Internet Safety 101

Instructions

Hey y'all, it's been a while!! Life's been chaotic and I haven't really been drawing, but I thought that this was important. ________________________________________ DISCLAIMER - None of this was said to make you paranoid or scared of social media, it's simply some guidelines to help keep you safe. The majority of these possibilities are not super likely to happen, I only mention them because I've seen them happen or they've happened to me. _______________________________________ These are just a few rules I personally have for myself to keep me safe, though some of these are a bit personalized for a few things I'm paranoid over. _________________________________________ 1. Don't ever give out your personal information on social media. This includes where you live, passwords to anything, credit/debit card information, phone numbers, and - despite lots of people giving this out anyways - given names and ages!! Now, when you're above the age of 18, giving your age or your given name online is not that big of a deal, but if you're under that age it's best to keep your age anonymous so you don't become the target of not great people. With given names it's a bit less harmful as long as you don't tell people your last name as well, especially if you're widely involved in social activities where you live. It's not likely but sometimes - if you're widely involved with your city - your name can get into news articles and then be subject to searching on google by not great people. 2. If you are under the age of 18 and you do not know the person, do not ever engage in private messaging. This can lead to harmful messages and potential stalkers. Typically, social media sites with the option of private messages have a setting you can turn on that prevents anyone from messaging you privately! So, if you're under 18 this is always a good setting to turn on. 3. This one is more of a me safety thing but if you're under 18 you should not post your face or pictures of your body. No matter your age, posting pictures of yourself can be dangerous as it can lead to stalkers or other malicious people attempting to harm you. 4. Never click a link to a site that you're unsure of. If you've never been to that site or it looks suspicious then DON'T CLICK IT!! If someone you don't know sends you a link to something DON'T CLICK IT!!! Clicking links to unknown sites can give your device viruses or send you to places with images you'd rather have not seen. 5. Be nice. Cyber bullying may not seem like a big deal, but being toxic online can lead to horrible mental health issues and can harm other people. Just think about how someone else might feel if you said something, and if you come to the conclusion that they might be hurt, then don't say it. This is especially hard when it comes to constructive criticism, but I have a few tips for that as well. Don't give constructive criticism unless you were asked to. When you DO give constructive criticism, make sure to also give a compliment to balance things out. One more thing - when giving constructive criticism, be sure that you're not insulting whatever it is, but giving room for the creator to work on their skills and to grow. 6. Think ahead. This is kind of like using common sense. When you think ahead, you're thinking about what your actions might do for you in the future. Try not to do anything that may hurt you or other people in the future. This is just good advice in general. If you think the future you would be unhappy with your decision, then don't make that decision! __________________________________________ Thanks to anyone who read this far and if you got to this point CONGRATS!!! You get a big ol June Bug cookie :) (unless you don't like cookies or are gluten free or something and then you get whatever you want ig idk) Love y'all and stay safe!