Online safety By Renee Chiam

Table of Contents: Understand the dangers online Training your cyber-sense Protecting yourself from the dark side of the internet Bullying on the internet How to deal with cyberbullying Becoming respectful internet citizens Using the internet responsibly Taking the surfers pledge

Understanding the dangers online The internet has mostly taken over half the world’s lives. It has most of the time proven itself useful, either for a school project or simply communicating with your friends. Sometimes though, you are also prone to its dark side. The internet is where almost everything is possible, including people that can view your personal information, Talk to you wherever and whenever. Protecting yourself is a key feature you’re required to have before accessing the internet. Over 1,000 teenagers were surveyed on their internet use in 2007. Five dangers online: Internet strangers: People who are waiting for the perfect opportunity to take advantage of you and are watching your every move. Cyberbullying: People who use the internet to bully, harass, or hurt you. Information theft: People who steal your personal information such as your password, personal information, etc. Disturbing content or images: Information you don’t want others to view. Damaging software: Viruses and unknown programs that take over your computer. 71% say they have a personal account out there. Half of them have posted pictures of themselves online. 25% have said that their parents/guardians have very little knowledge on the internet. 69% have said that they have received messages from people they don’t know. 16% have considered the thought of meeting someone they’ve talked to online. 58% have posted on their profile where they live online.

Training your cyber-sense Cyber Sense Survey: 1. You’ve been chatting with a group of online friends for about a week. You feel pretty attached to them, and one day, one of your online friends asks for your phone number to call you. What do you do? Ask for her private email address so you can send her the phone number privately. Tell her no. Give your phone number openly in the group chat. 2. You hear a group of kids talking about a website. You check it out and realize its focused on listing reasons to hate certain students from the school. What do you do? You share the information with your friends. You ignore it. You tell a supervisor. Answer key: 1: B, 2: C

Protecting yourself from the dark side of the internet Important: Never meet a person online unless your parent or guardian gives you permission and you go with a trusted person. The internet never gives you any clues if the person you’re meeting with is telling the truth. If you feel like the girl you chatted with for months is your new friend, for all you know they could be a 40 year old man in disguise. How to stay out of danger: Always keep yourself private. Don’t ever give out your private information like your telephone number, school, email, etc. Use a suitable nickname. Stay in charge of your online chats. If you ever feel pressured or bullied, end the chat. Never post pictures online. Once the picture is posted, anyone can see or change it. Save copies of the chats that make you feel uncomfortable. You can later show it as evidence to anyone willing to help. Never agree to meet someone you met online. They may feel like a friend but at the end of the day, they are just strangers. How to delete inappropriate emails: Log into your email account. Read the message (or don’t) Highlights the emails from people you don’t recognize. Press Delete. Protecting your identity: Use passwords not easy to memorise. Use your cyber sense. Update or install an anti virus and prgram software on your computer.

Cyber bullying If you think about it, cyberbullying is actually genius. Hiding behind a computer, commenting whatever you want with the opposed person most likely never knowing who the culprit was. Cyber bullying: A form of bullying that uses different forms of technology to embarrass, ridicule, or hurt someone. Cyber Bullying is becoming more and more common nowadays through a lot of teenagers’ use of their electronic device. Almost half the kids who surf the internet have been bullied online at least once. If you’ve been bullied online you should always know you are not alone; there are many things and options you can do about it. Common types of cyberbullying: Flaming: Posting rude messages about a person online. Harrassment: Directing messages that are hurtful to someone online. Impersonation: Pretending to be someone in order to make him or her embarrassed or look bad. Outing: Publishing private information of the person online. Gossip: Posting or passing unconfirmed information or rumors about someone.

How to deal with cyberbullying Cyber bullies are often nameless/faceless. They hide behind their computer screens and almost never speak face to face with the person they’re bullying. There are certain traits that all cyber bullies share in common though. They feel like they’re invisible. They feel as if they will never be caught which makes them think it’s okay to say whatever they want. They feel like they’re invincible. They know its easier to catch the bully face to face so they rely on the internet to provide them extra protection. What to do if it still continues: Press print/save: If you ever receive something that si hurtful or uncomfortable to you, save it. Keep it as evidence to later show it to someone that can help. Tell an adult: Adults are good listeners. They may suggest something you never thought of that could potentially help. They have power. They could talk to your teachers, principles, cell phone companies, etc. to take care of the problem. If it gets bad: Call for help, whether it may be the police or someone else, intimidating, blackmailing, and threats are illegal. The bully needs to know what she/he is doing is wrong. What to do if you’re being bullied online: Be cool. Don’t respond to the bullies. If you respond, you’re just falling right into their trap. If you don’t respond, the bullying might stop. Shut the bully out. Block the email address or whatever they’re using to try and communicate with you. Don’t let them get to your head.

Becoming respectful internet citizens What kind of citizen are you based on the internet world? You mind your own business, You observe what’s happening but you don’t really take part. The Observer You’re a different person online. You say and do what you don’t do in real life and you think it’s okay to break a few rules. The Alter-Ego You think that whatever your friend are doing is okay for you to do as well. The Follower You think before you act. You follow all the rules your family agreed on for using the internet. The Super Citizen How to be a super citizen: Don’t fill inboxes with unwanted messages. Keep other people’s private information you’re trusted with private. Think about other people’s feelings before you say anything. Don’t put yourself in unwanted situations. Never take part in bullying. Be honest and fair.

Using the internet responsibly Remember: You have a job to be professional and responsible when you’re using the internet. Anything you put or post can be viewed by complete strangers. Cyber survey: #1. Both your parents have always told you countless times over and over again: Never post a picture of yourself online. But you did otherwise. Now there’s a person threatening to post your picture all over the web unless you follow his demands. What do you do? #2.You’ve just taken part of an online fight and you ended up saying some things you aren’t proud of. What do you do? Answers: #1. You have to fess up. It’s probably going to be embarrassing and you also have a high chance of getting in trouble but you have to stop the person. Never post a picture of yourself on the internet unless your parents have gave you permission to do so. #2. Apologize. Everyone says things they don’t mean when they’re angry but you still have to apologize. Don’t ever reply back to someone else when you’re angry. Wait until you’ve calmed down then think carefully before you reply.

Taking the surfers pledge I, _________ will be a responsible and respectful citizen on the internet. I also understand that I will have to deal with serious consequences if I am disrespectful or irresponsible like personal danger or unwanted attention. I will never share my personal information online to the public. I will never post a picture or video of myself or anyone I know online unless I have received permission from my family. I will never meet someone I’ve talked to online unless I have permission from my parents and an adult I trust accompany me. I will tell an adult or someone I trust if I see anything on the internet that makes me feel uncomfortable or upset. I will do my best to keep viruses away from the computer. I will protect the identity of the people around me such as my friends or my family. I will show respect to people I talk to on the internet. I will not send any hurtful messages to anyone on the internet. I will tell an adult if I’m being bullied or harassed online. Facts: Only about 1 in 10 kids tell their parents they’ve been bullied online. Only about 1 in 6 parents know or are aware that their kid is being bullied online. Girl’s are two times more likely to be victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying.