Internet Predators and Internet Safety

A social network is defined as something that builds online communities of people who share interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.
I'm going to be very blunt right now. I love my facebook; it is an effective tool and a great resource for everyone if used properly. A lot of debate and dark clouds have been drawn over social networking sites such as twitter, facebook and myspace. There is a lot of speculation as to whether or not social networking site should even exist or be controlled for a lot of reasons. What I have concluded is that social networking sites should be allowed and almost anybody should be able to use them!

Social networking sites are a great way to stay in touch with all the people in your life even if you do not have time to make that phone call or see them in person. These sites have actually made it possible to find long lost friends from school or work from several years ago. They also serve as wonderful organizational tools. With the click of a button, you can create events for your friends instead of calling them or sending them an invite via mail. In addition to that, they also help you remember people's birthdays by showing you whose birthday is on which date. As you can tell, these social networking sites are very easy to use and are very useful!

With that being said, this draws me to the "red tape" that is all over these sites. These sites have been open to anyone and everyone for years now. That means all of your rapists and child predators are on them too. Sure that can be a bit of a problem if you are a parent who neglects your child and lets them do whatever they want. Yes, it has happened and children have been raped because of the social networking sites… or is it the poor parenting? Sure anyone can message 13 year old Timmy, but only a foolish parent would not monitor Timmy's time on the internet! It also probably is not a good idea to accept a friend request from someone you don't know! This is all common sense being drawn from real life, safe surfing is not that hard.

When it comes to the topic of social networking, my opinion is very obvious… everyone should be able to use them with proper supervision and safe surfing. The social networking sites work as a great tool for those who utilize them for what they are really for: networking. Even though these predators are a reality, there are ways to prevent them from harming you or your family; it just takes a little bit of common sense and safe surfing. Social networking sites are important to our society and they should NOT be limited.

Don't Stop Believing

If I had to create a bumper sticker that modeled my philosophy for life, it would be "don't stop believing." During the course of my life, I can honestly say I have met thousands of people, some friends and others are just people I interact with on a daily basis. What I have learned about these people is that they all have their own unique philosophy that keeps them motivated and that drives them to do something. For some time, I never really knew what my own philosophy was. In fact it took me over 18 years and walking 40 miles to realize that my philosophy is, "don't stop believing."

I am still unsure to this day as to what possessed me to sign up for the AVON walk for breast cancer last year, but I am still very happy that I did. Looking back now, I know why I walked this year. I walked for hope and to make a difference in many lives, but in order to make this difference, I had to overcome several obstacles of my own.

By signing up for the AVON walk for breast cancer, you, the walker, pledge to raise a minimum of $1,800.00. I was slightly pressed on time though because I only had about three weeks to raise that money! Having a quitter mentality, my instinct was to just quit. I thought about quitting but then I began to really think... "I don't want to look like a liar or a quitter" and "This is my chance to really make a difference." I knew at that point that I couldn't back down; I had to raise the money. Not only did I raise the money, but I also raised more. I raised $2,200 and the spirits of those who needed it. I became an inspiration for my peers all because I didn't stop believing in myself.

The next obstacle that came up was having to walk 40 miles. I assure you, that is a LONG distance to walk especially when the last 13 miles is done in pouring rain. I completed 15 miles without a problem, but then come miles 18-26, fatigue and pain really set in. Once again, quitting would be easy, but I knew everyone was counting on me to finish. I knew that I had gone too far even before I completed the first mile. I had to finish the 40 miles no matter how tired I was. I mustered up enough energy to finish the walk first with 3 other walkers. We held hands and crossed together, we finished the walk as a team and we battled breast cancer as a team! We didn't stop believing.

It is quite funny now that I look back on the walk. I grew so much as a person by doing the walk. I learned that if I really want to do something, I can do it. By following this philosophy, I firmly believe I can make a difference as long as I "don't stop believing."