Internet, Chat-Rooms, and Secrets
I'll be the first to tell you that I love the internet. For
adults, it's very convenient for some of the things that we have to do. I
like the fact that I can pay my bills online, order stuff online, make
appointments online, and YES, I love Facebook and Twitter too.
The internet is a great tool, but I want to talk about the ugly side of the internet. Let's face it, all kinds of people surf and use the web every day. The purpose of me writing about this is to keep you safe.
Be careful who you choose to allow in your space. This does NOT exclude boys. Don't be fooled. Teen boys are a target too. You have a lot of predators online and it's their job to prey on teens. I'll try not to get too lengthy about this subject, but I'm definitely going to make sure that you have something to keep in the back of your mind.
Make sure that you stay mindful of what kind of information you share with others online. This can come back to haunt you. Never EVER give out your address or phone number to a stranger. Some of you may be saying, "Duh," but you'd be surprised at how many teens do this without thinking. Again, my goal is to keep you safe.
I don't care how nice a person seems online. Don't EVER meet up with a person that you've never met before in person. You don't know who you're REALLY meeting up with. You could be getting ready to meet up with a very sick individual. Anybody can come across as cool online, but that could be just a front to gain your trust in them. Many teens have chatted with strangers online and then met up with them just to find out that they're nothing like they expected, or the teen was never seen again.
That brings me to this point: It's not wise to be secretive about this kind of thing. If you do go off and meet somebody that nobody knows about, you're putting yourself in a very bad position. Remember, if nobody knows about this, how could you be saved and/or helped if something went wrong? Think about it!
I would not want to see or hear of you being lured into sex-trafficking, or held some place where you were forced to do things that no teen should experience. Believe me when I say this: Some people have some sick minds. Don't be so quick to trust somebody that you don't know personally. Chatting over the internet or in chat-rooms doesn't mean that you know them completely.
Here's another thing I want you to think about. Just because a person has shared a photo with you doesn't mean anything. How do you know it's really them? You don't! Some people are also really good with words. They know exactly what to say to get you to believe in them. They're very good persuaders.
If you have low self-esteem, please don't go online trying to meet people to feel special. So many things could go wrong. Trust me!
Holding on to those kinds of secrets could cost you your life. Think about it! What sense does it make to meet up with a stranger? It makes no sense at all. You could be walking into a trap. You could be getting ready to lose your life. You could be meeting up with an unknown serial-killer. You could be meeting up with somebody who likes to torture teens. The point is that you really never know who the heck it is that you're meeting up with. Please be mindful of these things that I've talked about.
I know you may have seen movies about stuff like this, but guess what, it could happen to you too! This kind of stuff really happens to every-day, normal people. I'm not trying to scare you. I just want you to be aware of what could happen. Make sure that you don't fall for something that could ruin and/or take your life.
The internet is a great tool, but I want to talk about the ugly side of the internet. Let's face it, all kinds of people surf and use the web every day. The purpose of me writing about this is to keep you safe.
Be careful who you choose to allow in your space. This does NOT exclude boys. Don't be fooled. Teen boys are a target too. You have a lot of predators online and it's their job to prey on teens. I'll try not to get too lengthy about this subject, but I'm definitely going to make sure that you have something to keep in the back of your mind.
Make sure that you stay mindful of what kind of information you share with others online. This can come back to haunt you. Never EVER give out your address or phone number to a stranger. Some of you may be saying, "Duh," but you'd be surprised at how many teens do this without thinking. Again, my goal is to keep you safe.
I don't care how nice a person seems online. Don't EVER meet up with a person that you've never met before in person. You don't know who you're REALLY meeting up with. You could be getting ready to meet up with a very sick individual. Anybody can come across as cool online, but that could be just a front to gain your trust in them. Many teens have chatted with strangers online and then met up with them just to find out that they're nothing like they expected, or the teen was never seen again.
That brings me to this point: It's not wise to be secretive about this kind of thing. If you do go off and meet somebody that nobody knows about, you're putting yourself in a very bad position. Remember, if nobody knows about this, how could you be saved and/or helped if something went wrong? Think about it!
I would not want to see or hear of you being lured into sex-trafficking, or held some place where you were forced to do things that no teen should experience. Believe me when I say this: Some people have some sick minds. Don't be so quick to trust somebody that you don't know personally. Chatting over the internet or in chat-rooms doesn't mean that you know them completely.
Here's another thing I want you to think about. Just because a person has shared a photo with you doesn't mean anything. How do you know it's really them? You don't! Some people are also really good with words. They know exactly what to say to get you to believe in them. They're very good persuaders.
If you have low self-esteem, please don't go online trying to meet people to feel special. So many things could go wrong. Trust me!
Holding on to those kinds of secrets could cost you your life. Think about it! What sense does it make to meet up with a stranger? It makes no sense at all. You could be walking into a trap. You could be getting ready to lose your life. You could be meeting up with an unknown serial-killer. You could be meeting up with somebody who likes to torture teens. The point is that you really never know who the heck it is that you're meeting up with. Please be mindful of these things that I've talked about.
I know you may have seen movies about stuff like this, but guess what, it could happen to you too! This kind of stuff really happens to every-day, normal people. I'm not trying to scare you. I just want you to be aware of what could happen. Make sure that you don't fall for something that could ruin and/or take your life.
Stephanie Lahart is an Author, Poet, Teen Motivational Speaker,
and a Teen Mentor. She also has 2 successful online stores:
TshirtsbyLahart and InspirationbyLahart. Want to connect with or learn
more about Stephanie Lahart? Feel free to visit her website. https://about.me/stephanie.lahart
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stephanie_Lahart/1998485
Comments
Post a Comment
thank you