Recently I came to know of someone who visited a movie file-sharing site. He was trying to see if he could get episodes of the latest season of a TV show that is no longer playing here.
So, why did he visit a file-sharing site? Reason: Couldn't wait for the DVD set to be out to buy, which is his normal modus operandi.
Now he is being spammed with emails from sites with highly questionable material! Obviously, he must have used his often used email address (duh!) to sign up for something or other which appeared at the file-sharing site or some site linked to it. Yes, most of us take things at face-value...a consequence of our basic decency! But it can get us into trouble too. He now has to learn to use spam filters in his internet security software (ensure it is current and updated regularly) with greater diligence!
What instructive lesson for those of us who are not so "gian" about getting "latest episodes", and who are willing to exercise a bit more patience for the DVDs to come out?
My advice: don't visit such sites. Or exercise great caution if you want to visit one! Okay, I'm sure there are those out there who might take serious umbrage at my former suggestion which may appear draconian. Well, then for you people, all I can say is that you probably have taken into account the inherent risks that any email address you use could be sold to any number of third parties, and you could subsequently be spammed like this guy.
Why this blog? Because we know many teens visit music file-sharing sites...evidence is their high traffic. Just like movie file-sharing sites, spammers usually take advantage of the popularity of such sites to use various tactics (maybe lead-on innocent-looking links, etc ) to get surfers to sign-up for apparently valid stuff and thereby divulge their email addresses. The savvy internet user would probably use specially created email addresses that can be shut down if it gets hijacked by spammers.
But most of us are not that well-versed in the ways of "skilled" internet usage! Especially tweens starting out into cyberspace who are enthusiastic and not as risk-savvy. The dangers are real. Not just from spammers, but also from other types like online predators.
As responsible adults who have, I hope, learned to exercise caution (a lack thereof has led to global economic decline!) over the years, it's incumbent on us to be proactive in advising and monitoring our children. Yes, they too need individual experience for effective learning and navigating the internet on their own, but responsible adult oversight in their tween years would be prudent, like maybe surf the Net with them so that witnessing your caution can be a source of teaching...before your influence over them in such matters wanes as is usually the case when children grow older!
