Teen teaches course on Internet safety

A high school student has his own computer business.

By JOSEPH MALDONADO
For the Daily Record/Sunday News

Jul 26, 2006 —
At the start of his Internet awareness seminar, Tom Steele told his class that the information superhighway is like fire: Despite its potential for destructive purposes, people still need to use it.

"The Internet is not something we necessarily need to fear," he said to his class of nine at St. Joseph Catholic Church Tuesday evening. "But it is something that individuals need to be able to control."

Steele, 17, is a senior at York Catholic High School and owner of his own computer business, Technically Speaking Computer Courses. Steele elicited the help of friends and classmates Zach Smith, 17, Colleen Shelley, 16, and Jessica Erb, 15, for the seminar.

During the last year, Steele said, much has been written about the Internet's use as an online stalking ground for child predators.

Many young people set themselves up to be victims because of the amount of information they make available about themselves on Web sites such as myspace.com and xanga.com. The sites encourage people to divulge their real names, home address and interests, Steele said.

But sometimes, the information is much more explicit, even going as far as to list whether someone is straight or gay, or into swinging with other couples. According to myspace.com, there are more than 93 million registered users on its network, a large percentage of whom are children.

"Parents have to be aware of how easy it is for kids to create a site for themselves," he said. "And depending on what information they make available, anyone could trace a path right to your doorstep."

One of the other main concerns of the parents in attendance was the use of instant messaging and chat rooms.

Instant messaging is the ability to type messages back and forth between two people. The messages are sent virtually instantaneously.

That's not the case in the chat room. In this virtual meeting place, anyone can enter a conversation with the group.

"The problem is that there is no way to know who is telling the truth about their identity," Steele said.

Most chat rooms have features that allow people to leave the main chat area for a private conversation. A child might think they're talking to another child, but it could be a predator.

Parent Lynne Huddleston-Ruff shook her head in disbelief as the first break took place during the two-hour seminar.

"I'm embarrassed to admit how little I know," she said. "I have two kids, and it's not that I don't trust them, but it's just that there is so much out there that I want to remain vigilant."

 

 

This is an article in response to an Internet Awareness Night on July 25, 2006. So read more about this seminar, click here.