The internet is a brilliant place where you can play games, chat to friends, do your homework and have fun – but it can also be used by adults who wish to harm you either through online bullying, intimidation or getting you to do things you are not comfortable with or to meet them somewhere.
Follow the rules and keep yourself safe on the internet.
Never give your name and address out online
Often websites encourage people to answer questions and give their opinion. This is all information that is being gathered about you. Usually this is so companies can find adverts for things you like, but it is important to understand that these websites are taking down your information and it can be used in a negative way you in the future.
Never talk to strangers over the internet
Sometimes adults will pretend to be children on social media and chat rooms, usually if an adult is doing this they want to meet up with children, this is not okay. You can never know if someone is really who they say they are online, so unless you know the person talking to you in real life and can confirm that it is really them you should ignore any contact they try to make with you.
Use security settings
Social networking sites such as Facebook offer security settings that prevent people from looking at your photos and information without your permission and without you ‘friending’ them. You will have to set these privacy settings up on your account. Even with the settings turned on it is best not to display addresses, names of schools, birthdays etc. If you do not know how to do this, ask a parent or teacher or other adult that you trust to help you with security settings on all the social media you use.
Be aware of hidden costs
Not everything on the internet is free, some content and games charge money to your parent’s bank accounts and over time these pay-to-play games can add up to large sums of money that your parents might not be able to afford. It is important to make sure that a website you are using does not charge money – if it doesn’t ask for any bank or card details it will not charge. However, if the website does ask for your parent’s bank details it is best to ask them first whether or not it is okay to use the website and never give out their details to a website without their permission.
Parental settings are a good thing
Parental settings can help you avoid seeing scary or upsetting things on the internet. As a general rule most products are sold without parental settings switched on. You should make sure your parents know this and let them decide whether or not to turn these settings on.
You can find out more about how to keep safe online from the Thinkuknow website www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
Risks of social media
Social media is a brilliant way of keeping in touch with friends and sharing things with one another. It’s likely that you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more, but it’s also important that you stay safe when using these apps and websites.
Over the internet you can never be sure someone is who they say they are. You should only make ‘friends’ with people you know in real life so that you can confirm it is them contacting you. Sometimes adults will pretend to be children online with the intention of getting to know you and eventually doing something harmful. Only talk to people you can trust online.
If you are being bullied over the internet you will be able to report it to the social network where the bullying is taking place. Websites like Facebook take this very seriously and can have the person bullying you removed from the social network. If you are being bullied online and you do not want to report the content that is upsetting you - you can always log off and create a new account elsewhere or tell a parent or a teacher if someone is causing you upset over the internet. The chances are if they are behaving this way with you – they may be doing it to other children. Tell an adult you trust.
Some social networks like Snapchat allow you to share a private image with one or more other person. Whilst these images may seem to disappear from your phone after being sent, they are usually kept somewhere on Snapchat’s main computers. It is important that the pictures you take on things like Snapchat are photos you would be happy sharing publically on Facebook as there is always a possibility that other people somewhere in the world will see them.
When sharing images of yourself it is important that you know who you are sharing them with. Sometimes adults pretending to be children will ask you for a picture of yourself. You should never share images of yourself with people you do not know as they could use them to find you or your friends.