Internet Safety Assignment Reflection

I read an article from the Ensign called "Tangled in the Web." It was a story about a woman who went from casual internet use to becoming addicted to chatting with people online. She talked about her struggle with overcoming her addiction and how helpful the Church leaders were in helping her beat it. At the end of her story there were a list of things to do when using the internet and a quote from Elder L. Tom Perry about avoiding internet addictions.

I watched quite a few of the videos on the resource page. I saw a lot of videos that told stories about people who got into trouble because of their chatting and agreeing to meet people that had met online. I really liked the Frontline videos about how the internet influences the classroom and how parents are viewing the internet. It's interesting to hear about the fears that some parents have and how those fears affect their children.

I learned from reading and watching these videos that it is important to use moderation in all things. When we let chatting or gaming or whatever on the internet begin to take over our lives, there are going to be problems. The tips that were given are helpful and can be an excellent guide. The internet is a wonderful tool, but we need to be aware of its bad points, too. It is important to be careful about how you talk to your kids about internet safety. You don't want to become so fearful about the internet that your children start hiding their activities online from you. It is important to teach them the dangers and set limits, but ultimately you have to trust your children to use their agency. I think the most important thing to do is stay informed about the internet. Learn how to use it and listen to counsel from Church leaders.

I talked to my sister about internet safety. When I asked her about what she knows about internet safety, she said that she knew that she shouldn't chat with people online that she doesn't know. I talked to her about addiction and about some of the videos I saw about how easy it is to find information about someone just based on their screen name. We talked about Facebook and how sometimes time is wasted while mindlessly playing around on it. We talked about how setting time limits for using Facebook might help to stop the time wasting that sometimes happens. She was surprised at how easy it can be to find information about somebody in a chat room. We talked about how important it is to monitor what kind of information you post online. Once it is out there, you can't take it back. I think our discussion got her thinking about how she uses the internet and that she will be more careful about what she posts online and how she shares information.

**I completed both course evaluations and I checked my grade.**