INTERNET

What is the Internet?

The dictionary tells us it is ‘the large system of connected computers around the world that allows people to share information and communicate with each other. (1)

What are we sharing on the Internet?
What are we really communicating?
What are we connecting to on our computers?

Next –  

What is World Internet Day about?
What is the Internet telling us about Internet Day?

Since 2005, every 29th October we celebrate the most important invention in human history because this was the day of the first transmission back in 1969.

Did you know – there is no invention in history that has grown so fast and reached so many.

We are being asked to celebrate the people who helped build the internet and stop for a moment to reflect on ALL the ways that the internet has changed our lives forever.

Check this video for more detail about the history of the Internet
https://youtu.be/M9ebkjWU6Z4

Here are a few highlights –

The Internet began as an experimental computer network.

If we have enough in common, if we hold enough in common, then we can communicate. If we don’t hold enough in common, it’s much harder. So in fact the reason why the network works at all is that we have worked very hard to create all this commonality so that we share enough knowledge to make it possible to convey information to each other. – Dr. Vincent Cerf.

The million dollar question here is –
What do we all have in common on the Internet?

What is the ‘common’ that we communicate via the Internet?
Would it be true to say that our people and countries are divided and this is reflected in our Internet World?

Next billion dollar question 
Can we truly celebrate the Internet if we know it has changed the lives of others but not in a ‘better way’?

Do we have the real statistics not just of those who have ended their lives, but those who self-harm because of cyber abuse in some form?

Do we know what parents and custodians of our youth are going through dealing with Internet addiction?

Is it becoming more common to give our toddlers an iPad because it keeps them entertained?

Are we all using the Internet with RESPONSBILITY?
Are we using the Internet knowing we are accountable for everything we put out there?
What information are we giving to the world?
On that note – check https://simplelivingglobal.com/living-a-see-through-life

Are we aware that we are leaving a digital footprint that cannot be erased on the Internet?
Are we really bothered what happens to another because of our choices on the Internet?

In other words, are we making sure what we put online is the same as how we are living, where we are not harming ourselves or others?

Are we using the Internet as a distraction?
Are we using the Internet as a game that is not real life?
Are we using the Internet for our own personal pleasure?
Are we using the Internet to replace the void in our lives?

Are we using the Internet as a modern day tool for connection?
Are we using the Internet in a way that no one is going to find out what we are up to?
Are we using the Internet to purely gain profits for our business?
Are we using the Internet to falsely make money out of vulnerable customers?

Are we using the Internet to fuel our addictions?
Are we using the Internet because life without it now would be boring?
Are we using the Internet to take the edge off life?
Are we using the Internet to avoid a true relationship with ourselves?

Are we using the Internet to seek identification and recognition from ourselves?
Are we using the Internet to vent our hate at others?
Are we using the Internet to bad mouth those who speak the Truth?
Are we using the Internet to genuinely support humanity to evolve?

Could it be possible that on-line and off-line are actually the same?
Could it be possible that how we live in real life is the same as cyber world?

Could it be possible that the original inventors of the Internet wanted global connection and sharing to support our evolution?

1971
Email took the usefulness of computer networking to a new level.

First website http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
August 1991 (2)

1982 – only 50 pages on the Internet
1990 – Microsoft first big breakthrough system – Windows 3.0
1993 – first browser developed for using the world wide web
1994 – Yahoo launched their first website
1995 – Internet Explorer added to the first Microsoft OS package reaching home computers
1995 – Amazon website launch
1998 – Google
1999 – PayPal
2003 – WordPress, LinkedIn
2004 – Facebook
2005 – YouTube
2006 – Twitter
2008 – Dropbox
2008 – Facebook had 100 million monthly active users worldwide. (3)
2010 – Google estimated the total size of all data stored on our internet – 5 million Terabytes. (4)
2015 – 3,185,996,155 Internet users. That is over 3 billion users. (5)
2015 – Google revenues $75,000,000,000. (6)
2015 – Apple profit in last quarter to February 2016 $18,000,000,000 (7)

In January 2016 – Simple Living Global website launch. This website remains active and the content will go down in history as a unique website for humanity bringing more awareness to the people in the early 21st century.

In February 2016 Google became the most valuable company in the world – worth more than $500 billion – (500,000,000,000 dollars). (6)

There are over 1 billion websites today of which 75% are not active. (5)
What is this telling us?
WHY is there such a large amount of websites not actively operating today?

