Chatting

=Know Who You Are Talking To=

It is true that the Internet is an incredible tool that can be used for school, work, or any common everyday use. However, there is a danger when using this tool. While on the Internet, the greatest threat to your safety is talking to the people that you do not know and giving away too much information about yourself. If you do not know who you are talking to, it does not mean that you should just avoid them entirely. It just means that you should not pursue them. If you keep having conversations with these people on the Internet, it becomes very easy to think that you are friends,and can just tell them anything. There definitely is some information that you should not put on the Internet, [|Doctorndtv.com] explains what information is too inappropriate. These problems would start where these predators, cyberbullies, hackers, etc. know that kids are hanging out in cyberspace. When kids get involved it is so easy for these people to cause harm because the kids are not really paying attention to the possibilities of what people can do. Chat rooms, Social Networks, and E-mail can cause your computer to become infected with viruses, spam, spyware and all kinds of other problems that you just don't want, especially something like this.

media type="custom" key="242475"


 * Chatting**

When on the Internet you should always worry about spam, viruses, and predators. It seems that the predator problem is happening more and more often. One of the main causes for this is that predators can easily find kids in chats. Chatting is another great technology tool because it keeps the world connected in a single conversation. What happens when kids go on unsupervised, and all kinds of predators find them? How do you protect them from that? It might be true that you cannot shut out all of the predators, but you can still //**teach**// the kids about being safe and responsible online. The first and most important thing to teach them is not to give out any private information online. When they understand this, the next step is teaching them how to use the protection tools on the web. If the harassment continues then the person should know that he/she has to get out of the chat as fast as possible. If harassment still continues through Instant Messages, then Internet users should take advantage of browsers like A.O.L. that has a tool called “blocking,” which will make sure that they never come in contact with you again.


 * Social Networks**

It is very easy to figure out information about someone, and social networks only makes it easier. Now social networks are also a part of Web 2.0, and they have great use, but the problem is that too many people put too much information on their page. Social Networks like Facebook and Myspace have over a million profiles individually listed on these sites. [|NYmag.com] offers a perfect example of putting too much information on a page. Another extension of the [|site] shows perfect examples of real people and how they ended up showing the world their stories. The problem with this is that as soon as information is posted to the Internet it can be somewhere else the very next second. The best way to deal with this is to limit what you put on the web. Do not accept invites from anyone that you do not know. Why is that? Because you do not know the person and even if you have a private profile they will then have full access to your profile. It would not be a surprise for a perfect stranger to know all about you. Most (if not all) of today's generation uses social networks because it allows people to keep in touch with their friends even if you are unable to see them in person. This lady, [|Alice Mathias,] has a strong distaste for Facebook.

Although it is unfortunate it is true that there is not total security in Facebook or Myspace. There are still many instances in which bad things happen to good people. One of the more infamous moments of how irresponsible people can be on these social networks is the Megan Meier. She was a young girl who was friend requested on Myspace by a "hot" guy, and the only reason she approved him was because of how the picture look and not because she actually knew who he was. After time had passed Megan had become so attached to this boy that she saw him as a great friend, but what she did not know was that the young man "Josh" was not real at all. He was a false account created by an angry mother who lived up the street from Megan, and the sole purpose of this account was to bully Megan. Unfortunately the plan worked and Megan was so worked up over the whole thing that it caused here to take her own life. For the full story visit [|The Megan Meier Foundation].


 * E-mail**

Online mail is much more efficient and much quicker than regular post mail. E-mail is good and useful in so many ways. It's keeps you connected to you friends and your neighbors, but it does so much more than that because it also keeps everyone in the world connected together. Unfortunately, this can also lead to bad situations. Everyone in the word staying connected is not always the best thing. Should your computer be infected with something like a virus, then it could cause your computer to send an E-mail, which would then infect your friends' computer, which would then infect their friends' computer in a continuing process. Your computer is more vulnerable when you are accepting E-mail and opening them from just anyone even people that you don't know.


 * Online Shopping**

There are many places on the Internet where you can buy many things from people who no longer want the item being sold (much like a garage sale). The more famous sites for this are [|Craigslist] and [|E-bay]. These are a good way to get fully functional products at a good price, but there are also posts where people just ask for too much information. Some even ask for your social security number and proof of citizenship, Now you probably are not going to give your ss# to just anyone, but there are other posts that are more subtle about asking for too much information.

Web 2.0 includes incredible tools that allows people to do so much, and it keeps the entire world connected so people can have a better source of communication. Some people do not like the change that is Web 2.0, but for the most part everyone uses it more often then they even realize. The thing about staying in Web 2.0 is that no matter where you are, you are still digitally communicating and even socializing with the world and everyone in it, so it helps to know what you are doing. More importantly, it helps to know who you are talking to because if you don't then it could be very dangerous for not only you but everyone around you.

-

Last updated {$revisiondate}

© 2007-2008 Millis Public Schools, under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. The opinions and viewpoints here in reflect those of the individuals, not of the school as a whole.