Internet Safety

 The Internet can be an excellent resource to help adults and children to have access to information for research as well as an easy way to connect to people all around the world.  Although the Internet has many positive aspects there is also many negatives about the Internet that can damage a child and adults life.   Internet safety is one of the most prominent issues that face young children today.  There are many types of problems with the Internet whether it is cyber-bullying, keeping personal information safe, or even protecting children from provocative websites and sex offenders.  It is very important for parents to understand how to prevent theses issues and to keep their child safe.

 Cyber-bullying is bullying using the computer or any other technological device to say or post something mean, rude, and vulgar in a deliberate manner.  This type of bullying usually takes place on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter they can also take place on instant messaging and chat rooms.  There are some new issues that arise from Internet bullying verses traditional bullying.  One of the biggest issues that the person bullying a child can remain anonymous.  This issue frees the person from being accused and being punished.  Another issue with cyber-bullying is the lack of supervision.  Depending on the messages it can be private so that only the sender and recipient can view it.  This makes it difficult for police and other officials that monitor chat room sites to see these issues.  Teenagers and children as a general rule know more about technology than most adults so therefore many children can delete any bad messages so that their parent or guardian cannot find out.  Another factor that effects cyber-bullying is the fact that teenagers have their cell phones with them at all times which makes them a potential target.  With constant access to these phones and technology many children get wrapped up into the comments which causes lowering self-esteem and may cause the child to go into isolation.  One possible advantage to the bullying done on computers is that a person can simply just avoid the website or chat room all together.  This video shows more information about how to prevent cyber-bullying.

Keeping personal information safe online is very hard to do.  With all the websites that the Internet has to offer it is hard to know which sites are safe and reliable.  Information that is usually taken are social security numbers, credit and debit card numbers, and other important information.  Online Banking Report states that forty-four million households bank and pay bills online.  There are many ways that everyone can protect their personal information.  One of the most important ways is to constantly be aware of who and how you give out your personal information.  Never give your personal information to any website that is offering a prize or free money.  All of these sites are scam and they will take your information.  It is also important to never give out your social security number unless it is a government site that you know is trustworthy.  Always keep a close watch on your banking accounts.  If there is any money being spent that you do not know about then immediately contact the bank and report a fraud.  The use of strong passwords is important when logging into a bank or other important accounts.  Passwords that are easy to remember are going to be easy to break into as well.  It is important to add special characters and numbers to make your password more secure.

 Using the Internet unattended is one of the easiest ways for children to come upon inappropriate websites.  Many children without even meaning to will come upon pornography or other bad websites by just mistyping a link or question into a search bar.  It is important for parents to discuss with their children the dangers of the Internet and how to avoid bad websites.  There are many things that parents can do to insure that their children are safe from these websites.  Many computers have parental control setting that allow parents to block certain websites so that even if the child tries to look at it, they will be unable to.  Another way is to put the child's websites in the favorites tool bar so that it is easy for them to go to the correct website.  Make sure that the children ask for permission before using the computer for any reason and constantly keep your eye on the sites that they are using.  It is important to explain to the children why these sites are bad and that they should avoid them all the time.  Although children can find bad things on the Internet it is important to let your child use it for schoolwork and other social activities.  As long as the child is closely monitored than there should be no problems.

 The Internet is an great source for children to learn new information and to be able social with their friends.  Even though the Internet has many positive aspects it is important to inform children and adults about the dangers and how they can be prevented.  It is very easy for cyber-bullying to happen, and for personal information to be taken from a computer.  It is important for parents to control the websites their children use and to explain to them the importance of Internet safety. Their are many good websites such as yoursafetyguide.com that helps children and adults learn how to effectively and safely use the Internet.