So here we have big fat numbers that most of us would not even be able to comprehend.

This is telling us how huge the Internet industry is and Silicon Valley is the home for our Global Technological companies.

Did you know – silicon makes up 25.7% of the earth’s crust by weight and is the 2nd most abundant element exceeded only by oxygen. (8)

Did you know – there are people making lots of money on the internet – check this video
http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2014/08/08/making-six-figures-off-youtube-videos.html

Did you know – The four top technology companies have surpassed oil companies. 

Apple being the leader of the group, trumped ExxonMobile in 2015 in annual profits with “the biggest annual profit in corporate history”. (9)

2015 – Apple $53.4 billion profits. ExxonMobile $16.2 billion. (7)

Can we just stop, press the pause button and re-read?

We need fuel and this is an energy supplier. Yet our largest fuel company in the world is making 70% less profit than our multinational technology company. 

It has been said that some tech companies invest in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes.

Multinational Corporations use of tax havens allow them to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year. (Citizens for Tax Justice) (7)

Next –

The man who owns Microsoft has a net worth of $75 billion.
Mr. Amazon is around $45 billion.
Our famous Facebook inventor over $44 billion.
Mr. Google around $35 billion. (10)

The above simply confirms how big the Internet business is.

Whilst the Internet is of great value to many of us as individuals and for our business world, it also has the ugly stuff which most of us don’t really want to talk about.

Have we heard of –

Revenge Pornography
Sexting
Sextortion
Social Media Manipulation
Computer Hacking
Phishing
Pharming
Hate bloggers
Cyber-Bullying
Cyber-Stalking
Internet Trolling
The Dark Web

The Dark Web refers to hidden parts of the internet. It is usually used for illegal activity. (11)

2015 – 25% of the online safety cases received through the Child Focus Helpline were about sexting that had ‘gone wrong’.

2016 – A research study in Belgium called Apestaartjaren 6 found that 26% of the 12 – 18 year olds in the study had received a sext within the last two months. (12)

2016 – More than 200 people have been prosecuted in England and Wales in the last year, under a new Revenge Porn law that came into effect in 2015. (13)

Do we simply ignore these ongoing problems related to the Internet when we ‘celebrate’ how great it all is out there in cyber world?

Do we care about the victims whose lives are affected by cyber abuse?
WHY do the perpetrators have a licence to do what they want?
WHY are we the general public not viewing this as a serious crime?
WHY are we accepting these acts of abuse as normal daily Internet activity?

Does it take a suicide case for news to reach us about how serious these crimes are?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/16/italy-grapples-with-suicide-of-woman-taunted-over-online-sex-video

John Carr, a leading authority on children and the Internet states that our social media giant, which is like a public utility for young people and plays a massive role in their lives “should be more energetically engaged in policing the content”.

There is of course the Transparency thing and the EU Law, which states that as long as the social media sites react quickly to complaints they are immune from liability. (14)

Internet Law

This is a not so clear as there is a unique nature to Cyberlaw.
We do not as a world have a ‘commonality’ when it comes to the Law and the Internet.
This is because the Internet is not geographically bound as this was never the intention of the inventors and this means that our national laws cannot be applied globally. There are a few international agreements that exist but there are those who oppose this and state that the Internet should be allowed to self-regulate as its own “nation”.

Did you know – there is blatant censorship of the Internet in China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Iran.

If you would like to know more detail about the following – check this online law and government information site
https://www.hg.org/internet-law.html

Internet Regulation

Laws and current regulation and their shortcomings.

Architecture which is about how information can and cannot be transmitted across the Internet.

Norms refers to ways in which people interact with one another on the Internet. This includes certain activities that are allowed such as online forums where users can moderate comments made by others.

Market Regulation controls patterns of conduct on the Internet through the traditional economic principles of supply and demand.

Net Neutrality

This is about regulations of the infrastructure of the Internet itself. Everything that is transmitted across the Internet passes through private and public organisations which could be government agencies, telecommunications companies or universities. This has become an area of concern as different countries have different laws they want to implement that then affect the infrastructure.

Free Speech on the Internet

This is not something our world is united on. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees Americans a right to free speech but this is not in other nations. What the Internet has granted is the cloak of anonymity so others can have their voices heard.

There are countries who have made efforts to filter unwanted parts of the internet from its people.

