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Communication technologies

Communication technologies such as mobile phones, email, internet instant messaging programs such as MSN messenger, blogs and social networking community websites such as MySpace probably play an important part in your social life.

While all of these things are generally positive and give you further options for connecting with your friends, communication technologies can contribute towards violence - both unintentionally and intentionally.

Remember once you put images or comments on the website or send it in an email, you have no further control over that material or how widely it is distributed.

The use of communication technologies may also put you at risk of:

people harassing you when you have asked not to be contacted
people using the internet to work out your movements
people using the internet to gain your trust so they can then have sexual contact with you

Some things you can do to help manage how much information you make available:

Use a nickname. This may be safer than using your real name and makes it harder for people identify you.
If you are at school, avoid mentioning the name of the school. With a photo and the name of the school, someone could obtain a yearbook and find out your last name, or even just wait outside and follow you home.
Try not to be too specific with where you live, especially if it's a small town, e.g. saying you're from Brisbane is all right because the area is large. Saying you live in a particular suburb, area or street in Brisbane is not safe.

The Queensland Police Service Surf Safely webpage has some more tips to keep you safe whilst surfing the net.

Here are some tips for using communication technologies such as the internet and mobile phones. This information is not just about safety for you. It also includes responsible actions regarding others.

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