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 Graphic by Lauren House. |
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Zone's Guide to the Internet By Selina Dring |
You're psyched!! You have a computer, a modem, and an account with an internet service provider. You are ready to surf!.
(Sound effect) Screeeeeeeeeech! Put on those brakes! There are few things you need to know before you cruise the net.
There are lots of things to do on-line. You can buy things, meet people, see places you've never seen, and collect unbelievable amounts of information. It is also important to know about potential problems so that you can dodge them before they find you!
Privacy is a big issue, and not just your privacy, but anyone's with whom you share your internet account. For example, if you use your parent's credit card to buy something on the net and the company that you are ordering from does not have a safe channel for the transmission of the credit card number, anyone could steal it. This would cost your parents lots of money and make your life very difficult in the process.
Then there is meeting people on-line. People are not always who they say they are. I'm sure you've heard stories about people who fell in love with someone over the net, and they turned out to be a mushroom, (a person who was pretending to be something TOTALLY different from what they actually are). Would you talk to a stranger in the mall who was leering at kids and reading pornography? I don't think so!!! My point is that you can't see someone's living room from your computer screen so there is no way to know if that person is a perfectly normal teenager or some loser posing as a teenager.
So let's talk about some simple precautions.......