Caution Dangers in Message Boards Chatrooms

Caution!

Message boards and chat rooms can be a lot of fun, because they allow us to interact with others. However, they can also be dangerous and deadly! Visiting message boards and chat rooms is like walking down city streets and engaging in intimate conversations with those we pass and inviting them into our homes and lives. Would you do that in real life?

We might think that LDS sites would be safe (we Mormons are pretty naive when it comes to trusting strangers), but we must remember that LDS sites are open to the public, and we don't know who is frequenting them.

Here are a few suggestions to help keep us safe while we chat with others.

NEVER give out personal information about yourself without permission from your parent. No real names, no ages, no locations, no e-mail addresses, no school information, nothing! Keep a safe distance from others by using a nickname. Let your relationship with your virtual friends be based on what you say not on who you are. Internet predators, may form a profile of you based on what you say in chat rooms. If they have your e-mail address, they may intimidate you by e-mailing a hidden program that takes over certain functions of your computer: "I'm going to get you! To show you that I can, I will now pop out your CD ROM tray" (and out it comes). They may e-mail bomb you with thousands of e-mails. They may list you as the webmaster and owner of porno web sites, and they may post sexual ads listing your name, address, and phone number, resulting in you getting lots of hate mail. They may assume your identity and harass others online. This may go on for months!
Never send a picture of yourself or of another person in your family without getting permission from your parent.
If your cyber friends try to "pry" personal information out of you, recognize that as a warning signal that they are trying to enter your private space. They probably don't have your welfare in mind!
If you want to use e-mail to communicate with persons in chat rooms and message boards, get a free e-mail address from yahoo or hotmail. The safest addresses are those that require that you log into the sponsoring website to obtain your e-mail, rather than forwarding your e-mail to your real address. The use of these free e-mail addresses will also keep your real address off the spam lists. If you start getting lots of spam or "hate" e-mail to your free address, you can stop using that address and get another free one.
There is no need to be personal with your cyber friends, for you will probably never meet them. Let your relationship with them be based on what you say, not who you are!
However, as you develop cyber friendships with others, be aware that you will probably want to let them know who you really are, for we all want to be recognized as real individuals. Be careful, because people who prey on others will try to get you emotionally bonded with them.
Be very careful about meeting in person with your cyber friends. Don't do it alone but take a couple of friends with you, and get permission from your parent for the meeting. Choose wisely those you meet, for you don't really know much about them. The counsel of our prophets about dating in groups instead of individually applies to meeting our cyber friends.
Don't reply to persons in a chat room if they make you feel bad or uncomfortable. Don't reply to email that makes you feel bad or uncomfortable.
If you get an email from someone you don't know, don't open it. Immediately delete it and tell an adult.
Finally, recognize that you are responsible for your own life. You are responsible for your own safety. Seek counsel from those you trust. Seek counsel from your parent and from church leaders. Most importantly, seek counsel from the Spirit. But, the bottom line is that you, not they, are responsible for your life!