CAN YOU TRUST THE INTERNET?

Twenty years ago, kids at school had never even heard of the internet. Now, you can’t find a single person in your school who hasn’t at least heard of it. Many of us use it regularly and even have access to it from our homes! The “net” in the internet stands for network. A network is two or more computers connected so that we can share information or send information from one computer to another. The internet is a vast resource for all types of information. You may enjoy using it to research a school project, downloading your favourite songs or communicating with friends and family. You can access the information through web pages that companies, organizations and people create and post. It is like a huge bulletin board that the whole world uses. But you have to be careful because anyone can put anything on the internet. Just because you read something on a piece of paper someone sticks on a bulletin board doesn’t mean it is good information. So you have to be sure that whoever posted the information knows what they are talking about, especially if you are doing research! But, what if you are just emailing people? You still have to be very careful. If you have never met the person that you are communicating with online, you could be on dangerous ground. You should never give out any personal information to someone you don’t know, not even your name. And, just like you can’t believe the information on every website out there, you can’t rely on what strangers you meet on the internet tell you either. Just like you could make up things about yourself to tell someone, someone else could do the same to you!