Education is the key to Vigilance 4.1.2

Safety is not something that is always on the front burner, so to speak, in a child's mind. Young children are not aware of all the dangers that surround them. That's our job as a parent to protect them  as well as make them aware of how to protect themselves as they grow. However, a teenager is a bit different. They may be aware of danger around, but teenagers often feel invincible. Most teenagers don't see the long term effects of split second decisions that they make. Sadly, they learn too often by a hard learned example.

That being said in the digital world the  most important thing for safety is awareness. Awareness that there are people in the virtual world that are not who they say they are, who are not bound by the moralities that most people are, or just simply aren't aware themselves of the dangers that exist. In this aspect children as well as teenagers can be naive to situations that are outside of their little world, outside of their experiences. To keep them safe we as teachers or administrators of their technology need to educate them to the dangers that exist in a "virtual" setting. Dangers that can have a lasting effect on them. We need to teach them to be wary of things online and not trusting whatever is written. Students often think that everything they read is true just as everything they see on TV is true. We have to show them and provide them with real examples of how education allows them to make informed decisions. My prime example of that is Orwell's Animal Farm. Terroristic leaders rule those beneath them by keeping the "underlings" uneducated. It is so important to teach students that their education keeps them from blindly following the leader.

A digital community is no different education and awareness are the tools to promote safety. Ultimately it is the individuals using the digital services that are responsible for their own actions.