internet safetyness

In about 1 page describe your opinions about internet safety, what changes, if any, you will make about how to use the internet. How does this apply to teens or the students you would teach? Also, tell about the internet safety lesson you gave – who you taught, highlights, etc.

I think internet safety is one of the most important things a person should know about, yet it is one of the most overlooked qualities about the internet. Many people are oblivious to what some people can and will do with the information they find on the internet. Even if a person is very cautious with their information, bad things can still happen (some people are very tech and internet savvy and will use their powers for evil).

For example: my older sister is fairly cautious with the information she puts on the internet. A few months ago, an e-mail got sent from her account saying she was in London and had been mugged and no longer had any money or anyway get travel and that if people could, they should help her out with money. We found out that this had happened because several relatives had called me and asked if she was alright (I hadn't checked my e-mail yet, so I wasn't sure what was going on) and when they told me she was in London and had been mugged, I was very confused. I told them that she was safe and in Indiana, not London. We have no idea how this creep got into her email, but somehow they did. I assume that if people had responded, the person would have asked for credit card information. I think we notified everyone in time before that happened, and my sister deleted her account. We have no idea how this happened, as she is pretty good with the information she has put out there. Some people are just tech savvy creepers and make bad choices with their abilities. Oh well. They'll have to face judgment day at some point...

If I were to make any changes, I would limit the age of a person who can have an e-mail or be on facebook. I know that many websites do this, but people (teens and kids I guess) lie about their age so they can be online. If there was a way to enforce this, I would (but people must have their agency I suppose). I would also advocate to parents and teens about what kind of information they put online, and also tell them to check out any and all privacy settings for the website they are on. I would also inform them of basics (don't give out your passwords, don't tell people where you live, be cautious, etc.). I think people should have safety seminars and instructions on how to be safe. I also think that popular websites should have advertisements and links to videos about internet safety.

This applies to the students I would teach (or teens in general) a lot. It seems that that age is the most oblivious to the bad things that can come from putting to much info online or not being careful with passwords and things of that nature. Maybe it's because their naiive, or maybe they're just dumb. Whatever the reason, they should be informed of the do's and don'ts of the internet.

For teaching people about internet safety, I looked up several websites that teach and promote safety. I shared these websites with a few of my friends (Alex, Colin, Lisa, and Nate to be exact). We looked through some of the websites together and discussed what they promoted. Some of the sites we looked at were: kidshealth.org isafe.org NetSmart.org. We all wished that people would stop creeping and use their internet powers for good and not for evil (this doesn't really seem likely though.... dang you, adversary!)