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About the technology
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Benefits include...
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Be aware of the following...
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Social Networking
Social networking services enable users to set up a profile and build and manage their own community online. This can be done on the internet or on some mobile devices and is becoming an increasingly popular way of interacting with, often vast, networks of people.
Some of the most common social networking activities are communicating and socialising with existing friends; Meeting new people; Creating and uploading content (such as blogs, photos or music); Sharing third-party content (like photos and videos); And taking part in community and collaborative activities such as music and politics.
Social networking services include Bebo, Facebook, Faceparty, Flickr, Google Buzz, MySpace, and Piczo. Some social networking services have themes - Flickr is for publishing and sharing photos; MySpace is for connecting people, content and culture; YouTube is for posting, sharing and viewing video clips, for example.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org and www.digizen.org
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You can socialise easily with your friends and family and make new friends; Encourages creativity in areas like music and film; Promotes collaboration between users; Helps develop communication and digital literacy skills.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Anyone can view your profile and personal information unless it is set to private; Could expose you to contact from strangers; Could be misused by bullies; Other people could post harmful/inappropriate information or images of you online; Fake profiles could be created.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Mobile Phones
Nowadays, mobiles are not simply for talking and texting (SMS) - they offer a myriad of services, including picture messaging (MMS), built-in cameras, video capabilities, TV, mobile games and music.
Plus, the development of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) means that you can access the internet from newer mobiles.
Sources: Various websites
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Like a portable mini-computer; Good way to stay in touch with people; Offers independence and a feeling of security; Text messaging is a quick and (compared to calls) inexpensive way of keeping in touch; Multimedia messaging lets you send, receive and store photos, videos and music on your mobile; 3G mobiles allow you to check email, browse the internet, watch TV and video clips and play games while you're on the move.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Webcams
Webcams (web cameras) are small cameras (usually, though not always, video cameras), whose images can be accessed using the Web, instant messaging, a PC video conferencing application or, in some cases, a mobile phone.
Most commonly, webcams are used to see a picture or video of someone you're talking to online.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org and www.childnet-int.org
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Good for taking pictures or recording messages; Enable you to see and talk to someone live on your computer screen - useful for staying in touch with friends and family who don't live nearby, for example; Let you post messages, photos and videos on the internet.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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You might be persuaded to act inappropriately or take and send inappropriate images of yourself to someone you've met online; You might see or be sent inappropriate webcam footage.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Video Sharing
Video-sharing websites, like YouTube, enable users to upload video clips and share them with other internet users.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Makes it easy to view videos; Contain lots of interesting content, such as music videos and funny clips; Encourages creativity by enabling you to upload video clips you make and share them with others.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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You might access inappropriate material, such as violent or sexually-explicit clips; Video clips you post might make you vulnerable to contact by strangers; Video clips of you posted by others might embarrass you; Video clips might encourage irresponsible behaviour, such as driving dangerously.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Interactive gaming
There are lots of devices (such as consoles, mobiles and MP3 players) and websites that you can play computer games on nowadays, either alone or with/against other players.
Source: www.wikipedia.org and www.childnet-int.org
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Some games are not appropriate for children and young people; Live text and voice chat during multi-player games could be disruptive or offensive; Some people argue that gaming can be addictive.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Blogging
A blog is a Web site that is usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary (eg about news or travel), descriptions of personal events and feelings (eg a diary), or other materials such as graphics or video. Blog entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.
Source: Various websites
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Encourages people to express themselves freely and create their own content; Provides interesting content for other internet users.
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Comments in the blog might offend or upset certain readers; People might make nasty comments about your blog or you personally; You need to bear in mind legal issues in areas such as copyright and defamation.
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Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is the trademark for the popular wireless technology used in home networks, mobiles, games consoles and other electronic devices, which enables them to connect to the internet without the need for wires.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Enables you to access your devices in a wider range of places, such as the garden or Wi-Fi hotspots in airports or hotels; Facilitates connection between different devices (eg games console and PC).
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Wireless networks are particularly vulnerable to other users gaining access so you must ensure that security features are enabled.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a wireless protocol that provides a way to connect and exchange data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, including digital cameras, mobiles and games consoles that are Bluetooth-enabled.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Provides wireless communication between devices, such as a mobile and a hands-free handset and a PC and printer; Enables wireless networking between PCs in a confined space.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Bluejacking - where a stranger or a company sends you a message or picture to your Bluetooth device; Bluesnarfing - where another Bluetooth user accesses data you have stored on your device - such as your address book, text messages and photos - without your authorisation.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Location-based services (LBS)
Location-based services are information and entertainment services that can be accessed via a mobile device.
They make use of the geographical position of the mobile device enabling you to find people and places in a certain location.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Location-based services save you time and effort by helping you find the nearest cash machine or restaurant, get weather information and navigate to a particular address, for example.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Location-based mobile advertising - where you are sent information about - can be considered to invade your privacy, if you have not opted in to it.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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Downloading content legitimately
Many websites and retailers offer download options for music, films, games, ringtones and other content and pass on the royalties to the content producers.
Sources: Various websites
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Makes it easy and quick to access music, films and other entertainment content; Lets you store content on your PC.
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Unfortunately, some websites allow content to be downloaded without the permission of the producer and without rewarding them in any way - if you download from these sites you could be breaking the law; Downloading from unknown sites could put you at greater risk of viruses and hackers.
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Email
Electronic mail (email) is a way of sending and receiving messages over electronic communication systems.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
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You might receive unsolicited messages or content, which might be inappropriate or threatening, offensive images or video clips, or viruses; Someone else might access your email account and find your personal information.
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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Instant Messaging (IM)
Instant Messaging (often called IM) is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on either typed text or voice and webcams. You can see which of your contacts are online and the text is conveyed via computers connected over a network, such as the internet.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org and www.childnet-int.org
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Chat rooms
Online chat is a way of communicating by sending text or video messages to people who are in the same chat room. Typically, chat rooms are thematically organised around interests, age or location.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org and www.childnet-int.org
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Anyone can use a public chat room; Most chat rooms don't require age verification; People tend to be less inhibited in chat rooms; Chat rooms are not necessarily moderated, so you might experience inappropriate chat; People can pretend to be someone they're not (eg adults could pretend to be children in order to build an inappropriate relationship).
Sources: DCSF Cyberbullying Guidance and Childnet Know It All
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