Virtually everyone is directly impacted by the internet. On a daily basis, millions of humans log on- to Facebook, Google+, to check their emails, update a status or Google-search something. Teenagers are usually on the centre of all these, chatting, surfing and learning on Passnownow.com. Sadly, they are often the ones most-prone to the many dangers associated with the internet. It could be due to youthful exuberance or the fact that they have limited knowledge; so they find themselves caught up in the web’s dangers.
There are several sexual predators exploiting teenage girls [and boys] on the internet every day, demanding for all forms of sexual gratifications [sexting] and potentially pressuring and blackmailing the young folks into doing things they naturally wouldn’t want to do just yet. Moreover, teenagers are also exposed to several unwholesome contents while surfing the internet, talk about pornography of all sorts and how [unfavourably] they can shape young minds. It’s also been reported how terrorist organization use the internet as their baiting ground. There are indeed lots of dangers associated with the internet and hence the need for teenagers to stay safe.
The safety tips I’m about to share with you below are given by experts in the field of child welfare. It is therefore very important for every teenager to meticulously observe them while using the internet.
How to Stay Safe on the Internet
Never give out personal information, such as your name, home address, phone number, the name of your school, pictures, credit card numbers, or the names of your parents without permission from your parents.
- Never meet in person with someone you met online.
- Never give out your password to anyone.
- Use a gender neutral username in chat roomsso you are less likely to receive pornographic material or other forms of harassment. If you do receive pornographic material, report it to your local police department.
Internet Privacy
- The Internet is not very private anymore. The world gets smaller as Facebook and Google continue to grow. To see for yourself, try “Googling” yourself (Google search your name). What you find is what everyone else finds.
- If you find your unwanted information online, double check all of your privacy settings for online profiles.
- Again, never give out your password to anyone.
- This article from The Guardian UK talks about using browser cookies to keep your privacy on the Internet.
E-mail Safety
- Never open links or files from people you do not know.
- Never open, forward, or respond to e-mails with pornographic or other inappropriate material.
- Never respond to advertisements – this confirms that you have a working e-mail account, and you will only receive more junk e-mail.
Chat Rooms
Chat rooms can be particularly dangerous. Even when chat rooms are specifically for teens, participants are not necessarily all teens.
Adult predators who have made up an identity to hide his or her age may lurk or hide in chat rooms. Always follow the general Internet safety guidelines in any chat room.
Assessing a Web Site
-
Check for a valid author, a valid contact for the author or organization, and make sure that the information is up to date, especially if the information is health related.
-
Assess the credibility of the organization or author to write on the specific topic.
-
Check the Web site address to see what the domain name includes: .com (commercial),.gov (government), .org (organization), .net(network), .edu (educational organization), or a two letter country code (country of origin). This can tell you whether the site’s main goal is education or sales.
-
Never blindly trust online information. See if the site seems biased or if it is trying to persuade you in a particular direction.
–www.pamf.org
