Putting Your Life Online

Introduction

In this presentation I will be talking about:

Positives and Negatives of the internetDistinct social groups within the world of the internet

The problems that the negatives can cause each groupWhat each social group needs to fix the problems

My chosen social group for my campaignRecap of the issues my social group face

What products and campaigns there are currently to fix the issuesMy ideas

•  Allows  you to upload personal photographs and videos

• Keeps you in touch with friends• Brings people close together• Cost effective way to advertise• Can spark fun and creative ideas• Builds creativity• Can help you to meet new people• Can be used to promote business• It usually is low cost • You are not bound by geographical circumstances • Gives you the ability to post statuses and tweets which

allows for voicing of your own opinion

Positives: 

• People can make fake accounts to trick/scam people with• It can be very time consuming if you become addicted to it• Lots of cleverly designed scams • Risk of harassment• Risk of identify theft• Lack of anonymity• Can become stalked by someone who is your 'friend' or

follows you• Can be difficult to understand• Can be hard to access• Can have physical and mental side effects• Can be a distraction

Negatives:

What social groups are there?

Children & Teenagers

AdultsThe Elderly

The Elderly face two main problems:1) Not understanding how to use the internet2) Feeling left out due to their lack of knowledge

The Elderly

The problem the elderly face is the fact they feel left out or left behind the modern world and that they feel new

technology is too complicated for them to use. The elderly almost reject new technologies as they feel it is far too

futuristic for them and something, in their mind, they’ve told their selves they already can’t do or won’t know how

to do. Also, because of this rejection there is a divide between adults and the elderly which can be upsetting as

they feel out of the loop and ‘old’ which most people don’t want to feel.

(In the computer security context, a hacker is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system

or computer network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, or

challenge).

Adults

The main problem adults face is identify theft. Identity theft takes place through unsecure websites, viruses and ‘dodgy’ software. Also, some specialist people have the

ability to ‘hack’ your computer and take all of your details. Identify theft can be anything from doing a simple

‘frape’ on Facebook to stealing credit card details and spending millions of pounds. Although identify theft is not

like being attacked or threatened, it is still a crime that can cause damage to people’s lives.

The problems adult face are to do with identity theft and hackers

I think children and teenagers face the most problems. I would say the main problems are:1) Over exposure2) Too much time online3) Cyber bullying4) The threat of sexual predators

Children & Teenagers

As younger children are innocent and pure, if they were to wonder the internet endlessly they would see some

'disturbing' things. So the first problem is over exposure. Unfortunately we live in an era where videos can be made and uploaded in seconds-even porn- so if a child were to

see these explicit websites it could go as far to cause physiological disturbance. Things can also be simple though; a child who is afraid of clowns could stumble

upon a picture of one then feel scared and upset. So even little things to have profound effects on the minds of

young children.  

Over Exposure

Another thing young children are at risk of is too much time on the internet. If a child is only stimulated online it can be bad for their health. It can cause eye issues, social

issues and can numb feelings about doing things away from the computer. This is why time away from the

computer is so necessary for children. 

Too much time online

Cyber Bullying

A problem more associated with teenagers is 'cyber' bullying. The term cyber refers to the act of doing

something online.  A large proportion of teenagers are evolved with the cyber bully cycle- either as a victim or a

bully their selves, they can sometimes even be both. Cyber bullying has become increasingly more frequent over the last couple of years due to how accessible the

internet has become. Cyber bullying can be the cause of mental disorders, self-harm and even suicide. 

Sexual Predators Another problem for teenagers is the threat of

paedophiles and sexual predators. Now with all kinds of social network sites and chat rooms it is becoming easier and easier to create fake profile. Sexual offenders use this to their advantage and create profiles as younger people to lure children and teenagers in. It has become an act for

them. As children and teenagers can be somewhat innocent and naive when it comes to trusting people and

knowing who is real and fake in this world. This is the advantage for the people creating the fake profiles as

they can persuade their victims to come and meet them in real life. This is where the danger really begins as a

whole range of things can happen, anything from a hug and the promise to meet up again (which would

eventually lead to more) to a rape or even a murder.  

So what will help these problems?

The ElderlyThe elderly's problem is very much focused around not knowing how to use the internet and not understanding it when they do try. This then produces

the next problem of then feeling left out by the rest of society.

I think the answer to the elderly’s problems are computer/internet guides, classes and manuals. This gives the elderly a chance to look at specific text

and resources related to their needs.

