Internet Safety Continued

I talked with my 18 year old brother who is currently a senior in high school. He is very computer/internet literate and loves to play games with his friends via the internet. I tried to approach the subject in a non-confrontational way--I didn't want him to think I was prying into his life or I was going to preach to him.

I talked with him in general about internet safety and what he thought was acceptable information to put up. He said as a guy he feels a little safer so he doesn't worry about predators, but he still tries to keep his personal information private.

I also talked with him about internet addiction, and whether he thought it was a bad thing that kids are all so obsessed with using it. He said that everyone, including adults, are addicted to the internet unless they're totally disconnected from the world, so he doesn't think it's fair that the blame is always put on the kids. But he said that he knows kids who do create total alternate realities on the internet and he thinks that's dangerous. He said what keeps him from trying to put on an "act" is that all of his close friends know who he is and they would call him out if he was trying to be someone he's not. He said that he doesn't feel the need to make a million friends online because he has his close friends.

I was surprised by a lot of his answers and also happy with most of them. I think he makes a valid point that we all use the internet more and more extensively each day, and everyone relies on it. When said that way, then we all need to be more aware of the potential dangers on the internet and work on making it a safe place for everyone.