We also know how there are many cyber abusers who use anonymity to seriously harm others, knowing they can get away with it in the name of “Free Speech on the Internet”.

The rise of the Internet means other areas of Internet Law are now hot topics such as Privacy, Fraud, Cyberbullying, Cyberterrorism and Intelligence Gathering.

Are there any social media laws and how are common legal issues dealt with when they occur on a social network?

What about all this posting of private photos – can we legally have them removed?

We all know that once an image appears online it is there somewhere in cyberspace even if we have it removed. That means there is a digital footprint that cannot be erased regardless of what we have to say. With the social media sites anything can be copied and reposted to plenty of other sites which makes total removal almost impossible if we are to be honest here.

Read more on this same website about –

Sex Crimes Involving Internet Interactions
Remedies for Cybersquatting
Legal Risks of Naming Specific Persons Online
Sharing Photographs: Excessive Copyright Demands
Privacy Laws and Social Media Sites
What is Your Liability if Someone Hacks your PC and Uses Information for Criminal Purposes?
Website Ripoffs

Note – each country will have their own Internet Law.

What this blog is presenting is some basic stuff and the questions –

Where is our individual Responsibility as an Internet user?
Do we have a moral compass inside us when it comes to using the Internet?
Do we have our own ‘Internet Laws’ and so what we think is what we do?
Do we think it is ok to do whatever we want until something goes wrong?
Do we choose to not be aware that we are custodians of the Internet?

What will it take for our Governments to criminalise such acts or do we need a ‘commonality’ where there are lots more cases before the Law is changed?

Top Ranking Internet Sites

So is anyone wondering WHY Porn and Sex sites are still amongst the top ten searches on the Internet according to a survey in 2014? (15)

2013 – 70% of men and 30% of women watch porn and the rates were increasing rapidly each week.
There are 450 million unique monthly visitors to porn sites each month.
2 out of 3 HR professionals have found porn on their employees’ work computers.

“We started our research seeking men in their twenties who had never consumed pornography. We couldn’t find any.”
Dr. Simon Lajeunesse, University of Montreal (16)

The NSPCC have seen a 60% increase in a year of the numbers of children, some younger than age 11 who were contacting them due to worries about seeing online porn. Some callers said that they felt ashamed and guilty.

“Young people are being exposed to extreme sexual acts online. Worryingly, some think that porn is realistic and want to act out what they’ve seen online.”
Peter Wanless, Chief Executive, NSPCC. (The i Paper, 17th October 2016)

Hello World

Just reading the above do we ever stop and question WHY porn sites are so popular?

Are these statistics giving us the real figures?
What about the underworld of Porn which we know does exist on our Internet?

If 2 out of 3 Human Resources professionals are finding porn on their employees’ work computers, what is going on that our staff need this during work time?

Could it be possible that porn is the new ‘safe’ drug as chances are you won’t get caught?
Could it be possible that porn gives us intimacy in the form of a false connection?
Could it be possible that some reach for a cigarette and others reach for porn?

WHY are our young children going onto porn sites?
What is the void, the gap in their life that is being filled with porn?
What is the future of an 11 year old who is visiting porn sites?
Who do we hold accountable for uploading “extreme sexual acts online”?

Do we blame those who make money from porn or do we look at why we demand porn?

Basic economics tell us that if there is a demand then the supply is there. No demand then that service goes so the suppliers are not able to make it a business because there are no customers driving the need to keep that service going.

So could it be possible that if we all started taking RESPONSIBILITY for our choices on the Internet then that would determine what sites continue to grow?

In October 2016, Facebook ranked as the highest search term on the Internet followed by YouTube.

Does this tell us where are priority is and where our focus is on a daily basis?
Do we ask WHY is Social Media getting so many hits every single day of our lives?

Could it be possible that Social Media is our new form of connection?
Could it be possible that Social Media is safer than real life connection?
Could it be possible that Social Media allows us to escape from life?
Could it be possible that engaging in Social Media is like our daily medicine?

Susan Greenfield, senior research fellow at Oxford University states that in 2014 there was a study by the university showing how ‘cyber-immersion’ is affecting humanity. The study found that people did not like spending 6 – 15 minutes in a room by themselves with nothing to do. They enjoyed doing mundane tasks more and in some cases they preferred giving themselves mild electric shocks – particularly the men – rather than sitting and doing nothing. WHY? People are used to constant stimulation and so would prefer to do something than nothing, even if it is negative. (The i Paper, 17th October 2016).

