Reads...Credits: Ignite your Faith Magazine


Are You Web Wise?



Meet new friends. Discover cool bands. Buy stuff you can't find anywhere else. Play games with people around the world. How did anyone ever live without the internet? It's such a convenient tool and a fun place to hang out. Unfortunately, there can be some dangers- from not-so-honest people, from online temptations, and from living our whole lives from behind a computer screen. So how are you using the internet? Take this quiz and find out how web wise you are.




1. On your blog and Myspace page you are:


A. Careful not to say anything that could help someone figure out where you live or go to school.
B. Cautious, but sometimes tell more than you probably should.
C. Just say whatever you want to, without thinking about whether or not someone could use it to track you down.


2. You've been chatting with a fellow Relient K fan for a couple of months. He says he'd love to meet you in person, so you:


A. Politely decline, but continue to meet in chatrooms. After all, you don't know this guy.
B. Agree to meet at a local coffe , but make sure your parents know and ask your big brother to tag along.
C. Send him your address and tell him to drop by some time.


3. Would you be embarrassed if your parents saw your site history?


A. No. You try to steer clear of anything questionable.
B. A little. Sometimes you get curious and look at things you shouldn't.
C. Totally. But you figure Mom and Dad can't track all the sites you visit, so you don't worry about it.


4. LOL! You had hilariousmisadventure. You can't wait to share all the funny details. So you:


A. Tell your best friend.
B. IM your lab partner- he's got a great sense of humor.
C. Blog about it later that night.


5. You ordered a shirt from a secure site. When you get an e-mail asking for your credit card information again, you:


A. Hit delete. You can sniff out a scam a mile away.
B. Keep the e-mail, then call the 800 number on the store's website to see what's up.
C. Reply with all your info. You want that shirt ASAP.


6. You would never steal a CD from a store, gamble for a money or cheat on test. But downloading free tunes, playing poker and grabbing a couple of paragraphs from papers online seems:


A. Exactly the same. It's still stealing, gammbling or cheating.
B. Easier to do. It doesn't feel like the same thing.
C. Totally different.


7. On Friday night you'd rather be:


A. Cheering for you school's basketball team with all your friends.
B. Downloading new music, then chilling out and listening to it with a few friends.
C. Uploading new photos to your Myspace page.

8. Do you internet filtering software and accountability software.


A. Yes.
B. No, but you're pretty good at policing yourself.
C. No way. You go wherever you want.


9. Before you start writting you term paper you check your e-mail. Then you:


A. Start writing. Gotta get your paper done so you can get to bed
B. Keep an eye on the clock as you check out a few favorite online outlet stores. You'll give yourself 10 minutes to look good buys.
C. Read your friend's blog, check out your favorite forum, and IM friends. An hour later you're ready start your paper.


10. Most of the time, you see your computer:


A. In the dining room, where anyone can see whatever you're looking at.
B. In your parents' office. The screen is turned toward door, so whoever passes by can see what's on your screen.
C. In your room, where you can shut the door and look at whatever you want.


11. Before you hit the sack you:


A. Pray & read the Bible.
B. Check e-mail one last time, then say a few prayers before you drift off to sleep.
C. Lose the track of time, just clicking from site to site.


12. How much time do you spend online most weeks?


A. A few hours-mostly to send and answer some e-mails and do a little IM-ing.
B. Several hours, but you're still involved in youth group and sports.
C. A ton. Updating your blogs and staying in touch with online friends is a full-time job.


13. You just got a strange e-mail. You recognize the sender's name name but the message is weird and so is the name of the attachment.


A. Drop it in your spam file.
B. Open the e-mail, but not the attachment, just to make sure it's really spam.
C. Download it.




Mostly A's

You're web wise. You enjoy using the internet, but it doesn't control your life. You like using e-mail and IM to keep in touch with friends, but most your friendship and activities are offline. When you're online you realize the things you read and the people you meet may not always be what they seem, so you never give out personal info like your address or where you go to school. You also work hard to avoid looking at porn or other stuff that's not pleasing to God. You know how to use all of the cool things the web has to offer, but you also strive to be honest, careful and safe. Keep it up!




Mostly B's

You surf smart.Spending time online doesn't rule your life, and you're usually careful about the sites you visit. You're usually very smart online, but sometimes slip up an dare too trusting. Every now and then, you find yourself spending a little too much time online, or looking a stuff you shouldn't. Think about installing filtering software and accountability software. Don't forget to check out the safety tips at Safe Teens or Blog Safety. If you think you're headed for trouble, take that as a sign that you need to log back in the real world.




Mostly C's

System Overload. You spend more time chatting with your online friends than people from school or youth group. You visit websites that you'd never want your parents to know about, and you are way too quick to share personal information online. It's ok to surf the web, blog, and IM, but make sure you keep your guard up. God designed you to need peopple to talk to and hang out with. Unplug your computer for a while and get plugged into the lives of your family and friends. Take precautions by going to XXXChurch & Safe Browse, to help stay away from harmful sites. Before long, your reality will be less virtual and a lot more fulfilling.