INTERNET AND SAFETY

SPEAKING

Think of the positive use of technology and answer about you:

 Who uses internet at home?

 What is your favourite online activity?
 Do you use internet for chatting?
 What services do you use to chat with people online? Instant messenger?
Any social networking websites? (YouTube/Facebook/My Space, etc.)
 Have you got a camera phone?
 Do you use internet at school? How?
 Do you use internet to study or for homework? How?
 Do you participate in any school blog for any subject?

READING

Before you read:

1 Discuss these questions in pairs:

a) What can you see in these photos?

b) How old are they?
c) Where are they?
d) What do all the photos have in common?
e) What’s the difference between the first and the last two pictures?

2 Read the following text quickly and check the answers to questions d) and e):

Bullying is the behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that
intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.
Cyberbullying is the use of information and communications technology (ICT),
particularly mobile phones and the internet, deliberately to upset someone else.
Like other forms of bullying, cyberbullying can include a wide range of unacceptable
behaviours, including harassment, threat and insults. And, like face-to-face-
bullying, cyberbullying is designed to cause distress and harm.

Now read it again carefully and answer:

a)What is bullying?
b)What is cyberbullying? What forms can it take?
c)What are the differences between cyberbullying and other forms of bullying?
 Cyber-bullying spreads in the US
A new report on the influence of the Internet on US teens reports that one
third of teenagers who surf the Net have been victims of cyber-bullying.
The research, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project,
says: “About one third of all teenagers who use the internet say they have While you
read:
been targets of a range of annoying and potentially menacing online
activities, for example, they have received threatening messages, they Read this
have had their private emails or text messages forwarded without consent; article and
somebody has posted an embarrassing picture about them without answer T
permission; or somebody has spread rumours about them online.” (true) or F
However, the most common complaint from online teens was about private (false).
Correct the
information being shared rather than direct threats or physical violence. False
Teenagers still believe that worse bullying happens offline. sentences:
The report discovered that as more young people join social networking
sites such as MySpace and Facebook, they are making themselves
vulnerable by sharing more of their personal information online for cyber-
bullies to find. The survey found that 39% of social network users have
been cyber-bullied in some way, compared to 22% of online teens who have
never used social networks. Report author Amanda Lenhart commented:
"Bullying has entered the digital age. The impulses behind it are the same,
but the effect is magnified. In the past, the materials of bullying were
whispered, shouted or passed around. Now, with a few clicks, a photo,
video or a conversation can be shared with hundreds via e-mail or millions
through a website, online profile or blog posting."

a) A report says many teenagers are victims of bullying online in the USA.

b) The report also says that a third of teenagers have bullied others
online.

c) The biggest complaint is about spreading of personal data online.

d) Teenagers think cyberbullying is worse than physical bullying.

e) The number of teens who join social networking sites is smaller.

f) Teenagers who social network have more probability of being victims

of bullying.

g) The digital age has brought new motives for bullying.

h) Online conversations can be shared with millions online.

Vocabulary

Find words or phrases in the article that mean…:

-with the intention of causing fear and harm:

-it makes you feel uncomfortable:

-to become a member of:

-without permission:

-personal information online:

-to publish on Internet:

After you read

Answer: