Internet Dangers

The Internet… in just 1996 there was a reported 9.5 Million people on the internet; now just imagine how many people this year if 2008 have at home access to the internet daily. That would mean an estimated 55.4 Million people world wide. Now that’s a lot, you have instant access to those people anywhere in the world, and they have access to you. It’s pretty cool when you think about it, what they are doing on the internet wondering “are they on myspace right now?” “Are they looking at the recent stocks?” “Are the getting reacquainted with long lost friends?” “Are they just keeping contact with friends?” or “Are they watching videos on you-tube or playing games with friends?”
What ever it may be the internet is a highly dangerous tool if it is not used with caution. On http://www.fbi.gov it is estimated that 21 million teenagers have access and use the internet daily. Knowledge about the internet and how to be careful to not lead a predator to your house must be enforced to keep them all safe. Wikipedia an free online encyclapedia states that at any givin moment there can be 50,000 sexual predators online. That means of the 55.4 million of the internet users around the world 49,944 of them are sex-offenders.
I am a huge fan of degrassi and datelines to catch a predator. From these two fantastic shows I have gathered a lot of knowladge about internet saftey. So here are my tips to keep you and your family safe….
1. Don’t not post pictures of your self wearing a school t-shirt or anything else that may lead them to your where about.
2. Don’t give out any clues as to where you live (ex. I went down to the falls with my friends= would suggest that you live in Niagara Falls.)
3. Do not post your real name or give it out. Even just go by a nickname ex. Cutiepie32
4. Make all your myspace pages set to private
5. Do not post too personal information about your life on your pages, just because they are set to private doesn’t mean they are.
6. Just because some one you meet over the internet says, has pictures or acts your age doesn’t mean they are.
7. If you choose to go meet someone you met online bring an adult or a friend with you to a public place. If it does not go well and they aren’t who they say they are call the police.
8. Don’t talk about sex with strangers online…you don’t want to lead them on. If they keep bringing it up contact http://www.cybertipline.com.
9. Make your password and question something no one else would think off. Make sure there are no clues in any of you pictures either.
10. If they say something that makes you feel uncomfortable, block them or turn off the computer, tell someone.
11. Be polite to others.
12. Don’t post anything online that you wouldn’t want your parents to see… If you feel very secretive then it is probably not a good idea to have it posted.
13. Even if you’re a teenager give your parents your passwords.
14. Spend as little time as possible, its healthier to have a life out side of the internet.

Remember this: your kids may be smart, but not smart enough to out smart a predator. This following video is taken from Datelines to catch a predator just imagine the man in this video could have shown up at your house to meet you/ or your child. Millions of kids have actually dealt with this similar scenario except they did not have dateline there to protect them.