Safety on the Internet – 5th and 6th Classes

This week 5th and 6th class had a special visit from Garda John O’Shea from Blackrock Garda station. He has been a Garda for 13 years.  He came in to talk to us about Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying. The first thing he told us was to never be 100% sure about anybody or anything on the internet.  Also you should never attend nor arrange  a meeting with someone you met over the internet, because you can never be really sure about who a person really is and they could be a completely different individual.

He also advised us to be really careful about anything we say or do online.  If  you are reckless with what you put up online, years later, if you are applying for a job the employers could Google you and decline you if they don’t like what they see.  Any images you post on the internet will stay there forever – even when you have removed them. The main message is to think before you click.

He said cyber bullying is an assault and is taken very, very seriously by the Gardaí.  Any form of hurtful comments or threats are categorised as cyber bullying when sending online or on any socially interactive devices.

Garda O’Shea showed us a video about a boy who was being cyber bullied by people in his school.  He didn’t tell anyone about it and the problem just got worse. Eventually his mum found out and talked to the principal.  They called the guards who helped solve the problem.  This was a true story and things like this do happen in real life.

He told us if you get a mean message from somebody you MUST do the following :

• Do not reply
• Keep the message
• Block the sender
• Tell someone you trust

by Emma and Rose 6th Class