A study by Simbasleep found that 1 in 6 British people spends 2 hours in bed each night on Twitter and Facebook when they should be sleeping. (Metro, 5th September 2016) 

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – edition 5 (DSM-5) has identified Internet Gaming Disorder as a condition that warrants further research. It is not yet included in the main manual as a ‘formal disorder’.

Known as “gamers”, people who play online games compulsively end up excluding other interests. The ‘persistent’ and ‘recurrent’ online activity is said to result in ‘significant impairment and distress, putting their job and study functioning at risk due to the amount of time they spend playing. Gamers also experience withdrawal symptoms when pulled away from playing games online.

Studies suggest that when gamers are engrossed in games on the Internet, certain pathways are triggered in their brains in the same direct and intense way that a drug addict’s brain is affected by substances. Gaming causes a neurological response that influences feelings of ‘pleasure and reward’. In the extreme this can lead to addictive behaviour. (17)

Internet Gaming Disorder is most common in 12 – 20 year old males. (18)

Have we all heard of Safer Internet Day? (19)

February 7th 2017 with the theme “Be the change: unite for a better Internet”.

This day is celebrated globally to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

In the UK, this day is to raise awareness of online safety issues and run events and activities.
2016 theme was “Play your part for a better Internet”.

Have any of us taken this seriously or are we doing the same same on the Internet since this awareness day in February 2016?

We are being asked to BE THE CHANGE.
Does this mean we as individuals need to take Personal RESPONSIBILITY?
Does this mean we need to live the change we want for the Internet?

Example –

If we do not want our kids on porn sites, then we need to ensure we are not secretly doing porn.
OR
If we subscribe to hate online and become a cyber troll, we need to be aware that this could one day happen to us or our kids or parents.

Are we as a world ready to UNITE?
Is a ‘better’ Internet a TRUE Internet that is safe for our children and young people?
Is ‘better’ one step better than how things are now?
Is ‘better’ as the dictionary says “satisfactory”?
Is satisfactory enough?
Is satisfactory a band aid to a bullet wound approach?
Is ‘better’ REDUCING what is really called for which is Truth.

Could it be possible that as responsible parents and adults we want TRUTH for our kids, our community, our elderly and the vulnerable in society?

Are we ready to be honest about our contribution to the Internet?
Are we open to the fact that we all are EQUALLY responsible for our World Wide Web? 

Would it be safe to ask WHY do we need these awareness days?
What is going on in our world that we don’t know about?

WHY has the internet become an unsafe place for our kids?
WHY are we not responsible for ALL our online activities?
WHY is the internet not supporting victims of cyber abuse?
Why is internet policing not really making much difference?
WHY do we have little or no research into real figures about cyber abuse?
WHY are our governments not united about Laws for the Internet?
WHY is cyber-crime escalating?

Cyber-attacks are threats to businesses through financial fraud, theft and the selling of stolen data and other valuable information. (20)

UK

Nearly £11 billion was lost to the UK economy in 2015/16 as a result of fraud including cyber-crime. This equals £210 per person aged 16 and over, living in the UK. People who had experienced online crime had lost an average of £523 each, more than the average weekly earnings in the UK. (21)

Cyber-crime statistics are under-represented. In a recent survey for Get Safe Online Day 39% of people said to have been victims of online crime had not reported it. (21)

The survey also found that 89% of people said that they felt cyber-crime was as damaging or more damaging than physical crime. (21)

In 2015/16 – Office of National Statistics said there were 5.8 million incidents of cybercrime. (22)

2.47 million were bank and credit account fraud.

1.36 million were through computer viruses.

600,000 incidents are estimated to have been due to unauthorised access to personal information through hacking of email, social media or other online accounts.

Fraud costs approx. 193 billion each year with half of the crimes against people in the UK committed abroad, making it more challenging for the police to deal with.
Chris Greany, City of London Police’s Economic Command Head (22)

Statistics from the fraud prevention service, Cifas suggests that identity theft increased by 57% in 2015, with fraudsters increasingly gaining access to people’s personal information through social media sites. More than 85% of the fraud cases that Cifas looked at happened online. (23)

In January – March 2015, there was a 31% increase on the previous year of people who were victims of ID theft. (23)

This video tells us how we can buy a credit card with a date of birth for £5.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36701297

Have we all heard of European Cyber Security Month?

