information on not so popular sites but felt perfectly safe putting my city, school, and even home phone number on my Facebook profile. Why is that? Why do we feel comfortable putting personal information on websites just because we have a couple buddies that have done the same thing. Is it the fact that because so many people have an account that makes the website trustworthy? Is it possible that many people can get fooled into giving up information unknowingly to identify theft via a internet website? How many people have you known that has come across another Facebook account that has copied their information and pictures? How can you tell if a website is trustworthy or not?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY&feature=youtu.be

Who Are You Really Talking To?

Although I find this cartoon quite funny, it does raise the question of who we are actually interacting with online. I know that in recent years, there have been improvements in privacy settings on sites such as facebook. You are able to preview the people you add as friends, with the ability to browse their pictures and any other information they post. However, there are still many open chat sites, where you assume an anonymous user name and talk to whoever else is in the channel at that time. So who is to say who we are really talking to?

Leaking of Personal Information

With the latest technology, there are many different security programs, virus and spyware scanning, and internet add blockers that help to stop outside people from accessing important information on your computer. However, these programs don't stop the user from sharing this information. Even when you think you are being safe and not sharing much personal information, you could be giving little bits of information to people without even knowing it. Take Facebook for example, many people have their names, their birthdays, and even their schools posted on their site. This allows for strangers to easily find where you are or even where you live. This poses a huge threat against you and your family. So, before you update your status about where you're going tonight, or about when you have the house to yourself, think twice and don't post.

Children are unaware of internet dangers

In the past couple of years, I have found that more and more people at a young age are making "friends" over the internet. After believing they really know this person they decide to meet them. So many young girls (even boys) have met face-to-face with their online pedophile, usually in a place where dangerous things can occur, and have bad things happen to them because they were unaware of the real dangers of the internet. I think that parents and guardians need to be more aware of their children's use of the internet and they need to set up controls or boundaries so their kids don't have access to certain websites. Parents should also have discussions with their children about the hazards of sharing information or meeting people over the internet so they can be more informed and make safe decisions. There are websites available now for parents and children to gain knowledge on internet dangers:

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2002-22689.asp

Socio-Emotional Literacy

When learning socio-emotional literacy, you learn to tell wrong from right and bad from good. Knowing how to use the web with good judgement allows you to distinguish between genuine and truthful persons from the phoney and dangerous ones. People now-a-days need to focus on identifying imitators and fake people, and they need to take precautions in chat rooms, and instant messaging, as well as unsecure websites. This socio-emotional literacy comprises protecting and looking after oneself from the hazards of the digital world. Do you feel that society is going to measurable means to ensure their safety on the net?