Take our quiz to find out how much you really know about internet safety!
1.Fact or Myth: If you’re a good student, mature for your age, and don’t look for trouble, nothing bad will ever happen to you online.
- Fact
- Myth
The correct answer is: Myth
The truth is that ANYONE can become an online victim. Girls who have become online victims never thought it would happen to them. The web makes it very easy to talk with people online, but don’t be fooled by someone who is easy to chat with and asks a lot of personal questions. Remember that people you don’t know are strangers and may not be trustworthy.
The truth is that ANYONE can become an online victim. Girls who have become online victims never thought it would happen to them. The web makes it very easy to talk with people online, but don’t be fooled by someone who is easy to chat with and asks a lot of personal questions. Remember that people you don’t know are strangers and may not be trustworthy.
2. What is the best way to tell that a website is reliable?
- The web page is colorful
- The address ends in .gov
- The website has lots of links
- The website is popular
The correct answer is: The address ends in .gov
Websites that end in .gov are generally reliable because they are connected with our federal or local governments. Don’t be fooled by bells and whistles on a website. Just because the web pages look colorful, it doesn’t mean that the information is true. A reliable website usually will post: a) the organization’s name, b) the author’s name, c) a way that the author can be contacted, and d) a list of references. If you are looking for facts, check out a few different web sites and compare information or double check the information at a library.
Websites that end in .gov are generally reliable because they are connected with our federal or local governments. Don’t be fooled by bells and whistles on a website. Just because the web pages look colorful, it doesn’t mean that the information is true. A reliable website usually will post: a) the organization’s name, b) the author’s name, c) a way that the author can be contacted, and d) a list of references. If you are looking for facts, check out a few different web sites and compare information or double check the information at a library.
3. Which of the following chat rooms is probably your safest choice?
- A private chat with people you don’t know.
- An open chat for sports fans on a .com website.
- An open chat for single people wanting to meet a partner.
- An open and moderated chat recommended by your teacher.
The correct answer is: An open and moderated chat recommended by your teacher.
A moderated chat room that is recommended by a professional such as a teacher or health care provider is your safest bet. Even if you have your parent’s permission to enter a chat and someone you respect told you about the chat, you should still take precautions. Do not give out any personal information such as your name, where you live, or where you go to school, etc. You need to be really careful when choosing a chat room.
A moderated chat room that is recommended by a professional such as a teacher or health care provider is your safest bet. Even if you have your parent’s permission to enter a chat and someone you respect told you about the chat, you should still take precautions. Do not give out any personal information such as your name, where you live, or where you go to school, etc. You need to be really careful when choosing a chat room.
4. You are on vacation and have no internet access. You can’t wait to check your email to see if your friend has emailed you back. You should:
- Call your best friend and give her your username and password so she can check your email for you.
- Go from house to house asking people if you can borrow their computer for a couple of minutes.
- Wait until you get back home to check your email. After all, you’ll be back in a week.
- Travel by yourself to an Internet café that is 2 hours away and pay $20 to check your email.
The correct answer is: Wait until you get back home to check your email. After all, you’ll be back in a week.
It’s not an emergency and you only have a week to wait, so it’s better to hold off on checking your email than to put yourself in danger by going into a stranger’s house or disclosing private information like your password (you should NEVER share your passwords, even with a friend!) You might choose D if you didn’t have to travel so far and pay a lot of money to use the Internet.
It’s not an emergency and you only have a week to wait, so it’s better to hold off on checking your email than to put yourself in danger by going into a stranger’s house or disclosing private information like your password (you should NEVER share your passwords, even with a friend!) You might choose D if you didn’t have to travel so far and pay a lot of money to use the Internet.
5. Fact or Myth:
If people send you their picture online, then it is ok to meet them because you know what they look like.
- Fact
- Myth
The correct answer is: Myth
People on the Internet can pretend to be whoever they want to be. Just because someone says they are a 14 year old girl, it doesn’t mean that they are. It could be a 50 year old man! The best advice is NEVER MEET ANYONE YOU HAVE MET ONLINE.
People on the Internet can pretend to be whoever they want to be. Just because someone says they are a 14 year old girl, it doesn’t mean that they are. It could be a 50 year old man! The best advice is NEVER MEET ANYONE YOU HAVE MET ONLINE.
6. You are being followed from chat room to chat room and getting unwanted messages from someone you don’t know. You are feeling uncomfortable with the messages that the person is sending you. You should:
- Talk to the person for a while until they leave you alone.
- Give them any information they want so they will leave you alone.
- Log off immediately and let your parents know that you are being harassed.
- Tell the person to meet you in the chat tomorrow and don’t show up.
The correct answer is: Log off immediately and let your parents know that you are being harassed.
You should be very concerned if someone is messaging you and asking a lot of personal questions. You never have to speak with anyone on-line if you don’t want to, and you should never give out any personal information. When you log off, anyone can write down your screen name and continue to harass you the next time you log on. If you tell your parents, they can contact your Internet provider and report the person who is bothering you.
You should be very concerned if someone is messaging you and asking a lot of personal questions. You never have to speak with anyone on-line if you don’t want to, and you should never give out any personal information. When you log off, anyone can write down your screen name and continue to harass you the next time you log on. If you tell your parents, they can contact your Internet provider and report the person who is bothering you.
7. Fact or Myth: It’s OK to post pictures that you wouldn’t want your parents, teachers, or future employers to see as long as you set up your privacy settings – that way there’s no way they’ll ever see the photos!
- Fact
- Myth
The correct answer is: Myth
Even if your parents and teachers don’t have direct access to your online profile because of your privacy settings, anyone who can see your photos has the ability to save or repost anything you put online. If you wouldn’t be comfortable with your parents, teachers, or strangers seeing a photo, it probably doesn’t belong online.
Even if your parents and teachers don’t have direct access to your online profile because of your privacy settings, anyone who can see your photos has the ability to save or repost anything you put online. If you wouldn’t be comfortable with your parents, teachers, or strangers seeing a photo, it probably doesn’t belong online.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.