According to Roblyer and Doering (2013), social issues such as quality of life concerns, fears about technology overuses and misuses, risks of associated with social networking, and problems due to malicious attacks on computers shape the climate for educational uses. Not only do these problems shape the climate for education, but they also shape the climate in households today. In the day and time that we live in parents need to pay more attention to what their children are viewing as well as who they are conversing with on the Internet.
Three of the social issues that are associated with Internet use are risks of online social networking, illegal downloading, and safety issues. Social networking has been known to take up so much time, that it becomes a distraction from schoolwork (Goodman, 2011). It also exposes young people to cyberporn, or pornographic Internet sites, and cyberbullying, or online harassment in social networks (Roblyer & Doering, 2013). Parents can take preventative measures to protect their families. They can make sure computers are located in a central area, make sure their children are not sharing personal information, and children should talk to their parents if they are feeling uncomfortable about who they are conversing with online.
Another social issue is illegal downloading/software piracy. An increasing number of sites offer ways to download copies of software without paying for them (Robyler & Doering, 2013). Kids and teenagers are very prone to this practice because they are enthused with the look of different sites. They don't realize that they are downloading illegally. Parents and teachers need to discuss and model ethical behaviors with respect to software and media (Robyler & Doering, 2013).
Safety of children, I think, is the most important issues in social networking. According to Teens Health, the most important rule of smart surfing would be to remain anonymous by keeping your online friends in the virtual world. Remaining anonymous would ensure your safety from online predators.
This is my website with information about digital citizenship http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/
References:
Adomaitis, M. (2013). Lovetoknow social networking. Online Social Networking Dangers.
Retrieved from
http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Online_Social_Networking_Dangers.
Eastern Illinois University. (2013). Illegal Downloading and Inerner Piracy. Retrieved from
http://its.eiu.edu/illegaldownloading.php.
Goodman, B. (2011, March 28). Social networking may affect kids' health. WebMD Health and
Parenting. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/parenting.news/20110328/social -networking-may-affect-kids-health.
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, Aaron H. (2013). Intergrating Educational Technology into Teaching.
Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Teens Health from Nemours. (1995-2013). Online Safety. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/teen/safety/safebasics/internet_safety.html#.
The Official Website of the Attorney General of Massachusetts. (2013). Illegal Downloads,
Copyright, File Sharing & Piracy. Retrieved from http://www.mass.gov/ago/about-the- attorney-generals-office/community-programs/cyber-crime-and-internet-safety/cyber-crimes/illegal-downloads-copyright-file-sharing-and-.html.
(Video File) Wilson, J., Hughes, B., Crandall, S. (2010, November 21). A Danville NewTech
Speech Class Production (Producer). The Dangers of Online Sexual Predators. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrSU2aTZKkE
I am glad you got everything posted on your blog. Great presentation! So many people surf the internet without thinking about safety issues especially our students. I was the same way until my email got hacked last summer. It is so scary to have someone sneaking through your private stuff. I could not open by email but the hacker was emailing people in my contact list. When I did get into my email it was in Islamic. I take so many precaution now with all my accounts I have online. We have to make our students aware of the dangers of surfing the internet.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your presentation. It is so important that parents are proactive about monitoring what there kids are doing online. Now that the internet is so portable, it can be difficult for parents to know what there children are viewing, posting, writing, ect. When I was a teenager we had one desktop computer that was in the family room at our house, so my parents always knew what I was doing on the computer. Sometimes children will have multiple social media accounts, one for their parents to see/have access to and one that they use with their friends. One thing we might could do as teachers is to send home information for parents and children on internet safety and things for parents to be aware of relating to their child's online activity.
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