Society, Culture and Technology - Technology, sex and the internet
The internet is a great tool for meeting new people and for catching up with old friends. Millions of people safely use the internet for work, school or for fun everyday. There are dangers there too so we’ve put together some safety tips to help keep you safe online.
Internet safety
- Be careful about what you say and which photos you put on a blog or social networking site.
- Don’t send a message that you wouldn’t want to be reposted from friend to friend.
- Don’t stand for anyone sending you porn photos or information by email.
- Try not to choose email addresses or a chat room name that makes you sound like a young boy or girl.
- Don’t give your address, phone number or other personal contact details on blog sites or social networking sites.
- Never send your bank details or any financial information over the net (except internet banking) as it can lead to a scam.
Social Networking Sites
Million of people have pages on social networking sites – they’re a great way of keeping in touch with people, finding old friends or making new friends. You need to keep yourself safe while using these sites – just as you would anywhere else. Here are some ideas for staying safe – and minimising your chances of being embarrassed on line.
- Set your profile to private and only accept or add people that you know in real life.
- Photos can be changed or altered. Take care when posting photographs because you don’t know who is looking at them or has stored them.
- If you’re getting questions from someone you don’t know – perhaps questions about where you go to school, what team you’re in, where you do your homework – don’t answer them. Tell an adult you trust.
- Online friends are strangers until you meet them in real life. You may think you know someone and often it feels like you know someone a lot quicker when you’ve been talking to them on-line. Remember, not everything or everyone on the net is what or who you think they are.
- Report bad behaviour to the site administrator. This could be nudity, pornography, harassment or unwelcome comment. You should also report suspicious people.
- Never share your password with anyone.
- Adjust your privacy settings to a level you feel comfortable with and check regularly that you’re still okay with them.
Internet dating
The internet is a great way for you to connect with people from all over New Zealand and from all over the world. It is easy though for people to pretend to be something they’re not.
There are some basic rules for keeping yourself safe when internet dating:
- Remember that the profile of the person is something they’ve created themselves. The real person may be quite different.
- Never go alone to meet someone you’ve only connected with through the internet.
- If you’re going to meet, make sure it’s in a public place.
- Tell a parent or a friend where you’re going and, tell the person you’re going to meet that you’ve done this.
- Never agree to go another place once you’ve met them, unless it is safe and public.
Trust your instincts on this. If it doesn’t feel right or you’re not quite sure – talk about it with your parents, an adult you trust or your friends.
For more information go to www.netsafe.org.nz
