Campaign awareness in schools on use of the internet

Some argue that privacy is dead in an age of the internet. It's more or less true. Day by day our lives are taken over by the ever advancing electronic communication devices. The growth is going at unprecedented rate and we are in an unknown territory for there was no wide spread use of internet before the 90's. The convenience to share and consume information has a profound effect on everyone alive today, especially the youth who are born in an age of technology.

Internet brings an age of free flow of information. It's anarchistic by nature. When I mention " Anarchy " I mean as in without rules. Not chaos and destruction. It's basically free. Stored in the tens of thousands of servers across the world are all types of information which can either be used for good or bad. It gives people so much power and responsibility as well. The latter, many don't like to think much about due to the convenience.

Today, sites like YouTube and Facebook are bombarded with trillion Gigabytes worth of data on daily basis. Smart phones and mobile devices capable of Wifi or 3G functions are also the cause of people sharing tons of thousands of videos and pictures on the internet. These are devices which is very common among the youth who doesn't care much about privacy or internet footprints. So, it's not surprising to see questionable content being posted on the internet. Some do regret later and pull it down but the nature of digital information is that it is basically permanent so long as there is electricity.

To raise awareness about dangers and consequences on using the internet, I would begin from the very place the issues are originated. The social media.

Using social media is the only way to bring awareness because it's not very likely that the young people are going to reduce their usage time. Social media functions can be used to the full advantage to bring young people in about the responsibility and accountability for being online.

The influential YouTubers who make viral videos can talk about online issues on their viral videos through their subscribers who are basically the youth using the internet. Their reach is far wider than the teachers in the class room. They should also be persuaded to make specific videos about online issues for their audiences.

Sites which host viral contents like 9gag.com can raise awareness about the dangers of sharing information. Everyday, thousands of students and everyday people a like visit such sites to find jokes and funny materials.

There should also be a Facebook page and a discussion forum where the youth can freely discuss and seek help.

Last of all, there should be a seminar on online privacy and safety issues hosted by social media experts. Teachers and technical experts can make significant impact on the youth by encouraging discussion and debate about social media in classes as well.

The main theme of awareness should be " responsibility " and " accountability ". This is what social networking should be about. Internet is a free place and everyone shouldn't forget the bad that also comes with the good.