Internet Safety - Reading

These are some great reads, and some things that I have learned from each:

Let our Voices be Heard - M. Russell Ballard

• The family is at the heart of Heavenly Father’s plan because we are all part of His family and because mortality is our opportunity to form our own families and to assume the role of parents. It is within our families that we learn unconditional love, which can come to us and draw us very close to God’s love. It is within families that values are taught and character is built. Father and mother are callings from which we will never be released, and there is no more important stewardship than the responsibility we have for God’s spirit children who come into our families.
• The choices we make in media can be symbolic of the choices we make in life. Choosing the trendy, the titillating, the tawdry in the TV programs or movies we watch can cause us to end up, if we’re not careful, choosing the same things in the lives we live.
• The time has come when members of the Church need to speak out and join with the many other concerned people in opposition to the offensive, destructive, and mean-spirited media influence that is sweeping over the earth.
• Let me say again that the family is the main target of evil’s attack and must therefore be the main point of our protection and defense.

• “Do not attend, view, or participate in entertainment that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in entertainment that in any way presents immorality or violent behavior as acceptable. … Have the courage to walk out of a movie or video party, turn off a computer or television, change a radio station, or put down a magazine if what is being presented does not meet Heavenly Father’s standards. Do these things even if others do not.” 7

Things As They Really Are - David A. Bednar

• does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
• does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?

• the devil has no power over us, only as we permit him

• Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception - and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons.
  

Provident Living Guidelines Regarding Internet Safety

1. Place computers in high-traffic areas of the home.
   
2. Install a filtering program
3. Teach family members about the dangers of Internet pornography, including how to escape if an inappropriate site is accidentally accessed.
4. Teach family members to tell parents if they encounter any form of pornography while on the computer. This will help reduce the fear or shame of accidental exposure. It also serves to open discussion about the dangers of pornography.
5. Teach family members to use the Internet for a specific purpose only.
6. Instant messaging is a cost-effective, easy way to communicate with family and close friends. However, teach family members to avoid public chat rooms, bulletin boards, or unfamiliar areas on the Internet.
7. Teach children not to share any personal information online without parental knowledge and permission.
8. Educate yourself about your computer and how the Internet works.
9. Be aware of school and public library policies regarding Internet use and accessibility.
10. Teach family members to never open e-mail from someone they don’t know.

Technology and a House of Learning

• Successful learning in schools in the United States requires more than fluency in English; it requires learning “how to do school” and feeling comfortable in the educational environment.
• In the U.S. it is a teacher’s position and authority that puts the burden of understanding onto the student. As educators, we must become aware of when our communication style and expectations may be responsible for the difficulties students experience comprehending the required curriculum content rather than any deficit on the part of the student
  

Helping Children Understand the Media’s Influence

• As Latter-day Saints, we must be exemplary in our selection of the good and in our resistance of the evil that comes through the media. As parents, therefore, we must be aware of the media’s influence on our children’s perceptive, formative minds and help them learn to make wise choices.
• How we control the media will determine whether they become useful servants or dominating masters of our time and our mental energies.
• Programs that promote immorality or violence will not be watched—even if they have widespread acclaim.
• Some parents resist imposing restraints on their families, thinking that to manage what family members watch, listen to, or read is a form of censorship. The truth is, we all censor what we read, watch, or listen to. It’s called making a choice. None of us has the time to do everything, so we must choose how to spend our time.

Reading these articles helped me to see that I need to be deliberate in the things that I do, especially in my choices of time-wasting. It makes me more conscientious of the things I do with my time. It is a choice, I can choose to fill my time with meaningful activities, they do not have to be defined by the internet, or other media sources. It helps me to also see that as an adult I can influence the youth around me by my actions, and the choices I make in how I spend my time. Again, I need to be deliberate about what I choose to do.