Comments on: Online chat is not dangerous

By: Anne Footalee

Anne Footalee — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:13:29 +0000

Children just need to be educated on the dangers of online chat. Parents need to take the time to educate them properly.

By: Linda Chou

Linda Chou — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:07:16 +0000

I agree with the points made above. Virtually anything can be dangerous to kids that aren’t taught to act properly. A simple home can be very dangerous place for an infant. The internet isn’t becoming more dangerous. If anything it’s actually becoming safer with it becoming more common, safeguards are put in place, safe behaviour is taught earlier, and so on.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:09:37 +0000

I always emphasize this point on my safety page & chatting advice page.

The first thing you need to learn is that chat rooms are as safe as you make them. Don’t be intimidated by stories in the press. If you use a little common sense then chat rooms are perfectly safe. For safety advice, click here.

And I like this that I show on the safety page……

C – Careful! People online may not be who they say they are.

H – Hang on to your personal information. Never give people your phone number, address, where you work etc.

A – Arranging to meet somebody off the internet is dangerous, if you are arranging to meet make sure you are 120% certain of who they are, and even then only meet in a public place with a friend or even better, a group of friends.

T – Tell any staff member of Friendly Chat if you come across something that makes you feel uncomfortable within our community, we will be more than happy to help.

And it’s all just basic common sense.

To stay safe while using chat rooms all you need is a little common sense. Like any town or city, you’ll get the good; the bad & the ugly. There are simple ways to deal with this and minimize the risk of your chatting experience becoming a bad one.

* Don’t give out personal information
* Don’t give out your surname
* Don’t give out your residential address or phone number
* Don’t give out personal details about yourself, your life, your family, your children etc

People aren’t always who they say they are. No matter how well you think you know a chatter, be very cautious before giving out any information close to your heart.

A little common sense goes a long way when it comes to chat rooms. As long as you care about your community, it’ll be a safe one. Just educate your users, de-fuse the scaremongering and replace it with reminders of common sense and everyone will be fine.

By: JohnFullham

JohnFullham — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:46:51 +0000

I think its a good point for parents to take the onus of responsibility for online education for their children. The Internet I like to think of being similiar to the outside world. Use of common sense will always keep you and your loved ones out of trouble but not checking before you cross the street might be dangerous as well.

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:13:11 +0000

Lukasz – I don’t think the Web is becoming more dangerous; I simply think that because more people are using it, the number of incidents is also increasing. As a percentage of the total number of Internet users, it is still evident that the Internet need not be considered a dangerous place – it is a public arena and consequently people need to take the same safeguards online as they do offline.

By: Lukasz Piotrowski

Lukasz Piotrowski — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:07:30 +0000

With all the recent gruesome stories in the US now, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the web is becoming more and more dangerous.

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:34:23 +0000

SMS – Children do have the right to a certain degree of privacy, but when it comes to them interacting online, parents need to take an active interest in their activities. Education is great, but it needs to be backed up with parents getting involved with what their children do when online.

By: Funny SMS

Funny SMS — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:32:39 +0000

As your kids get older, they should be permissible some privacy. The aim is to help them to surf the Internet sensibly and to help them find out how to guard them from danger. Repeat them never to hand out private information such as cell numbers, PPS number, passwords or their real identity or address and give them confidence to talk to you if they are worried or anxious by something they have experienced or read on the internet or chat rooms.

By: Martin Reed - Blog Author

Martin Reed - Blog Author — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:21:18 +0000

Chat – Thanks for your comment; I am glad you enjoyed the article. I look forward to reading more of what you have to say in the future. What’s your real name, by the way?

By: chat

chat — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:19:58 +0000

Hello Martin Reed,

I agree that online chat rooms are not as dangerous as other elements affecting us in our real lives. Like you said kids can get snatched from parks, schools etc. Parents just need to educate their kids not to meet stangers in person; Not at parks and not on the internet.

I used to love Msn chat and used it on a regular basis. The shut down duo to chat being unsafe really was a kick in the stomach for me.

Thanks for the insightful post, i am glade other chat webmasters agree that online chat can be safe with moderate moderation and educational information in keeping safe online.

I am so glade I found your blog and find it extremely resourceful (I have bookmarked it). I believe i could learn from a successful chat/ online community webmaster like you!

Thank you,