Internet Safety Assignment

For my choice article, I read, William C. Porter's, “I Have a Question.” It talked about strategies we can use in protecting ourselves and children against inappropriate sites. Porter talked about a filter, a tracking sites program, and keeping the computer in an open room. One thing he talked about that I hadn't ever thought about, was that children could go and use library computers. It's really important to keep internet safety in the front of your mind at all times.

The videos I watched were very interesting. It was a real eye opener for me. At the beginning of one, it showed different parties going on at the same time, at different places around a city. It then said that 90% of teenagers are online in a major U.S. city. This shocked me. I never thought about how much of our entertainment today happens on the computer.

Other movies I watched were about how people created their own identities. I haven't ever gotten into My Space, and so again, these movies were real eye openers for me. I certainly didn't realize the 'thing to do' is post completely inappropriate pictures of yourself online. One talked about a girl who completely changed her identity online, posted inappropriate pictures of herself, and became a model. Her parents had no idea. Her principle saw the website, deemed it inappropriate, and told her parents. Her parents made her erase all of the pictures, and files... even as she was explaining this in the movie, years after it had happened, she cried.

Another movie I watched was an animated short film. It was still terrifying. I didn't realize how big chat rooms are, and what a dangerous place the internet is.

Elder Ballard tells us that the family is the center of our Father in Heaven's plan. He also explains that the choice of what kind of media you choose to view can dictate what choices you make in everyday life. He talks about how much good technology can do in the world and explains, "our biggest challenge is to choose wisely what we listen to and what we watch." Follow the 13th article of faith, choose things that are honest, true, chaste, virtuous, ect. "The new immorality is the same as the old." We need to stand up for what we believe in. He gives us a list of things to do.

1. We need to hold family councils and decide what our media standards are going to be.

2. We need to spend enough quality time with our children that we are consistently the main influence in their lives, not the media or any peer group.

3. We need to make good media choices ourselves and set good examples for our children.

4. We need to limit the amount of time our children watch TV or play video games or use the Internet each day. Virtual reality must not become their reality.

5. We need to use Internet filters and TV programming locks to prevent our children from “chancing upon” things they should not see.

6. We need to have TVs and computers in a much-used common room in the home, not in a bedroom or a private place.

7. We need to take time to watch appropriate media with our children and discuss with them how to make choices that will uplift and build rather than degrade and destroy.

Teach your children things that they can do if something accidentally pops up. Teach them to tell you if something does, so that they don't feel shame for it. Keep computers in a high traffic room, and facing outwards.

Elder Bednar's talk was quite amazing. I really really liked it. He starts out by talking about how our physical bodies are part of Heavenly Father's plan and that Satan does not have one. He does all he can to get us to forget how important they are. One way he accomplishes this is by slowly (figuratively speaking) separating our spirituality with our physicality. He takes a wonderful tool, technology, and uses it for evil.

Many people spend lots of time and even become addicted to computer games, t.v. or movies. One of the saddest things, I thought, from his talk is when Elder Bednar told of newly weds who never spent time together because one spent all of the free time on the computer.

Teaching
The person I taught to, said that they didn't really know anything about internet safety. I told him the basics I had learned through this assignment. I explained the importance of keeping computers in a high traffic area of the home, facing out. Don't let children have computers in their bedrooms. Get a filter and site tracking program to help prevent potential problems.
I told him to teach his children about the many creeps that are out there, and to not put any personal information on the internet. It is so dangerous.

I think it helped open his eyes at least a little bit. Hopefully he will be more aware and want to make sure he knows what his children are doing on the internet always.