2.5 Being cybersmart to stay safe

It would be nice to think that all people can be trusted. The sad fact is that there are some people purposely trying to trick you and others so they can get something from you or hurt you in some way. These may be people you know or people you don’t know. The people you don’t know can come from anywhere – next door, the next town or suburb, even the other side of the world.

You can control the effect these people have on you by being aware of what you are doing when you are on the internet or phone, and by being aware of what is going on around you. You should therefore develop your own set of ethical protocols for safe internet use as a responsible digital citizen.

Safe internet use:

• Keep your details and those of your friends and family private. Always check with your parents or an adult before giving out any personal details.
• If you make new friends online and want to meet them, always go with a parent or adult friend to a busy public place to start with. The person you think you are friends with may in fact be someone quite different, even dangerous.
• Never give your passwords to anyone, not even your friends (although, you may provide them to your parents or caregivers when appropriate for safekeeping).
• If you feel uncomfortable about something you see on the net or something that is sent to you, leave the page or the chat room and don’t respond to the message or email. Make sure you tell someone about it, such as a parent or teacher.
• Sites may expect you to fill out forms and include personal details before they enable you to download free items, or register an email address. You should always check with a parent or adult first; and only give minimal information.
• People may offer you things that seem fantastic and you feel very lucky. These offers may be bogus, another ploy to get information from you that they can use to your detriment or it may be an avenue to install malicious software onto your computer. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you have a webpage or blog, be very careful about the information you put on it. You may think only your friends are reading it, but in reality you may have a much wider audience – it is easy to forget and put personal information on it. You should also be careful about the photos you load – think about who may be looking at them. You should also be considerate of others’ privacy – never upload photos of other people without their consent.
• Treat others as you would like to be treated. Only send the types of messages you would like to receive. Don’t write things you would not like other people to write about you.
• Tell someone if you or someone you know is being treated badly.

There is a wealth of information online about cybersafety and cyberbullying. Use a search engine with these terms to find sites and activities that can help you learn how to protect yourself and others. Note: Make sure you consider the site you are using – does it look legitimate?