Can you imagine, a day, let alone a life, without the internet? We certainly can’t as we wouldn’t be able to do all our online classes anymore. So today it’s Safer Internet Day. You read it right, not safe, but safer, as we should already be aware of the pitfalls of the internet. But are we really?

Different generations
The internet was invented 50 years ago in 1969 but only became accessible to the public after 1990. Since then, it has firmly claimed its permanent spot in the Top Ten of Best Inventions that changed the world. Bahasa Basudara is a multi-generational organisation. We have amongst us, the Baby Boomers: born between 1946 – 1964; Gen X: born between 1965 – 1979; Gen Y (the Millennials): born between 1980 – 1994; iGen/Gen Z: born between 1995 - 2012 and even we even have G Alphas: born between 2013- 2025.

It's not surprising that all the generations have a different relationship with the internet. One thing is for sure, we have certainly overcome the barriers of sharing, and often tend to overshare. Images, stories, videos, news, and gossip are shared freely daily on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, TikTok, Twitter and other (perhaps more obscure) social media platforms, without any hesitation. We ‘like’ and want to be ‘liked’ by our family and friends, but at times also by complete strangers.

At Bahasa Basudara, we sometimes wonder if people, and in this case especially our younger students as aware of these “dangers.”

The dangers

Of course, we all know, never to give any of our personal or bank details over the internet, without checking first who you’re passing these details on to - even if it looks official. But what about chatting to someone online who lives at the other end of the world. How do you know whether that person’s intentions can be trusted?

Get Safer
If you’re not really sure and want to make sure that you’re not being duped, you should check out the Get SafeOnline website. It offers sound advice on how you can protect yourself (whether you’re on your laptop, PC, or mobile phone) against fraud, identity theft, viruses, and plenty of other problems you can encounter whenever you go online.

Stay Safe

With all this in mind, yes, the internet is one of the best inventions of modern times, but caution is the parent of safety!