Internet Post (NOT Asifa Post, 95)

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  • May 21, 2012 11:37 pm at 11:37 pm #603528
    writersoul
    Participant

    I posted this in another thread where it got no response whatsoever. It’s something that I, as a teen, really, fervently believe is extremely important, and thus I am reprinting it here.

    [While I don’t fully agree with lakewhut] I believe that a lot of people are missing the boat— before you can ban or filter, you need to teach about SAFE INTERNET USE.

    There was a lecture by R Zecharya Wallerstein going around (by email), and it talked about a really horrible thing that happened to a girl because of someone she met on the internet. I cannot even come close to understanding the tzara that this family is going through, but the thing that irked me was that R Wallerstein kept saying, as a persistent refrain, “Get off the internet.” Why did that irk me? Because that wasn’t the moral of the story.

    I will not be going into the story, but even from what I’ve said already, the moral is clearly DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS! Whether on the internet or in real life! Whether male or female (because there is a potential, possibly slight but still there, that they are not the one they say they are)! So what does the story mean otherwise, that if someone can get kidnapped off a bus we shouldn’t ride buses?

    We need to educate teens (and, quite frankly, adults, if only that they can stay alert to the dangers) about using the internet RESPONSIBLY.

    1) Only “friend” people you know (call them to confirm that they “friended” you)

    2) Do you really need social networking? I’ve always wondered why people do.

    3) Don’t talk to strangers! Don’t tell them your name! Don’t give them your email address! Just DON’T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL!!!

    4) Memorize #3

    Honestly, if you ask any kid, they will know that they’re not allowed to talk to strangers, take candy from strangers, etc. But do they understand not to talk to strangers online? That is really what we need to make sure, even before we talk about filters and stuff like that, because it’s just sechel, and because there will always be kids who will break the filters (just by the way, I have already learned how to break through the internet filters on my school computers and I know the computer passwords— yes, we do know how, and if we don’t someone else will teach us). They need to be educated and KNOW about the dangers, or you’re just leaving them, not knowing how to swim, in the middle of an ocean filled with man-eating crocodiles.

    May 22, 2012 11:40 pm at 11:40 pm #876523
    Doodle-Man™
    Member

    I totally agree.

    And theres also something called learning from mistakes.

    May 23, 2012 12:28 am at 12:28 am #876524
    more_2
    Member

    Can you post the link please I would like to watch it.

    May 23, 2012 2:22 am at 2:22 am #876525
    cinderella
    Participant

    I listened to this speech and I have to say I agree with what Rabbi Wallertein was saying. His main point- to get of the internet was the moral of the story. Any experienced, computer savvy person can hack into your email or Facebook account and get all your information without ‘friending’ you first. You dont have to talk to a stranger for them to find out your personal information.

    What you are saying is extremely true and I agree with you 100%. But the Internet is an extremely dangerous place even if you ‘don’t talk to strangers’.

    May 23, 2012 3:10 am at 3:10 am #876526
    lakewhut
    Participant

    what are you referring to?

    May 23, 2012 12:08 pm at 12:08 pm #876527
    cinderella
    Participant

    http://www.guardyoureyes.com/GYEFiles/MP3s/Rabbi__Zecharia_Wallerstein_Stay_Off_Social_Networking_Sites.mp3

    May 23, 2012 3:24 pm at 3:24 pm #876528
    BaalHabooze
    Participant

    wow, scary stuff! thank you cinderella for the link. I’m so shooken up. nebech that is only one in hundreds of cases…

    May 23, 2012 6:06 pm at 6:06 pm #876529
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Writersoul,

    You missed the point. The victim in that case was probably taught, since she was two years old, not to talk to strangers. She didn’t think she was talking to a stranger.

    BTW, see apushtayid’s response on the other thread.

