Be Safe While Gaming Out There

Jonathan C., 16, Keystoner

It’s cool to do online gaming because you don’t feel like you're playing by yourself. You can play with friends or without them at your house and you can meet new people online. But you don’t know them so don’t tell them anything personal!

It is important that you not put personal info in your screen name. If someone finds out something personal about you they can expose you, and it could be dangerous to you and your family.

Don’t put your birthday, your first name, your last name, or your street address. Don’t give out your phone number or any of your parents' info such as their phone number or bank number.

The safest thing for you to do is to just play the games and don’t talk to anyone unless you know them. Make sure you just talk with your friends only; you can trust them more but still don’t tell them personal information over the internet.

If you do talk to someone you don’t know and they make you feel uncomfortable, report them. Someone could also cyberbully you through online gaming. Report any cyberbullying or harrassment because it is against the law.

Be Sure To Read Web Sites' Privacy Policy

Colby N., Keystoner

In my opinion, internet privacy is little to none. According to Wikipedia, "internet privacy consists of privacy over the media of the internet, the ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the internet, and to control who can access that information." It is really hard to control how information is used and where it goes over the internet -- unless you just don't use the internet.

A very useful document that will help ensure your privacy, is the website's privacy policy. These tell you what kind of information the website takes and what it will do with the information that you give it, and are generally found at the bottom of the page.

A lot of websites take information from you without you knowing it. The privacy policy will tell you if the website takes information like that or not.

Some web sites record what you do, and where you go on their web sites. They save these as cookies or beacons to your machine. A cookie basically means that the website keeps tabs on you while you are on their site. A beacon is a little graphic image that is used on some websites and e-mails. All they do is monitor what you do and where you go.

Some websites will have some services, and their policies might tell about them, and how they work. Some websites will give a quick overview of their website as a whole.

Privacy policies are a great way to keep a tab on how and where the information that you give a website is used and goes. Remember -- nothing is really private online!

More Resources

• 4netsafety.com: Sprint website offers online safety guidance for young people and adults.
• bnetsavvy.org: Tools, tip, links and resources to keep you safe and savvy online.
• nsteens.org: Comics and videos explore online hazards.