Using the internet is something that’s becoming increasingly important when it comes to looking for a job or building life-skills but it can get confusing with all the rules and procedures so how do we exercise good judgement when going online?

At No Boundaries, we talk sometimes about Netiquette, which is basically the “do’s and don’ts of online communications” and covers common courtesy topics.  

1.  Your email address and your social media profile is an extension of your identity and who you are.  They are not alternate personas with which you can do whatever you want.  However you would choose to talk to someone in real-life is also how you should choose to talk to someone online.

2.  Just like you would want to make good decisions about how you talk to people online, you want to make good decisions about what you disclose about yourself.  You can certainly have wonderful conversations with lots of new friends online but you probably don’t want to give someone your bank account information. montenegro  Would you give it to someone you met on the street?

3.  It is very easy to write stuff on the internet and anyone can do it.  So be aware of where you are getting information from and if you are doing research about something, don’t believe the first thing you read.  You can verify things in various ways.  You can talk to someone in real-life if the topic is something that is very important to you.

The internet is an incredible tool for communications that people use everyday and it can be very helpful for ourselves but, just like any other vehicle, you want to understand how to use it before you get behind the wheel.