    May 23, 2012 9:50 pm at 9:50 pm #876530
    more_2
    Member

    Thanks Baal habooz;)

    May 24, 2012 1:42 am at 1:42 am #876531
    writersoul
    Participant

    DY: No, I didn’t miss the point. In fact, you reinforce my point. The fact seems to be that she was never told that a stranger on the internet is the SAME THING as being a stranger on the street. Unless this person pretended to be someone she knew, which should really be easy to disprove, she obviously spoke to a stranger. What she never realized was that a stranger is a stranger even in cyberspace.

    Cinderella: Yes, that’s true, but if she’d been kidnapped out of her house, I’d agree. However, being lured out in such a way necessitates a certain amount of communication, in which case the point is, even without discussing social media, don’t talk to strangers.

    And while the whole point still stands, I feel uncomfortable discussing a specific person’s horrific situation. I only used it in the first place as an example. My point is that we NEED to raise awareness, even before we filter, because it might seem like a stereotype, but savvy teens can break filters. (I can, some. I mean, I DON’T, but…) Even if they can’t, there is still the library, and if they do some “illegal” Facebooking or something, they will be unknowledgeable and unprepared.

    May 24, 2012 1:56 am at 1:56 am #876532
    writersoul
    Participant

    DY: For future reference, this is my response to apushatayid—

    Did you read what I wrote? My entire post was about the problems with people chatting each other about social media when they don’t know each other. NOTHING about movies. My point was that the moral wasn’t get off the internet, because that’s like saying that if people get hit by cars, we shouldn’t drive. Instead, we should look before we cross, and likewise, know who we are chatting with on the internet.

    May 24, 2012 4:51 am at 4:51 am #876533
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Writersoul,

    Should we also instruct our children how to safely do drugs? Don’t you think we should do that before telling them not to take them at all?

    Social networking is highly dangerous, and our motto should be, “just say no to Facebook”.

    May 24, 2012 11:50 pm at 11:50 pm #876534
    cinderella
    Participant

    Should we also instruct our children how to safely do drugs?

    Nicely put.

    May 25, 2012 1:11 am at 1:11 am #876535
    writersoul
    Participant

    DY: I SAID in my original post that I don’t see the point of social networking. However, comparing it to drugs is ridiculous, because the internet has uses which can be very helpful and relevant, as opposed to drugs, which are pretty much entirely damaging (I will not get into medical marijuana or anything like that now, obviously). I know that my mom has Facebook for her job. I know people who run businesses either entirely off Facebook or with Facebook pages which can really help business. Set aside Facebook, and there are even more benefits to the internet which I will not go into, as they have been enumerated in other threads. Comparing internet to drugs, which are dangerous, illegal, and just plain stupid, is not very apt.

    We don’t know the way the world is going, and while we hope that Moshiach will be here sooner, the internet will probably achieve greater and greater prominence in our lives, in which case children (and adults) should be educated in using it, even if it is banned afterwards, if only so that later on they are not starting, totally naive, from square one.

    May 25, 2012 5:40 am at 5:40 am #876536
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    Writersoul,

    You hit upon, but for some reason dismissed, the continuation of my analogy. Yes, there can be proper use for certain drugs, and when necessary, one must learn the proper way to administer them. There are other drugs besides marijuana which have both positive and destructive uses; steroids and narcotics come to mind.

    Should we educate our children how to administer these drugs because they have potential benefits?

    I’ve unfortunately seen the destruction internet addiction has wreaked on individuals and families (and the rabbonim who were involved in the asifa have seen it a great deal more than I), and I’m not willing to concede that the benefits outweigh the danger.

    I can’t address the use of Facebook for business purposes, since I don’t understand it, but an adult using it merely for business is likely different than it being used socially.

    May 25, 2012 12:56 pm at 12:56 pm #876537
    avhaben
    Participant

    If you get rid of the social usage and applications of Facebook, it absolutely has NO business use for a Yid, whatsoever. Virtually no user member of Facebook would continue using the service without the social aspect.

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