This is the EU’s annual advocacy campaign taking place each October with the aim of raising awareness of cyber security threats, promoting cyber security among citizens and providing up-to-date security information through education and sharing of good practices.

See link to read their list of objectives, one of which says ‘to promote safer use of the Internet for all users’. https://cybersecuritymonth.eu/about-ecsm/whats-ecsm

What exactly does that mean to you and me the general public on the street?
What is safer use?
Is it safe to do something in secret as long as no one knows?
Is it safe to read about stuff that is harming us but we choose not to be aware?
Is it safe to become an Internet troll because we can?
Is it safe to cyber abuse people we don’t know just because we feel like it?

Is safer use telling us to be more Responsible when using the Internet?

WHY are we not campaigning for more RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY for ALL Internet users across the world?

Next 

Did you know – there are over 400 Social Network sites.

Here are the current statistics about some famous social network sites worldwide, ranked by number of active users. (24)

Facebook – 1,712,000,000 that is 1.71 billion active users per month

What’s App – 1,000,000,000 (that is 1,000 million)

QQ – 899,000,000 (that is 899 million)

Skype – 300,000,000 (that is 300,000 million)

Snapchat – 200,000,000 (that is 200 million)

LinkedIn – 106,000,000 (that is 106 million)

Dear World

Could it be possible that to see a real change on our Internet in a positive direction, we ALL need to be held accountable for ALL our online activities?

When Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web almost 30 years ago he said
“This is for everyone”.

Could it be possible that he was telling us ALL EQUALLY to be responsible for how we choose to use the Internet as it affects all others?

The Internet was not to be owned by anyone or any company. It was for ALL of us equally to unite and be custodians.

Recl@im the Internet is a broad based campaign for action to challenge abuse online. (25)

This website gives some evidence of the different types of abuse that are taking place on the Internet which is the new street crime.

How is it that over a three week period over 10,000 tweets were found of an attacking nature coming from UK accounts, using the words ‘slut’ and ‘whore’? (26)

According to the largest teaching union in the UK, more than half of all teachers have reported receiving online abuse from pupils and parents.

The Revenge Porn Helpline has received almost 4,000 calls in the past year with cases as young as 11 years old. 

Is this what we call “freedom of speech”?

Do those who abuse think it is ok as there is little or no consequences for their actions as it is difficult to police most online activity of this kind?

How far have we come as a race of beings who are the most intelligent species on earth?

How far have we deviated from what the inventors of the Internet have given us all to use?

WHY do some of us think it is ok to use the Internet as a licence to do whatever we want?

Jess Phillips – MP for Birmingham Yardley states that young women are saying they are worried about speaking up and putting forward their ideas, because of the backlash from trolls and bullies online. She has had rape threats and her children’s lives threatened by people on the Internet.
https://youtu.be/ZXfukUNG-Xg

WHY is it that anyone who stands up for Truth are more likely to be the victims of cyber abuse?

References

(1) Cambridge Dictionary
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/internet

(2) Wolchover, N. (2012, August 21). What Was the First Website Ever?
http://www.livescience.com/34152-first-website-world-wide-web.html

(3) Number of Monthly Active Facebook Users Worldwide as of 2nd Quarter of 2016 (in Millions). Statista.com
https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide

(4) (n.d). Internet Day
http://www.theinternetday.com

(5) (2016). Total Number of Websites. Internet Live Stats
http://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites

(6) (2016). How Does Google Make Money? iWonder. BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9x6bk7

(7) Liberatore, S. (2016, February 6). Watch in Real Time How Much Money Apple, Google and Facebook are Making Every SECOND
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3434290/Watch-money-Apple-Google-Facebook-making-SECOND-Graphic-reveals-worth-internet-giants.html

(8) (2016, October 24). Silicon: The Essentials. WebElements.
https://www.webelements.com/silicon

(9) Titcomb, J. (2015, October 28). Apple Reports Biggest Annual Profit in History with Net Income of $53.4 billion
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/11959016/Apple-reports-biggest-annual-profit-in-history.html

(10) (2016). The World’s Billionaires. Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:static

(11) (2016, October 20). What is the Dark Web and How Does It Work?
http://bit.ly/2f2uNMu

(12) (2016, October 18). Sexting Gone Wrong: Trust is Key in Preventing Secondary Sexting. Belgian Safer Internet Centre
https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/web/portal/practice/awareness/detail?articleId=1265426

