Information for Young Adults

from the Internet Safety Group.

The following article by Nathan (Nate) Gaunt, who is currently doing his Doctorate in Psychology at the University of Auckland on 'Friendship on the Internet', has been lifted directly from the Internet Safety Group site (23 May 2006).

So what is the Internet?

What a question to answer! The Internet is many different things to many different people. What one person might use the Net for might not be anything like why another uses it. But basically (very basically) the Internet is a huge network of networks that connects users (us) with other users (them). Originally, the Net was designed as a way for the scientists and the military to communicate with each other by sending each other messages from computer to computer. This was nothing special, except that the Internet was developed so that no particular computer was in control of the others, and so if there was a nuclear war, and some of the computers in the network were destroyed, the others that were still 'alive' could carry on communicating with each other. So, essentially the Internet was designed to be uncontrollable!

It ain't called the web for nothing!

Whoever thought of calling the Net the 'World Wide Web' chose the name well. It is a web in every aspect - broad, with lots of different threads, and very (very) sticky! Beautiful, but also dangerous to those who do not know just how sticky it is! Just as unaware bugs and insects get caught in spiders' webs, so can unaware net users can get stuck, stung and sucked in on the Net's web (even clever users like you and me). Just think of a bug flying near a spider's web. You only have to be wrong once to find yourself in a whole heap of trouble.

So, the message is basic!. YOU don't want to be a bug caught out by the web! YOU want to be a cool little spider that can run around the web safely without getting stuck. But how?

But how do we stay safe on the Net?

I wish I could answer this question by saying "The answer is simple!!". Sorry folks! It's just not that simple. Staying safe on the Net takes effort and awareness. It is something you will have to work on, get real good at, and keep practising forever. However, there are some simple things to remember.

Here are the big things to start with:

Blabbing about ourselves

Be very careful with what you tell others about yourself on the Net. It is sometimes easy to get a bit lazy or daring with what we share about ourselves with others on the Net. It is a very sad fact that some other Net users are not nice people, and even worse, might actually want to harm you.

So!.. KEEP IT REAL.

Tell people only what you think they should know about you. Hold back details about yourself that could get you into a situation you can't get out of.

What do I mean?

Don't give out your surname, address, and phone number. Using a fake name or 'nic' is a good idea if you are unsure of who you are talking to. And photos! Don't get me started on photos!

Photos!
(now I am starting on photos)

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but on the Net a picture is FOREVER. You have to assume that any picture you post on the Internet is going to leave you forever, and that you cannot ever get it back. Ever. Downloading and copying images on the Net is super easy. Now you can do it from mobile phones.

So think about it! Is the pic you want to send to someone online suitable for everybody in the whole world to see, download, and use? How would you feel if even a so-called 'harmless' geeky school pic of your smiling face ended up on a sleazy website, stuck on someone else's body, or stuck in some dodgy persons wallet and carried about everywhere? Too freaky? I think so.

Horror story: I recently heard about a person who was chatting to someone in a chat room. Their new friend offered to send a pic of himself, and guess what he got? A pic of his partner that he had sent to someone else years ago. Freaky huh?? So, think before you send.

Meeting people in person.

The Net is a common place to make friends and even boy/ girlfriends. However it is all too easy to get sucked in and let your guard down. Some people who are normally very careful and cautious about their own and other's safety do some very wild and silly things online because it doesn't seem 'real'.

It's real all right. And don't you forget it.

Would you go on a date with someone you knew nothing about, to a place where no one else was, without telling anyone what you were doing? I hope not! Well the same rules apply for people you meet on the Net, even if you 'feel' that you really know this person. Tell someone who you trust (preferably your caregiver/s), make it a public place at a busy time where you can leave or get help if you want. Never in their car. Never in their house. Never without telling someone else. Even better, take someone with you. Remember it is quite normal to be cautious when having a net-meet. If the other person does not want to go by your rules, its over-rover. They are dodgy and definitely not worth the risk. Besides, even if they are OK, who needs friends who do not respect your concerns and feeling?

The end-blurb

So to sum it all up, staying safe is about staying real. The Net is a cool place, and most of the people you meet will be honest and harmless! it's the few that are not that you have to watch out for.

Over the next months I will be chatting about other ways in which you can protect yourself and your computer when you use the Net, and also how the Net can affect how we think, feel and act (sometimes in some very weird ways).

Until then... Happy Netting and stay safe