Developed in part by local York Region High School students.

There are millions of people on the Internet, and not all of them are friendly, safe or sane.  But I’m smart enough to use the Internet properly.  Here are the top 10 things I do to stay safe online:

1.     Online friends should stay that way.
I know that anyone can register the name “cute_pokemon14”.  They might be a kid with a Pokemon, they might be a crazy old guy with a knife collection, or they might even be a trained monkey in a research lab (the last one is a bit unlikely).  Whoever it is, I won’t meet them in real life.

2.    I’m smarter than a parrot.
Even parrots can repeat simple words and I’m way smarter than a parrot.  I’d hate for a parrot to tell my brother or sister my password.  I won’t use a simple word for a password – I’ll use numbers, capital letters, and even symbols to throw that parrot off.

3.    I know how computers work.
Some people want to break my computer and steal my identity.  Some of them even know how to put worms and Trojan horses in computer files.  So I won’t open any files online from strangers or unknown sources.

4.     I don’t take what I don’t want.
I wanted to see the website, not a hundred of annoying pop-up ads all over the screen.  So it’s simple, I won’t click on them.

5.    I’m not miserable.
I know that people who insult others online aren’t having any fun.  If they were, why would they spend all day stalking people or registering fake accounts just to call people a “toad”?  I’m better than that, and I don’t need to insult people to feel better.

6.    I won’t hurt my friends or family.
Anyone meant to know about my friends or family already does.  I will never tell anyone anything about my friends or family online.

7.    I’m not a celebrity.
Celebrities are paid millions of dollars to show pictures of themselves.  I’m not getting millions of dollars.  So I won’t share pictures of myself online with millions of people because that’s high-exposure plus high-risk, and no return.

8.    I know not everyone is as smart as me.
Just because it’s written down doesn’t make it true.  For example: “The cafeteria is full of two-horned unicorns playing videogames.”  See?  Unicorns don’t have two horns! I will double-check everything I read online.

9.    I know that the Internet is an information hoarder.
The Internet’s memory is very vast.  So I won’t be posting anything online that I wouldn’t want my family, friends or future employers to see now or in ten years.

10.    I’m not scared.
No matter what anyone says online, they can’t hurt me unless I’m silly enough to let them.  And, I’m not.  I won’t reply and I won’t get upset.  I’ll start a collection of mean texts, emails or posts, tell a trusted adult, and get on with my life.

Posted in Internet Safety | guides, Internet, news | |