(13) (2016, September, 6). Revenge Porn: More Than 200 Prosecuted Under New Law
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37278264

(14) Topping, A. (2016, October 9). Facebook Revenge Pornography Trial ‘Could Open Floodgates’
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/09/facebook-revenge-pornography-case-could-open-floodgates

(15) Lubin, G., & Nudelman, M. (2015, March 11). Here’s What People Really Search for Most on Google
http://uk.businessinsider.com/heres-what-people-really-search-for-most-on-google-2015-3?r=US&IR=T

(16) (2013, April 5). Porn Sites Get More Visitors Each Month Than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter Combined
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/03/internet-porn-stats_n_3187682.html

(17) (2013, May). Internet Gaming Disorder
http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Internet%20Gaming%20Disorder%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

(18) Sarkis, S. (2014, July 18). Internet Gaming Disorder in DSM-5
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201407/internet-gaming-disorder-in-dsm-5

(19) Safer Internet Day 2017. UK Safer Internet Centre
http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2017

(20) (2016, July 7). NCA Strategic Cyber Industry Group Cyber Crime Assessment 2016. National Crime Agency 2016. Version 1.2
http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/709-cyber-crime-assessment-2016/file

(21) (2016, October 18). Fraud & Cybercrime Cost UK Nearly £11bn in Past Year. Action Fraud
http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/fraud-and-cybercrime-cost-UK-nearly-11bn-in-past-year-oct16

(22) Travis, A. (2016, July 21). Cybercrime Figures Prompt Police Call for Awareness Campaign
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/21/crime-rate-online-offences-cybercrime-ons-figures

(23) (2016, July 5). Identity Fraud Up by 57% as Thieves ‘Hunt’ on Social Media
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36701297

(24) Most Famous Social Network Sites Worldwide as of September 2016, Ranked by Number of Active Users (in Millions)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users

(25) RECL@IM THE INTERNET
http://www.reclaimtheinternet.com

(26) Staggering Scale of Social Media Misogyny Mapped in New Demos Study
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/yvettecoopermp/pages/424/attachments/original/1464200631/Demos_-_Misogyny_Research_2016.pdf?1464200631

 

 

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Comments 106

  1. Thank you once again Simple Living Global for laying the facts bare and allowing us to see what is truly going on. How can we honestly celebrate the internet when it is being used for so much harm and in fact without respect. My feeling is that the inventors of the internet’s intentions, was to have a global network that people all over the world could use to connect and communicate with – without borders – indicative of the fact that there are no global internet laws. Were they feeling the lack of connection in our world and the division and was this one way that they felt they could do something about it, so that people could unite?

    1. Great what you say here about respect. Common decency is first needed in our everyday life so we can then bring that to our Internet in the same way. WHY is it that we think we can be different on line to off line?
      BBC Radio 2 news yesterday had the inventor of the Internet talking about the UK now bringing in cyber laws which are much needed to police the activities that are going on.
      This confirms that as a world we have so much corruption and ugly stuff that needs to be stopped.
      We are far away right now from uniting as a world but each digital footprint like this blog and comment can make a difference if we know about the microcosm and how it affects the macrocosm.

  2. Our world is getting very dependent on the Internet . Most people would say that it is a necessity of life. I agree that it is an amazing tool, but is it really supporting a way of life that we want? This blog presents some of the facts that we don’t hear about or choose to not hear, about the Internet. Thank you Simple Living Global for presenting the truth as always.

    Like with many things that we have produced in this world, we should stop and ask if what we have is what we wanted and not just accept blindly that “Oh, thats just the way it is”.

    To me it is all about responsibility. What I create I need to take full responsibility for. Although we did not invent the Internet, we have created what it has become. Our economy makes what we ask for.

    It is time for us to take full responsibility for this world that we have created, that is the way we will change it.

    1. Top comment here Ken where you say ‘we did not invent the Internet’ but ‘we have created what it has become’. We ask for this and that and we get the suppliers. Now this could be drugs, more porn, people trafficking or whatever it is we want and there seems to be no stop, no guidelines, no end to what is possible. Our minds seem to override any common sense and our moral compass is not on the radar. This may sound way off but we all know this is true and it is going on.
      You are right it is high time we started to take RESPONSIBILITY for this world that we have created and we each need to do our bit if we want change and this instantly stops the blame game.

