Internet Safety with the Hubby

I talked with my husband, who is 24 about internet safety. He knows how dangerous it is to put personal information on the internet. He also said how a lot of people will try to take advantage of you over the internet and when you allow people to see all of your personal information you give them the opportunity.

We talked about the video I watched and I told him the story about the girl who got in a "girl fight" and the video was put on youtube. The girl was concerned about getting into college because they can search the internet and see this. We started talking and he said how on your facebook you should be careful what you post and what pictures you put on because anyone can search your name and this information shows up. It could affect you with future employment or schooling.

I shared with him some of the stories of kids that were affected and the impact it had on the family. I also told him about the article I read and how Elder Ballard said that the internet can tear families apart and how dangerous that is.

We had a really good discussion. My husband didn't grow up using the internet because it was never big in his family or among his peer group. For me I've grown up using the internet and knowing how dangerous it can be. I think he knows how dangerous it can be but didn't know how widely teenagers are using it now. Some of the things we talked about really opened his eyes to different aspects of internet safety.

Internet Safety

For the internet safety assignment I watched the Frontline video "Growing up Online" and I read the article "Let our Voices be Heard" by Elder Ballard.

The most important things I learned from the video and the article:

• Teachers need to be entertainers now and be able to include technology into their classroom
• If it's on the net, it's open to anyone
• Parents need to be involved with their children and know what is going one but not be overbearing.
• I was so shocked at how easy students thought it was to avoid a predator. They said that of course they would say no if some old man requested them as a friend on facebook, but I don't think they realize that predators are smart and trick young people.
• If we don't make good choices, the media can devestate families and tear them apart.

The internet is so influential in our lives now and it really can be a good tool to use, but as a parent and a teacher I want to teach safe internet habits. I don't think kids should spend hours on end on the computer. I think there are a lot more productive things they could be doing. That being said, I will allow them time to go on the computer because I think there are good things they can be doing online. The internet is a privlege for teens, not a right.

I think cyberbulling and online predators are so scary. When it comes to cyberbullying, it is so important to remind students that no matter what they say even if they delete it, it still was said and you don't know if it is ever really erased. When teaching against cyberbullying, ask the students if they would say this to the person, because a lot of what is said online would never be said to a persons face.

In the video I was shocked at how easy students thought it was to avoid online predators. They said, "of course we would deny someone who requested me and made a sexual comment". Online predators don't immediately come out and make sexual comments! They climb their ways into the teens lives, develop relationships and then the students act upon this. They need to understand how dangerous online predators really are.

When I am a teacher, I want to really utlize the internet for students use. I know they can gain more knowledge when they can search the internet and find the answers themselves. At the beginning of the year, I will spend a day or two talking about the appropriate uses of the internet not only at home and at school. I want to teach students ways to interpret correct information from the internet. I may do an activity where students then go home and teach their parents what they have learned about internet safety. This could be an assignment for the family to work on together and develop ways they can be safe online at home as well. This may be hard to implement but I'd really like to try and teach students how to be safe on the internet.