Dangers Of The Internet And How To Avoid Them

-by Christian McGourty

TOPIC

• The internet is a great resource for a number of different situations such as keeping in contact with family and friends, shopping, dating, and more importantly, to research and learn about just about anything you can imagine. This being said, the internet can also be extremely dangerous; every day decisions made on the internet can be costly for your safety. That is why it is important for people to take precaution and use the internet safely and wisely.

Children using the Internet

The internet is one of the greatest resources used in teaching children of all ages but it is important to make sure that your child is using the internet safely and not exposing themselves to any danger. There are many things that children can find on the internet that they may not be ready to know about or see yet. Just as your child is on the internet, so are many dangerous people that could potentially harm. There are many horrible things that have happened to children as a result of not using the internet safely.

Meeting With Online Predators

• Between 1995 and 2000 about 135 children were abducted or molested because of the internet.

• 16% of teens considered meeting someone they've only talked to online.

• 8% have actually met someone they only know online.

Children exploring cites with harmful material

• Many children use the internet to discover pornography. According to statistics gathered by Family Safe Media (FSM), the largest group of viewers of internet porn is ages 12-17.

• There are also a great deal of websites where children can watch very graphic videos involving real life fighting and other violence.

• Children can also be exposed to harmful material by going on certain chat rooms.

How to Prevent Children from Harmful Effects of the Internet

• Talk to your children about the risk of online predators and what to be weary of. Encourage them to tell you if anyone asks them for photographs or to meet them in person, particularly if you don't know them or haven't met them or their parents before.

• Set up a security setting on your computer that blocks your child from websites with inappropriate content.

• Monitor your child’s time on the computer each day and limit how much time they can spend on it.

• Keeping your computer in a common area in the house, such as the living room, family room, or kitchen can help you to monitor your child’s internet use

Safety Issues for Adults

• Its not only children that run into safety issues on the internet, adults are also at risk.

• Adults can be at risk of identity theft on the internet• Adults are also at risk when socializing on the internet

Identity theft

• Since banking and financial systems have become so electronic and internet accessible, it has made the internet a convenient place for criminals to steal people’s identities, and having your identity stolen can be a very difficult and stressful thing to go through.

• Phony advertisements asking for your personal information are all over the internet.

• The average victim spends on average 600 hours trying to restore his or her identity.

• 18-29 year olds are at most risk for identity theft because they are less likely to check their credit and are more likely to apply for credit cards without making sure they aren’t scams.

• In 2006 the total cost of identity theft to society was 49 billion dollars, with victims losing around 4.5 billion (companies and banks pay the rest)

Ways to Reduce Risk of Identity Theft

• Actively monitor your credit history. (You have the right to one free credit disclosure in a 12 month period from each of the 3 national credit reporting companies.

• If your identity has been stolen, contact your bank and other financial institutions immediately.

• Identify family members and friends as well because they can be effected from your identity being stolen as well.

• Decide if you want your information viewable in online services (It costs money to keep your info private most of the time but the cost can be worth it)

Socializing on the Internet

• Adults can run into problems when using sites to socialize with others such as:• Online dating sites

and…• Social Media sites

Online Dating

• Scams: There are many online dating scams out there. The scammer pretends to be interested in the person and chats back and forth with them for a while until they make a “connection” with them. Then, the scammer comes up with some reason why they really need a loan or some sort of financial aid and tries to convince the person to send them money. In the past 2 years, 10% of free-to-subscribe dating sites have turned out to be scams.

• Online Predators: Like children, women are also at risk for being targeted by online predators, especially on online dating sites. Online dating has materialized into the form of rape, abductions, and even murders of numerous woman.

Social Media Sites

• Social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and twitter allow people to create a profile with pictures and info about themselves that they share for their friends and potentially anyone to see.

• There is a lot of info that people put on these sights that puts them in potential danger, such as where they live, pictures of their family, and information about what they are doing that day.

• There have been numerous cases involving stalkers and ever murderers where they have been able to easily keep tabs on the victim and find where they are from postings that the victim had made on their social media pages.

Safety Tips For Using Online Dating and Social Media Sites

• Maintain as anonymous as possible to protect your identity (don’t include your full name, where you work, detailed info about your current location, etc. on your profile)

• Use the email system provided by the dating or social media site when contacting new people rather than your real email.

• Be SMART about choosing profile pictures (don’t give away too much info about yourself in them, don’t have your children in your profile picture)

• Ask a lot questions when meeting new people online (look for any inconsistencies in answers or anything that strikes you as odd or dangerous, be conscious of whether or not the person seems to have a short temper, seems controlling, etc.)

• If a potential date on a dating service asks you for any sort of money or loan do not give it to them. (No matter how sad the story may seem it is almost always a scam and its not worth taking the chance)

• Make sure you choose the right privacy setting for your profile (most cites have a number of different styles of privacy settings, try to pick the one that protects your personal information the most)

Conclusion

The internet is a wonderful invention. Its full of hundreds of thousands of websites with useful information and it is accessed by millions of people a day. But with all of these different users and websites out there, there is obviously a great deal dangerous people on the internet using it to do harmful things to others, along with websites that contain very inappropriate and illegal subject matter. It is important to learn and understand the dangers of the internet so that you can make the right decisions when using the internet to keep yourself safe from any scams or predators. It is also very important to teach our children about the safeties of the internet to keep them safe as well.