A class could be something lead by a younger person who could sit down with each individual person and show then things that some people might

find really simple. Manuals and guides could do the same thing just without the human interaction.

I think those two options could really boost the confidence of the older person and make them feel connected to the younger generations and give them a new skill which they can enjoy both for important things and leisure.

AdultsAdults problem is identity theft and hacking. There are a number of ways to

deal with these problems.

One way to deal with identify theft is knowing when it is safe or not to enter any credit card details and any other personal information. In my research I’ve found that there isn’t actually much information on this so I think that

booklets, leaflets or guides should be made to tell people the information they should know.

As for simpler things like ‘frape’ and joke messages little things can be done to prevent this. Frequent change of any passwords, secure passwords that

only you know, making sure you log out of any accounts and not telling anyone your passwords of codes.

Hacking can be more complicated as there are now devices that don’t even have to go inside your laptop or computer to hack them. This means it can be

difficult to detect if you are being hacked. Some ways to tell you are being hacked is if your laptop or computer is showing an odd display screen, you

find your documents, photos etc are missing or have been moved. Also, never download something you’re not sure of, this can have a lot of consequences if

it is a virus or ‘dodgy’ software.

Again, I think this can be solved by booklets, leaflets and guides but I also think that TV and radio adverts should be made to make more people aware

and posters to be put around local communities to remind people to be weary of these threats.

Children & TeenagersChildren and teenagers seem to have the most problems therefore the most

needs to be done. Helping children and teenagers is different as they potentially are not interested in leaflets or booklets so any help needs be

done in an interesting yet informative way.

Over exposure can be stopped by spy ware software and general adult guidance over a young child using the internet. Spyware software will stop

adult sites and threatening sites from coming up and will block all inappropriate adverts from popping up. This has flaws though. Adult websites

are now becoming more aware of this so are being more creative with the words they use, this means they are getting past the wall/block the spyware software and getting into search results. For example, the world ‘pussy’ in an

adult context that is of course very sexual and not at all appropriate for a child, but a young child might say ‘pussy cat’ which is 100% normal for a child. This is how inappropriate websites are slipping through the wall of

spyware.

Although efforts can be made to improve all spyware software new websites are always be created and present ones are always being updated so the

internet will never be 100% safe, even with such spyware.

Too much time can be stopped in two main ways- manually taking away your Child’s laptop or computer or downloading a software which you can type

into how much time your child is allowed online, then after the allotted time the system either shuts down or locks your computer so no one else can

access it until the system is reset or unlocked. This is sometimes free or if costing something, usually fairly cheap.

Cyber bullying can be hard to detect and hard to stop due to how taboo and secretive the subject is. Most teenagers and children know how to stop cyber

bullying anyway but fear the consequences the embarrassment of it. If a child is being bullied online they may be threatened not to tell anyone or

been told that if they do tell things will get worse them so they stay quiet. A lot of people being bullied also feel personal shame and fear that other

people will laugh at them for being weak and vulnerable. So the help children and teenagers need is the confidence to know that bullying doesn’t make

them weak or means it is their fault. This means adverts, posters, websites that connect to younger people and tell them it’s ok to tell people if you’re

being bullied because it can be sorted.

Sexual predators is a sensitive issue so any help towards the issue needs to be thoughtful, informative but not scary. This is such a large issue so there needs to be multiple types of help 

about knowledge of when to accept a ‘new’ friend, how to know the friend is who they say they are and when a friendship becomes abnormal. As I mentioned though, this is a sensitive subject 

so needs to be handled carefully. 

The social group I am designing my

campaign for is…

Children & TeenagersI have chosen to base my campaign around children and teenagers . I think

they have the most issues, and I can have the most influence over them. If the campaign was to work, it would have an influence on not only that generation but the generation they then bring up.

Children & TeenagersJust to recap, children's & teenagers problems are

Over exposure Too much time online

Cyber bullying

Sexual predators

So what is there already?

UK Safer Internet Centre and K9 Web Protection both supply soft ware

protection, ChildLine, THINKUKNOW and Hertfordshire Constabulary all support you if you want to report

someone or need advice on some of the problems I’ve mentioned. Only ChildLine and THINKUKNOW have campaigns on the problems I’ve

mentioned, so I am going to make my own campaign as another place

children and teenagers can go if they need help.

My IdeasAt the moment, my main idea for any campaign name is… SEARCH

SAFE STAY SAFE

I like this name due to the alliteration in it and I think it has the ability to be catchy.

I plan to design posters and make a website for my campaign.

Thank you for listening