  3. When I read the Internet Regulation section of this blog it really highlights that ‘cyber-world’ is just a mirror of life on Earth, no different. The trouble is, because we can be faceless on the internet and anonymous, crimes online are more rampant as we adopt a ‘don’t care’ attitude. This statistic alone says it all ‘The survey also found that 89% of people said that they felt cyber-crime was as damaging or more damaging than physical crime.’ as it reveals the harm that cyber crime is causing. Thank you Simple Living Global, once again, for bringing this very important topic to the fore, allowing us to think more deeply about World Internet Day.

    1. Great point you make Shevon that our cyber world is a mirror of our life on earth – no different even if we would like to think it is because it suits us in some way.
      With technology so much more is now coming our way and most of us are just looking for the next thing and wanting more. The more never seems to stop.
      This ‘don’t care attitude’ you mention is something that we need to all stop and take note of. Could it be possible that if we ‘don’t care’ deeply and genuinely for ourself then this is the quality we put out there for others in this world.
      We seem to have this invisible licence when it comes to the Internet to do whatever it is we want and not be accountable in any way.

  4. For me the internet world is a magnifying glass which shows how we all are living and what we are creating together with our every personal choice.

    If the internet is where we let it ‘all hang out’, isn’t this an incredible opportunity to wake up and say “Stop” and “No” and “We don’t want to live this way; allowing abuse, avoiding our real issues, pretending we are “connecting’ when we are dying of loneliness… We don’t want to raise our children in this environment” ?

    If we are willing to be truthful here we may re-consider our “get-use-to-a-lessor-and-lessor-quality-of-being/way-of-life” attitude…

    We could start sharing more honestly on this world-wide-web and speaking up for what we all, deep down, want; a more loving, respectful and harmonious life.

    With deep personal honesty & responsibility we could choose not use it to magnify hurts and further harm.

    With a commitment to the Truth inside us all we could use the internet to bring ourselves closer together instead of to pull us further apart.

    1. Great comment Jo and you make some valid points here.
      The Internet is magnifying to us on a world wide scale what is really going on. We simply cannot get away with anything even if we would like to think we can.
      Honesty would be a great start and true actions speak louder than words and that is why Simple Living Global is committed to consistently deliver and present more awareness via this valuable medium called the Internet so humanity knows there is another way to live and it sure does not have to be full of fear, miserable and negative.

  5. Research in children and teenagers has found that there is a link with the use of media devices like mobile phones and tablets and poor quality and quantity of sleep. There was a clear association between children and teenagers using these devices at bedtime and their sleep being of poor quality, them not getting enough sleep and them experiencing excessive sleepiness during the day. Similarly children and teenagers who had access to these devices but did not use them at night were also noted to not get enough sleep, have poor sleep quality and experience excessive sleepiness during the day. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/313835.php

    1. Theses statistics about how use of media devices is interfering with children’s quality of sleep confirms to me what I feel when I see children using their devices throughout the day and even going to bed with them like they are teddy bears… that there is something about this new and widely accepted activity that does not feel healthy to me.

  6. I have been aware of many of the wonderful, amazing so called advances in our world that after 10 or 20 or 1000 years we realised caused more problems then they were worth.

    The automobile has killed more people then our modern wars. The environmental costs no one even knows. So is the automobile a good thing? At this point we are so addicted to our cars it would be very difficult to change.

    Many man-made chemicals have had side effects that if we had known about, we never would have allowed them into our environment.

    The point is we need to take more responsibility for our actions. The major factor that we look at when we want to produce something is, can we make money on it? We need to have another marker for what is considered good for our world.

    So are computers and the Internet really good for us? Again it comes down to individual responsibility, what we ask for the economy will produce.

    1. Correct Ken Elmer – supply and demand, which is what you are saying here that what we the consumer asks for our economy will produce.
      We want more internet distractions to keep our minds racing and busy more than ever – then that is exactly what our 400 + social media platforms can give us.
      We seem to get our entertainment, a kind of ‘fix’ a buzz so to speak from connecting on a screen and we crave more and so there is more out there now. The choices are endless and it is super easy to get hooked in and make it a way of life where you wake up checking the screen and the last thing at night before eyes close, is the screen.

      You mention making money and it begs the question – what would happen if those supplying and producing could not make big fat bucks?
      What if the world in the future had one currency and no one was better ranking or superior to another in status because of monetary wealth?
      What if our money was simply a form of exchange to first and foremost support ourself and the rest was to help others to EQUALLY have the same opportunity?
      In other words, no get rich quick business existed and having heaps of money does not mean anything at all?
      What if our Internet was used to not support those who are simply in it for their own personal greed?
      What if the Internet put an end to corruption because it has the power to do so?

