Internet Safety Reflection

1. I read both Elder Ballard's article and Elder Bednars.
   
2. I watched a bunch of short clips on various dangers of the internet and then watched some PBS documentaries:

• I was shocked by the 13 year old girl who ran away with a 56 year old she met on-line. She was gone for 3 weeks.
• Another girl was frightened into leaving with a man she met on-line who took her for 2 days.
• A young man rated girls at his school on a site he thought was private. His friends later published the site. The boy was devastated to find out that his sister was rated on the site. He said, "Once it's on-line, you can't take it back."
• A Native American fable related internet gossip to feathers that as soon as they are freed into the wind, will go where they may and cannot be recollected.
  
• I watched the short on how bad people can so easily figure out who you are, where you live, where you go to school, where you work, and even what time to find you.
  
• I watched more than one short where mean girls photo-shopped a classmate's head onto a naked body and sent the e-mail to others.
  
• The first PBS documentary I watched talked about cyberbulling that resulted in the suicide of a 13 year old named Ryan. I was flabbergasted and horrified at both his parent's neglect and the power that chatting had to influence him.
  
• The final PBS documentary I watched was from the perspective of teachers. Some felt that teaching without technology was downright foolish. Other teachers emphasized more the importance of reminding students of the importance of real world experiences like READING a book, for crying out loud! One teacher said that students cannot focus like they used to. It's like they are overstimulated by the internet, media, and video games so that they don't know how to sit attentively. SCARY!
  

Truthfully, I am feeling very scared right now. I actually feel very vulnerable, like anyone could be looking up information about me on-line with evil designs. It's as if someone were looking over my shoulder because I feel totally exposed to the dangers of the internet. Already, I have e-mailed my mother and made a pact with my sister to protect our future children from the evils of the internet. Of course, I have seen over and over again what great uses technology has in education, but I think I will be more careful now in what I assign my students to do on their computers at home.


What do you know about internet safety?

• chat rooms are bad places to be
• don't give out personal information, not even on facebook.

What was the person's reaction to what you shared

• I am kind of scared, mostly for my friends and future family.
• I have never been too into internet stuff, but I know lots who are.

What suprised you about the person's reaction to your message? I was not surprised that she is scared. I feel the same way, but I personally know some of her friends that do waste hours on the internet every day; I understand her fears.

What do you think the person will do with what you have shared? She will certainly apply it to her life and be careful with what media she views. She will also be very careful in her future family.