Discussing Internet Safety

While completing my Internet Safety assignment, I decided to talk to my parents about what I had learned and what they were currently doing to ensure internet safety within their homes. To offer some background information, my parents are middle-aged and middle-class married individuals who live together on the southern coast of Maine.

As we began talking over the phone, I simply asked my parents what they knew about internet safety. They shared ideas about teaching your children how to use the internet correctly and safely, how important it is to have access to children's passwords, and how intent is really the biggest thing to concern yourself about when it comes to using the internet.

I began talking to my parents about the importance of putting the computer in a public place to avoid the temptation of going on dangerous or inappropriate websites. I also mentioned the importance of parents simply being aware of what their children are doing and what websites they are going on. Too often parents are unaware of what Facebook or MySpace are and what their children could be doing on these websites. Finally I shared with my parents different programs or websites where they could get protection and blocking from inappropriate websites, such as K9 web filter.

It was surprisingly easy to recall what I had learned and talk about the importance of establishing these safety procedures with the internet within ones home. It was difficult though to question my parents and ask what they had done to ensure these things were in place, almost questioning their morals and stating that they needed these precautions.

I feel strongly that I will use the techniques for internet safety that I have learned through these lessons in the future as I teach my own students and children responsiblity and integrity while using the internet.