2.4.15

Chat Rooms

The internet is known as being a vast source of information. No matter what you want to find, what you want to research or get accomplished,... thumbnail 1 summary


The internet is known as being a vast source of information. No matter what you want to find, what you want to research or get accomplished, it is a guarantee that it can be started and finished on the internet. The internet isnt just a place where you can conduct research or find out the news either; it is a place in which you can connect with people from around the world as well.

Unless youve been living on some other planet for your entire life, you know what chat rooms are. When used properly, chat rooms can be wonderful ways to meet others, exchange ideas, and network for almost any purpose you can imagine. You might gain a new best friend that lives halfway around the world and find yourself communicating in ways you never thought possible. You also may find that suddenly, by networking with others such as yourself, you land your dream job simply because you reached out to others. There are chat rooms that revolve around every topic imaginable and some of those chat rooms, have become lifelines for those who need to reach out to others desperately.

Online support groups have increased in popularity in the past few years and those who have been members of them, can share tons of stories about how theyve benefited or changed since being in those groups.
Of course, there are horror stories that also are derived from chat rooms. Anytime youre online and possibly putting your personal information out there, you are opening yourself up to individuals who would rather create chaos than make a new friend. Someone may take advantage of new friendship to gain access to your computers files, your address and personal information or even worse your livelihood. Some headlines have been flashed before us in the past about people who have gone missing after setting up a date or meeting someone in person who theyve met online. Most likely, theyve met them in chat rooms and the person they are speaking to isnt truly who they claim to be. If you watch Chris Hanson on Dateline, youll know how many sexual predators are lying in wait for just the right victim in chat rooms. They will prey upon young children, nave teens or even gullible adults in order to get what they want. There is no need to go into details about what these sexual predators want. We all know.

We just all assume that it wont happen to us, to our children or in our neighborhood. Well, it does happen. It happens every single day and even though chat rooms can be wonderful in so many ways, everyone needs to exercise caution.

If you allow your child or teenager to spend hours on the computer, you may want to monitor their online activities closely. Ask questions and find out if they are participating in chat rooms. If they are, dont hesitate to visit some of those chat rooms just to see what may be going on. If you are the one frequently visiting chat rooms, exercise caution for yourself. Tis better to be safe than sorry.