Diva's Blog Post – September 28, 2018 (Internet Safety)

Today we talked about Internet safety; ways an individual can be safe on the internet and dangers that come from social media.

When the girls first entered the room, many asked to play a quick game of hangman, so we did. After that we began discussing ways they stay protected online and things someone who is being cyber-bullied can do to seek help, an example being taking screen shots and showing them to a trusted adult. Many of the girls talked about steps they can take to ensure their safety, one being downloading apps from trusted websites.

Next, we discussed why being aware of what you post online is important, as well as those you talk to. I gave examples of many celebrities posting racist and problematic posts and in the end, getting fired because of to it, even if it was from 8 years ago. To this they were very surprised but also mentioned that people hiring need to do a better job researching the people they are interviewing.

We then talked about the dangers of talking to strangers on the internet, predators, and those that catfish. I had some statistics to share with them, one being the increase of depression and anxiety that youth who frequently go on social media have to endure.

The last thing we had discussed was the danger of using public WIFI's that you do not know of, since people cans see what you do and gather information, many of the girls did not take this seriously since they said no one would want to get their information but started to take things seriously once online banking was mentioned since they did not consider that.  many of them were curious as to what a VPN was so I explained it to them and how it keeps them safe from prying eyes and hackers.

Finally, it was time to begin the first activity. This week's activity was to create a comic but some wanted to create a short story. Near the end of the class they started to present. Many mentioned not only the dangers, but also the long-term effects it has on the individual while others talked about ways an individual can seek help. One mentioned how you can be pressured into sending things you are not comfortable with and in the end having it everywhere for everyone to see. There were also a couple that talked about how it could lead to someone self-harming or attempting suicide with statistics from research they did on their own.





After completing all the presentations, the day was done and they went home.

Amna Quaid Azam

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