Internet Safety

      I watched the hour long Frontline Documentary which was enriching and informative.  I also read through Elder Ballard's 2003 talk "Let Our Voices Be Heard."  I learned some really interesting things.  In many ways it was an interesting mile marker on the road of the internet, to see how far we've come in 5 years.  Myspace has all but disappeared, and Facebook now has over 800 million users, almost half of them accessing their accounts on mobile devices.
      But most things I already knew.  Cyberbullying is a dangerous practice that can have harmful and lasting effects.  There are predators online, and for the most part, kids know how to handle themselves online.  If they want to seek out dangerous things, they know how, and if they want to avoid them, they know how.
      The internet is always a willing listener.  We are more vocal than perhaps we might otherwise be in our normal lives.  I feel like as much as this documentary scared me, it didn't broadcast the wonderful power for good the internet can have.  It is important to be aware of the dangers so that we can use the internet to its full potential.
      Elder Ballard alluded to the wonderful attributes of the web, as well as cautioned families that Satan will use whatever tools necessary to attack the basic unit of society.  He stressed the idea that we are free to choose, to act, and not to be acted upon.  I think that when we feel that we have lost our ability to control our internet habits, we are no longer acting, but being acted upon.  We should be aware of those dangers.