Instructions:

• Read the "Please remember" sentences below
• After, put on your headphones and click on the link "Privacy Playground Game." It is located at the bottom of this box :-)

Please remember:

Companies often use cool characters to attract you to their products. But remember: it's still just advertising. A pretend character isn't really your friend, especially when he or she is trying to sell you something.

Companies often ask you to compete in games, join clubs or complete surveys on the Internet. They may offer you a prize for answering questions about your name, age, favourite foods, or what your parents do for a living. Don't give them any of this personal information. Next thing you know, they'll be trying to sell you something.

You came on to the Internet to play, not to pay. Sometimes companies create cyber-playgrounds to trick you into buying things. Don't be fooled.

Stay under cover. Don't reveal your e-mail address in online forms used in surveys or contests, or in personal profiles, or on any Web sites. Posting your e-mail address anywhere on the Internet will attract spam.

Whatever you do say on the Internet is not private - anyone can listen in. So only talk about things that you and your family would be comfortable having the whole world (or the whole school!) know about.

You know to be wary of strangers in the real world - and it's just as important to be careful on the Internet too. Never tell a cyber-stranger your address or your phone number, and never agree to meet a cyber-friend without telling your parents. If you do arrange to meet someone you talk to on the Internet in person, be sure it's in a public place, and bring a parent or a trusted adult with you.

Click here to start the "Privacy Playground Game"

source: Media Awareness Network

(c) Sven Braune, 2007. (Sven Braune.ca)