Teacher Anthony Alleyne giving words of wisdom on Internet safety.
Keep safe, keep away and keep telling.
That advice was reiterated at the Progressive Optimist Club’s Internet safety seminar, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre this morning, with several neighbouring primary schools, including Charles F. Broome Memorial, Grantley Prescod, St. Giles, Belmont and Wilkie Cumberbatch.
Teacher of the Deighton Griffith Secondary School, Anthony Alleyne, conducted an interactive session with the various highlighting the do’s and don’ts of modern day Internet activity.
Alleyne said that in Barbados approximately 170,000 used the internet out of a population of 250,000, compared to 11 million in the entire Caribbean region.
“It is up to us adults to keep promoting the good things about the Internet while avoiding the bad,” Alleyne stated.
Students identified some of the dangers associated with the Internet as cyber bullying, online sexual activity among the under-aged and sending photos to strangers.
Alleyne also pointed out that when young people were chatting on the Internet they had no idea whom they were talking to most of the time and he cautioned them not to believe everything they saw on the worldwide web.
He also pointed out particular Internet dangers such as identity theft, fraud, and stalkers or predators on young people.
The teacher also advised the students to never share their personal information over the Internet.
Additionally, he told them that real names should not be used on some sites and people should not give out the passwords to their e-mail addresses to strangers they met online or elsewhere.
President of the Progressive Optimist Club, Simeon Ellis, said the mandate of the club was to bring out the best in children as well as their activities. He said it was necessary to conduct the seminar, given the pervasive use of communications technology. (MR)