Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Poem for Safer Internet Day 2014

I needed a poem for Safer Internet Day 2014 (don't ask) and for some reason there was not a useful one anywhere I could find. So I wrote this one:

Always ask if you get lost on the internet

The internet is a very big place
Bigger than the world
Bigger that the sky
Bigger than everyone
(Though not actually bigger than space.)

And this is why you must always ask if you get lost on the internet.

If you’re looking for something and you can’t find it
Or if you find something bad
Or strange or confusing or nasty
Or not what you expected
Find an adult you trust and sit down together to find it

And then maybe you will still be lost on the internet

But you will be lost together, which is better
Finding the right links to click
The right sites to visit
The best places to visit
And the right people to talk to, together

Always remembering (even if you don’t feel lost on the internet)

To think before you click, post, press, send
Keep your name, phone number
Address, school, and pet’s names
Safe behind safe passwords
No-one knows not even your best friend

And when you find someone else who looks lost on the internet

Be gentle with them and remember it’s
Their first time here, and
They don’t know what
To say, or how to say it
To make sure other people understand it

And then you can help them not to feel too lost on the internet

And when you find yourself (you will)
Seeing things you don’t like
Reading things that should
Not be said to anyone
Close the page, stay calm, report, and tell

And someday there won’t be anyone lost on the internet

Jeremy Day 2014

This poem may be freely reproduced and used with attribution for educational purposes.

  Creative Commons License
Always ask if you get lost on the internet by Jeremy Day is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://cleanskies.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/poem-for-safer-internet-day-2014.html.