Internet Safety Reflection

What article did you choose to read for your article of choice?
"Opposing Evil"
Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1975, 38–40

Describe the video resources you watched?
I watched several videos that told stories of girls that had been caught in the trap of associating with online predators and even running away to meet them. These videos were all very informative, with the girls describing what they were feeling through this process, how to avoid it, what they regretted, and that they were lucky and happy to be safe now. I also watched a couple of videos about cyber bullying, one of which was about a boy who actually ended up killing himself because of all of the teasing he dealt with both at school and at home once he logged onto the internet. I also watched a video made by BYU that was a fun cartoon meant to inform children and parents about the dangers of the media and online chatrooms, etc. All of the video resources I watched were extremely informative.

Write a paragraph describing what your most important "take-aways" were from the readings and video?
I think my biggest take-away from the resources we were given is the importance of being aware. Every video I watched and every article I read brought awareness to the fact that the media and the internet can be extremely helpful and have many benefits, but that we must be aware as parents and teachers of the harms that can come from these tools if we are not careful. I really learned a lot about preventative actions that we can put into place so that our children and students are not even in a situation that could become dangerous.

Write a paragraph or more describing the details of your "doing" experience (you don't need to include any names).
I decided to share the information I learned with my husband because we are expecting our first child and it is so important to know how to protect against the filth and everything that is so scary in the world in this day and age. My husband already knew that you could put online filters on your computer(which I didn't know about until doing this project.) He also knew that it is important to place time limits on media exposure and to put computers in open areas. I shared with him some other information such as the importance of being aware of what internet access your children have at school and the importance of teaching children to shut the computer down and come tell an adult if they are exposed to anything pornographic, etc. and why doing so is important. My husband's reaction was that he was glad I was able to share with him and that we were able to discuss the topic becuase it is so important to protect our home and children from predators and other evil influences. Nothing really surprised me about his reaction to my message--he really appreciated the discussion, which is what I expected. The discussion gave us opportunity to decide before we were put in the situation how we would handle different aspects of using the media and technology safely in our home. I think we will definitely both be able to use the information we discussed in our lives as we establish guidelines and rules for safety in our home and as we both try to be cautious examples ourselves to others around us.