YOU AND THE INTERNET.

D1, EYMIE DEGUZMAN

PERSONAL SAFETY AND THE INTERNET.

Online blogs and social networking websites are a great way to communicate with friends, however, there are also risks as your information can be accessed by strangers if you are not careful. It is important to protect your information and be aware of what you are sharing with others, personal safety is extremely important. The following will give you tips on how to keep safe online.

When creating a blog or becoming part of a social networking site it is extremely important to consider what information your are sharing, and who you are sharing it with.

1)      What do you want to share about yourself?

-         Be careful with what you share, if you do not change your privacy settings your personal information can be shared with many strangers. Sharing your contact details – such as phone numbers, emails and addresses – must not be put up unless you definitely know the people who access your social networking page and are happy to share your details with them. However, if you have friends on your account you do not wish to share this with then do not take the risk of posting it online. As for blogs, never share personal details on your blog. This is because blogs are more open to millions of people and you cannot prevent strangers from accessing your blog. Do not give away any personal information on your blog, unless it is for business. If it is for a business then it is safe to leave your work email.

2)      What will you use your blog or social networking account for?

-         Blogs are created to discuss and share opinions, photos and more. Whilst people may enjoy your blog, others may not. Therefore, it is important to be careful what you share. Do not share any personal information which could cause harm to you or people you know, and do not say anything offensive. Whilst you may feel safe about saying something inappropriate online as it is not face-to-face, others may take offence and go to the extremes of putting you in danger. With technology constantly developing, and growing, people can find ways to damage or harm your computer, or even stalk you in real life. This is why we never post personal information for strangers to see.

If you create a social networking account it is important to only add people you know and are happy to share things you post with. This prevents any unpleasant comments or unwanted interaction with others.

3)      Privacy is important!

-         On social networking websites you are able to change your privacy settings, giving you the opportunity to make sure that what you share is only between you and your friends. If you do not edit your settings, your photos, information, contact details and whatever else you share online can be accessed by other users you do not know. This may put you at risk of others getting your personal information, pretending to be you, or even tracking you down in real life. Moreover, there are unpleasant people online who may wish to harass you online, whether that’s threats or stalking etc. Although you may want to share your information with everybody so people know who you are before adding you, it is better to be safe than sorry.

4)      Never ever ever share your password with anybody!

-         Although this saying is cliché, it is incredibly important to obey this simple rule. Your account should only be run by yourself. If you share your password with others they can easily post inappropriate things on your account, or even change your privacy settings, putting you at risk.

Your safety is important, and so is the safety of the people you know. So be sure to be aware of personal safety online. If you play your cards right you will definitely have no problems using your social networking account or your blog and you can enjoy the opportunities you are given.

Communication sites have several advantages, such as: communicating with people you know who may be far away, you have the ability to share your opinions and discuss things with people you may know, you can share information, photos, videos etc. with people you know online and you can easily contact your friends if you need help and do not have access to a mobile phone.

Unfortunately, communicating sites also have disadvantages if you are not careful: social networking sites can be time consuming and addictive, meaning you waste time and are easily distracted by the constant updates shared by your friends, also, what you type may be misunderstood as it is not spoken verbally – causing arguments, lastly, if you not careful with what you share, people you do not know can access your information.

Be safe, and enjoy communicating sites without trouble.