Protect yourself on the internet

BE forewarned, today’s Cyber Scholar subject, internet safety and digital citizenship, is scary, dangerous and graphic.

While this lesson is geared toward teenagers, you may want to speak to your parents about having younger siblings watch the video below called Caught in the Web. It is never too early to learn about protecting yourself on the internet.

Internet safety requires an understanding that you should never trust a stranger you meet online. We think of internet predators as adults who create false profiles on social media and make themselves appear to be children or teenagers, but some are teenagers.

Next, you must understand strangers speaking to you on the internet will never seem like predators. They are skilled in knowing how to befriend children and teens.

Internet predators are generally good listeners, who gain your trust by making you feel they have a bond with you. They present themselves as having the same interests as you. Then they undermine the authority figures around you. They ease into making you believe that your parents are too strict or they just don’t understand you.

Every stranger is potentially harmful because it takes little imagination for someone to invent an identity online. By stealing other people’s pictures and information, internet predators can appear your age. They are good at identifying lonely, shy, vulnerable children and teens who often have trouble socialising in real life. You are never safe speaking to a stranger online.

Still, many students I have taught say that they have no problem speaking to strangers on the internet.

“I’m speaking to them from home, and I have no plans to meet them,” students have told me.

Once you make that contact, you open yourself up to sexual harassment, bullying and identity theft. Online predators are generally computer-savvy. They can find out where you live and where you go to school. They can get your personal information and become real-life stalkers.

Other students I have taught say they wouldn’t go into online chatrooms and speak to strangers, but they have no problem playing online games with strangers. Internet stalkers use gaming sites to meet people as well.

Common Sense, a nonprofit organisation that provides education information for families, say teens from 14-17 are the group most likely to be targeted to online predators. But no one is safe on the internet.

Internet predators are not the only problem students face online. The internet is misused in many ways. Bullying no longer knows any boundaries, and cyberbullying abounds. It is a violation of digital citizenship, which is the behaviour expected of people who use the internet. You should not use the internet to bully anyone, and you should not allow yourself to be bullied online. If this happens, you must report it to your parents and the police.

Internet safety starts with being careful about how you use the internet. Never share your password with anyone. This is a recipe for disaster. Don’t write your password where people can find it.

When it comes to internet safety, one of my favourite sites for students, parents and teachers can be found at commensense.org. Here is the link:

https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/internet-safety

When I taught internet safety, my favourite video to use was Caught in the Web, which is produced by the BBC. The video exposes the dangers of chatrooms, the importance of guarding your passwords, the problem of cyberbullying and internet addiction.

That link can be found on You Tube. Just type in Caught in the Web +internet safety or follow this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvq3MB3ibok

Unfortunately, we cannot discuss internet safety without being graphic. Amanda’s Story, produced by the Safe Surfin’ Foundation, is a video all secondary students should see. Amanda’s real-life story became a film called Finding Faith, about a teenager lured by a sexual predator online. Type in: Amanda’s story +internet safety or follow this link for this important story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE9dwAr7CUE

Amanda’s Story will tell you how seemingly harmless situations can lead to trouble. She met a stranger in a chatroom set up by her school to discuss homework. A stranger got into the chatroom, won her trust, stalked and kidnapped her. The video is graphic, so check with your parents before viewing.

As you will see from the links in this lesson, the internet can be a dangerous place. Use it wisely and carefully.