Internet Safety

These are the notes I took that tell about the most important "take-away's" that I took from our readings:
Let our Voices be Heard --M. Russell Ballard
“Television … has replaced the family, the school, and the church—in that order—as the principal [instrument] for socialization and transmission of values

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing -

“Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable. …

7 things parents can do to minimize negative effects- establish family standards on media, make family a greater influence over media,make good personal media choices, limit screen time, filter internet sites and lock tv shows, have screens in common rooms, watch appropriate media with children.

Things as they really are:

We live in a time when technology can be used to replicate reality, to augment reality, and to create virtual reality.

Don't let our addiction keep us from person-to-person communication --interpersonal relationships

Nothing is really done in "secret"

Consider 2 questions: 1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life? 2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

Pornography:
-Don't open emails from people you don't know, keep in high traffic areas, teach not to share personal information, tell children to inform parents of any problems with pornography that pop up so parents can take care of it and block it.

Internet: I have a question:

3 suggestions to help parents avoid dangerous areas online
1. parental awareness 2. Family Rules 3. Filters
*Recognize that people online aren't always who they say they are.

-I completed parts 1-3 for week 14.

Internet Safety:

For my "doing part" I talked with my dad. My dad has very little experience with the computer/internet, so I was curious to see what he knew and didn't know. He already knew that it was very easy to end up on internet sites just by typing in one wrong letter, and he has always told us not to get involved in any chat rooms, or even be friends on facebook with people we don't know. However, he didn't realize how many people really were involved in chat rooms, which ended up in problems such as rape, murder, obsession, etc. I think he was also surprised at all the different articles that have been presented by general authorities regarding internet safety. He was well aware of the things they mention about getting into pornography on the internet, but not other internet safety issues. Although there hasn't been any problems yet with my own family concerning the internet, there are still two young kids at home that spend a lot of time on the internet. Our computer is located in our office, which is generally supervised, but not always. I think after what he has learned, he will be more aware of what things my siblings are doing on the internet, how much time they spend on the internet, and making a greater effort to make sure even if they are on the computer, that doesn't take away from interpersonal, one-on-one communication with their family, friends, etc. He also realized how lucky he has been since he hasn't had to deal with internet problems with his older kids since he wasn't very observant or strict on internet rules before.