The internet can be a fun place to talk to your friends, post photos, watch videos etc. but it can also be a very, very DANGEROUS place! Please scroll down to read more about the internet and how to stay safe.

What is the Internet?

While Google is a very popular search engine, Google is not the Internet. It is a an internet service to find what you search for.

In short and to keep it relevant to this lesson: The internet is a global way to communicate, search stuff, watch videos etc. but some websites, apps and online activities can be risky and we need to take possible dangers serious (scroll down to see the dangers)

What are the dangers, you ask?

1. Cyber-bullying: Is exactly what the word(s) mean - being bullied through the online world.

Cyber-bullying is the hurtful way kids sometimes treat each other online - for example if you get really mean comments posted under your pictures on Instagram or even threats sent through other social networks such as Facebook, Snapchat etc. or you receive nasty text messages = that's Cyber-Bullying.

Below is a short video that helps us to understand what bullying is and what cyber-bullying can look like. It's a great way to learn.

2. Catfishing : Catfishing is NOT fishing for a cat in a pond!

Catfishing is, let's say, you get an email or friend request on social network from someone you don't know or someone you didn't hear from for ages or even some random person you don't know. They would say they're someone they're not, for example Richard (54) pretends to be Adam (12) and Susie (11) thinks Adam's profile on Facebook is cute. Richard therefore pretends he is someone else and he would trick Susie into liking him and eventually meeting him alone in the park without Susie knowing that she is going to meet a 54 year old man. If Susie is not careful, she is in real danger to be kidnapped or hurt or both.

3. Hackers

Hackers steal information stored on your computer and look through your private files, photos, social media accounts, passwords etc. Tip: Always create very secure passwords that are not easy to guess or figure out, for example: Manflyingonthemoon1209?

Types of Hackers

White hat – White hat hackers are generally computer programmers who inform the organisation if they find a hole with the organization’s system-security.

Black hat – Black hat hackers will certainly misuse the site for their own beneficial gain i.e. stealing information or infecting other computers with “viruses” to gain access to more site.

Gray hat – Gray hat hackers are ones who can behave like either white hat or black hat, depending on their mood. They are unpredictable at times.

What is the internet good for?

As with everything, there are advantages and disadvantages and while there are dangers with the Internet, it also has many good sides to it. The Internet is good for a lot of things such as . . .

Viewing, uploading, editing and buying photos

Viewing, uploading, editing and subscribing to videos

Listening, uploading, downloading and making music

Communicating: send and receive text messages

Communicating: make and receive calls

Communicating: write and receive emails

Connecting through apps ( Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat etc. )

How is the internet relevant to school children?

The internet is a learning tool, for example spark.adobe.com to create sites with information like this one to share with others. School children can also research their projects and find information fast because you can search for almost anything. Freedom to learn and share makes the internet relevant.

See below the video with five safety tips for children

Stay safe, stay smart.