Is the Internet as safe as we think?

1168 Words3 Pages

Today, it could be said that users of the internet, are at more risk then than they ever have been. With our advancing technologies, and ever-evolving internet social culture it has made it increasingly easy for this concept we rely so heavily upon to be used not only for exploitation but also for criminal purposes. When we discuss aspects of internet security, there are many, many areas that could be studied. Being a regular IT user, and an area I am fluent in, I have a fairly strong opinion on which areas of internet safety I believe to be of more concern. “Cyber-bullying” involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, mobile phone text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal web sites, and personal social networking sites to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, that is intended to harm one person in particular. It is widely seen as one of the more widespread youth threats on the internet. A somewhat alarming survey of 1500 16-24 year olds conducted in September 2009 by AP-MTV found that (Pure Site, 2011) “50% of youngsters in this age group have experienced digitally abusive behaviour, with older teens aged 18-24 (52% vs. 47%) and females more likely to be targeted (53% vs. 42%). I myself believe if this survey had been conducted a year or two earlier the results would not have been so disturbing. The last 5 years have seen explosive growth in the mobile social networking market, which unquestionably has contributed to survey results such as these. Ann Frisén, a member of the EU network studying cyber-bullying, concluded that (ScienceDaily, 2011) 'Victims of internet bullying, or cyber-bullying, have no refuge. Victims may be harassed cont... ... middle of paper ... ...stem. Works Cited ScienceDaily (2010). Cyberbullying : A Growing Problem [Internet]. Available at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222104939.htm/ [Accessed : 21 December 2011]. National Crime Prevention Council (2010). Cyberbullying [Internet]. Available at: http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying/ [Accessed : 03/01/2012]. Pure Site (2011). Cyberbullying Statistics [Internet]. Available at : http://puresight.com/Cyberbullying/cyber-bullying-statistics.html [Accessed 03/01/2012]. BBC News (2010). Stuxnet Worm Hits Iran Nuclear Plant Staff Computers [Internet]. Available at : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11414483 [Accessed 08/01/2012]. NetStrategies (2010). Is Your Computer At Risk From Hackers? [Internet]. Available at : http://www.netstrategies.com/case-studies/is-your-website-at-risk-from-hackers.html [Accessed 09/01/2012]

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