It's titled "Internet Terms Defined" - and again their guide includes a detailed list of definitions and an infographic on internet symbols, some "Glossary Puzzles" (another note: the answers of both of those puzzles are available through a link at the very bottom of that page), and an extensive "Internet Terms Glossary", "Internet Symbols and What They Mean", "The Importance of Digital Literacy and The Internet", and "6 Reasons Why Digital Literacy Can Improve Your Life". Sure appreciate this compilation of useful information and the insights it can offer for when we all can get puzzled by these things when we encounter them unexpectedly!
Title is: How To Keep Your Kids Safe In The Online World? [A Child Saver Guide for Parents] and the link: https://mycomforthaven.com/kids-esafety/
A recent Safety.com survey reports that “More than three-fourths of parents claim at least one event in the past year has impacted their child(ren)’s sense of safety.” The survey found that kids were exposed to distressing topics in several ways. Despite the fact that TV, the internet, and other news access were the top sources causing fear, the survey also uncovered that 90% of parents with children under 18 are aware of the digital content their children are consuming. This is why we have created a guide that can help parents manage these difficult conversations with a series of questions and resources included. You can view it here: https://www.safety.com/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-news-and-protect-their-sense-of-safety/
Oh Y’all…! Until a couple of days ago, I had the best story in mind to share with you here in this issue!!! It’s been making the rounds on the internet via email, and when three different folks from different parts of the country sent it to me in space of twenty four hours, a week or so ago, I had to agree it was special… Maybe you saw it too – it had to do with a famous violinist and a broken string…??? Actually, it was mostly about the power of one’s attitude, when combined with the kind of artistic skill that comes only from extensive practice and professional experience, and the choice to “go forth anyway” when confronted with the various challenges that sometimes show up in our lives (most often at very public and otherwise inopportune moments)…
Well, as I always do with such things, I made several phone calls to check out it’s veracity and to see who I needed to appeal to for permission to pass it along… and was I ever surprised to learn that not one bit of it was true! Not only did it not happen to the violinist specified, he wasn’t even performing at all anywhere on the day the story said it all happened! It turned out to be a genuine “Tall Tale”… and duty requires me to honor this person’s wishes and not perpetuate the myth, even if it really does still read like a “good story” otherwise …(dang it!)
While such things are not unique to the internet, new technologies seem to bring whole new areas where we have to be “on our toes” in order to not get “taken in” …Certainly, such stories often show up elsewhere too - in printed materials of various sorts, in newspaper articles, on TV as “special interest investigations” or those "special offer, guaranteed, introductory, limited-time-only-so-buy-now" commercials ("you too can have thin body parts in 30 days, guaranteed!" or "buy today - lose weight yesterday!" – the list is endless!), or even as targeted mailings via our regular U.S. Post Office boxes. But especially if you’ve joined the legions of emailers, perhaps you’ve come across this kind of thing before and have noticed it too… the well intentioned “virus alerts”, chain letters of all ilk, and especially the heart wrenching and gut grabbing stories – this group in particular seems to be growing exponentially in numbers these days, and making the rounds across the country like electronic tsunami waves... The problem is, electronic or not, so many of them are written just well enough, contain just enough of the right sounding buzz words, and have just the right tone to them that it’s sometimes really hard to sort out the hoax/myth/tall tales from something that genuinely needs our active attention!
PURELY AS A MATTER OF FURTHER PUBLIC SERVICE, then, allow me to recommend these free web site resources for your use should you find stories crossing your path that might benefit from a bit of investigation before they get passed along… and if you don’t happen to have a computer with internet hook-up at home, try your local library – the reference people there are usually happy to help with this kind of thing!
(1) For a terrific Ultimate Guide to Phone Scams, check this one out: http://backgroundchecks.org/reverse-phone-lookup/phone-scams - The info at this site goes well beyond what would seem "common sense" and includes some very helpful resources as well
(2) Hoax Busters – http://hoaxbusters.org -- this web site replaced the one we'd originally linked to, and is still amazingly complete… detailed lists of hoaxes and chain letters are there, along with virtually everything one needs to know about recognizing hoaxes in general, and what to do about them when they enter your life.
For a terrific overview of areas of concern when it comes to Online Safety for kids (...actually, kids of all ages, too), including many very relevant links - do check out this page courtesy of US Insurance Angents dot com - (and many thanks to Keri Evans for the suggestion!!) https://usinsuranceagents.com/home-online-safety
