Inquiry Project

Social Media Safety for Children

Social Media

More than half of the world's children that are under the age of 10 use a form social media. There are many dangers associated with having a social media account. Below there are some simple steps children can take to minimise these risks.

My first step to staying safe on social media is not to message people you don’t know in person. This is because they may not be the person you think they are and that can lead to you getting in big trouble and even hurt. For example through facebook you might invite someone over who is the same age as you only to discover a peadiphile has come to your house and they could kidnap you. If your parents don’t know where you have gone it would be hard for them to find you again.

Secondly do not fake your age or post any fake information about yourself. If people go onto your social media account they will see that you are 15 when actually you’re 10. You could get treated very differently, such as people might talk to you about things that are inappropriate for your age or it might not even make any sense to you.

Fourthly do not share your passwords with anyone else because they could mess with your account and share fake information about yourself or cyber bully your contacts.

My fifth and final point to staying safe on social media is to not share personal information such as your address, your age and your school. If someone decided they wanted to stalk you and you had all that information on your social media page it would make it very easy for them to track you down.

Thousands of children around the world have suffered abuse due to social media. I hope my writing has instructed kids on how to avoid this.

Project Huia Summary, page 201-225

Project Huia

Jim, Logan and Ana are driving in the institute car to go pick up a vehicle that can drive on railway tracks. The track evaluation van is very flash so it needs special people to operate it. Colin was their driver. They were going to the gorge to find Olivia wrapped up in an old raincoat. Logan thought he saw the Carson's truck in the carpark but he wanted to keep quiet so he didn't worry Jim. They had previously told the Carsons that they were looking for something historical in the gorge but the Carsons were still suspicious. On their way to tunnel one Jim saw where him and Mavis used to tie up the dinghy. Logan added that they must be getting close to the tunnel.

A few minutes later they were at the first tunnel. Jim pointed out where the jigger had been parked all those years ago. They kept driving through the two tunnels until they saw daylight out the other side. The driver applied the brakes, they came to a stop next to what looked like an old broken down shed. “Te Apiti station,” said Colin, “This is where you get off, we will be back to pick you up no later than 1:40.” Ana mentioned that they would be going into the tunnels. Colin agreed that he would wait at the station if they didn’t get back in time. They stood looking down the gravel path as the van moved away. Logan thought about going inside the station but a glance through a broken window put him off because it was a mess.

Jim said he felt scared about going into the tunnel because he has memories of being trapped in the tunnel by the freight train. They approached the first tunnel, but found nothing a part from some recesses just a few centimetres deep. They decided to turn around and go through again after they had worked out that this was the tunnel that the crash was in. They soon figured out that Olivia had to be in there. As they were searching the walls for a second time they could see the van coming. Logan was standing on the tracks and he didn’t move because he thought that the brakes on the van were strong enough to stop but one of the hoses failed and the van nearly ended up hitting Logan.

While Jim was giving a spiel on why the gorge is so jinxed Logan was studying a hole in the wall. He called Ana to inspect it as well. Ana laughed out loud, “Oh Logan you've found her!”

Discussion Question: Why would the Carsons be at the gorge, if that was their truck that Logan saw?