Internet safety - be safe - stay safe

You know, I have been online on the Internet for many years now and just like anyone else I love to make friends and chat online. It really is a wonderful thing to be able to chat to someone else across the other side of the world and also it’s a thrill to chat with someone who lives just round the corner to us.

I have met online so many wonderful long-term friends some of whom I have come face to face with in real life. I have even travelled to the other side of the world to holiday with a lady I met on the Internet.

But I have also come across numerous other people, people I would have preferred not to speak to in the first place:

People who aren’t always as nice as they first seemed to be.

People who aren’t always really who they pretend to be or say they are.

People sometimes who given the chance want to cause hurt and harm to others.

People who sometimes prey on others weakness and ignorance of personal safety.

Ok at times we all might make up a little story about ourselves and say things that aren’t quite true, but there are people out there on the Internet who deliberately set out to disguise themselves and their real intentions towards others they get to chat with online.

We all know the places we come in contact with them, chat rooms and instant messengers or anywhere that people online can make contact with each other.

They could be anyone you have on your contact list, because you really have no way of knowing who they actually are.

You really do not know whom that person is that you are chatting to; you cannot make a real decision if they are safe or not or whether they can actually be trusted.

A simple conversation with someone you don’t know, can be very revealing.

The little snippets of information, which seem like they don’t matter, are a jigsaw puzzle for the Internet predator and he cleverly pieces that picture of you and your life together.

He/she is very skilled in the way he talks to you, he can make you trust him, getting so much information about you, without you even realising, about your family, your school, your work, your address, what you look like….. the list goes on and on… and you don’t even realise that he is collecting information on you.

We all have to be extremely careful with the people we talk to, with the information we give out about ourselves. Sometimes they can take us in by ‘seeming to be so nice and friendly’…we feel that we can trust them.

WRONG…… on the internet.. you have NO way of knowing if you can trust someone at all. They are very clever people if they are determined enough.

For our own safety we have to be aware of certain precautions we need to take.

1) Never give out your real name, address, phone number or any personal details about yourself, date of birth, your school or town.

2) Be careful what you tell anyone about your family, or where you live and when showing pictures do not include a picture of your own house, even if it’s in the background.

3) Do not give out your email address to people you don’t know or in public.

4) Don’t give out your Screen names of instant messengers in public.

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Ok. With those things in mind we get to actually chatting with someone. We need to be aware of the things they are saying or asking.

1) If they say anything which makes you feel uncomfortable

2) If they make any sexual references to or about you,

3) If they start asking very personal questions,

4) If they use a lot of profanities in a sexual way,

5) If their conduct is quite inappropriate for your gender or age.

6) If they make unusual suggestions about you, the way you dress, or your own actions,

7) If their conversation is something you know your parents would not approve of,

8) If they suggest meeting in person, secretly

9) If they try to persuade you to do anything either that you don’t want to, you don't feel comfortable with or that your parents or guardian wouldn’t approve of,

Then STOP the conversation.

Cut them off and do not speak to that person again. Go and tell someone, an adult, a friend, a responsible person or someone who can look at the situation and advise you.

NEVER meet up with someone you have chatted to on the internet, how ever long you may have known them online, without telling a friend, your parents or someone responsible.

ALWAYS give someone responsible the details of the person you are meeting, the date, time, place, and the time you plan to be back and make sure that you ARE back at that time.

NEVER meet someone alone. If the person you want to meet is genuine. Then they won’t mind you bringing a friend along with you.

It’s true what they say.. ‘There is safety in numbers’.

If you do actually arrange to meet someone, make sure it is in a public place where there are plenty of other adults around and where it is safe to meet and where other people and passers by can see you.

Not only do we need to take these safety precautions for ourselves, but also we need to look out for others too who use the Internet.

We all have friends we talk to from school or work that chat on the Internet too. Sometimes they may tell us of people they chatted to or are intending to meet, sometimes secretly where they are putting themselves in danger.

For their safety, we need to be vigilant and if they are not taking the safety precautions themselves then we need to tell someone about it.

Tell a responsible adult about what is happening. Then that person can try to ensure your friend’s safety.

The Internet is a great resource but it can also be a dangerous place.

I will add here.. this applies to a small minority of predators who stalk the internet for unwary, uninformed people, not everyone is like this but just beware of whom you talk to, and never say anything online which you wouldn't want your Mum or Dad to read or see. 

That minority of predators are a potential danger to us and spoil it for the majority of genuine people.

Let us ALL be aware of those dangers and keep others and ourselves safe and free from harm.