Cyber Wellness (Thierry)

This blog post is written with regards to the article on www.asiaone.com.sg titled Singaporean Youths Still Lacking In Cyber Awareness. The article is about a research done by a community service which shows that most Singaporean youths are ignorant when it comes to the issue of cyber awareness. The research shows that Singaporean youths are nonchalant when it comes to responsible, respectful and rational use of the internet, are not alert about the huge plethora of internet scams and spend an average of a whopping 17.2 hours on the internet each week .

I am shocked by the data shown by the research, as it clearly shows that inadequate knowledge cyber awareness is a serious issue among youths in Singapore. As youths spend much of their time on the internet, it is imperative that they understand the growing amount of dangers present on the internet, such as internet scams and pornography, and that they should use the internet with great caution.

Education plays an important factor in cyber awareness. As the Internet is still considered a fairly new invention, not many people are sufficiently educated on the responsible usage of the internet, and the dangers that are ever so present on the internet. All schools should implement a cyber awareness program for students so that they are duly educated on the proper usage of the internet, and how to protect oneself from the dangers on the internet.

Most importantly, parents should get involved in cyber awareness. The Norton Online Family Report, conducted by the security firm Symantec, has shown that 6 in 10 parents do not always know what their child looks at online. Parents should show an interest in their children by getting involved in their online activities and asking what they do on the internet. Futhermore, parents should also spend more time with their children, as more family time inevitably means less time on the internet.