  7. This is so true, Shevon. For me, there is a parallel here between the Internet and our planet: our oceans and the air we breathe, which each of us, ultimately, share. We are one planet yet we live on land surrounded by borders. Borders of control and regulation, much of which currently seems to ignore our shared, global responsibilities. If I’m a company in China, I may be able to pollute the air and the rivers without regard for the impact that has on the whole planet, but in other countries, I will be held to a higher standard of responsibility. What we each put out online is no different. We may be able to ‘get away with’ putting hate out there for example, in the form of cyber abuse, but that seemingly small part is undoubtedly polluting the whole. We are making today the Internet that awaits us in 10 years time and we will all have to lay in that bed together. That doesn’t sound much like getting away with it to me.

  8. A year long study by the English Children’s Commissioner, Growing Up Digital Taskforce, has found that children regularly sign up to terms by social media companies, including waiving privacy rights and allowing the content they posted to be sold around the world, without reading or understanding their implications.

    The Guardian report that only half of the eight to 11-year-olds could even read the terms, which ran to more than 5,000 words on 17 pages of text.

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/children-england-digital-rights-social-media-terms-conditions-anne-longfield

    Where is our Responsibility in looking after our young in allowing this kind of exploitation?

    When I was growing up we were warned against the nice man on the street who would co-erce children at the school gates with sweets only to take advantage of them.

    Is this not the same?
    Have we just moved this harming behaviour on-line?
    Does it make it more acceptable or seemingly ‘less dangerous’ because this is coming from a large company?
    Do we consider this when we allow our children to use the internet?
    Are we aware as adults the extent of what is going on and how this is affecting our children?

    We each have a responsibility to call out abuse when we see, it whether it is from an individual or an organisation or within ourselves. It is only then that things can change. It is not down to the organisations alone but also down to us the users as to what type of on-line environment we command through how we live our own lives and the behaviour we allow both on and off-line, as in truth there is no difference.

    1. To be allowing companies to ask children to sign agreements, including the waiving of their privacy rights without parental consent would never be allowed off-line…

      …so what kind of phenomenon is this ‘on-line’ world that we allow such mis-use and abuse of people and children?

      As a humanity we are obviously not ready to be trusted to put people first in all that we do so we need to be discussing what is really going on for us all when it comes to the highly unregulated communal space we call the internet.

      If it is not what we want as part of our lives or our world we need to speak up and bring an awareness into everyday living about these insidious actions which could be called crimes off-line.

      1. That is so true: you can imagine the outcry if companies were handing out hard copy contracts and a pen for kids to sign.

        It reminds me of a few years back when the stats came out about how many under 13s were on Facebook. It was something like more than 1/3 of under 13s in the UK had a Facebook account, despite the ‘you must be over 13’ rule most of these companies have in place. The answer to that is to verify the identity of every one of your customers, rather than allowing people to lie about their age or identity. The technology exists to get this ‘know your customer’ stuff right and yet it is not being effectively deployed. One of the challenges is apparently that parents lie for their kids. Doesn’t this represent a call to collective responsibility? Isn’t it on the companies to do everything they can to make sure kids aren’t exposed to harm? Isn’t it on companies to engage with parents, knowing when they are contracting with a minor? Isn’t it on companies to take a fresh look at where we are, and not just based on where we’ve ended up today, but based on what we want for this and future generations? Isn’t it on parents not to just do what little Johnny wants for an easy life or because ‘everybody does it’ or because they haven’t bothered to make the enquiry? And isn’t it on all of us to expose this stuff by ask the questions; by discussing it?

    2. Contracts with minors are ‘voidable’ at the minor or their guardian’s election. Which as a company means you can contract with a minor if you want to, but if you try to enforce that contract against them, you probably wont be able to. Social media companies seem fine with this risk. Their goal is to have as many people on their network as possible. That’s it. The more people, the more ‘eyeballs’ against which to sell advertising. The bigger the numbers, the better the ‘reach’ of their influence. And if kids are into the product then it’s cool. If it’s cool, everyone wants to be on it. So you don’t want to turn away the kids. And in fact if you do, how would that impact your bottom line? This old article puts the impact at a reduction of 3.5% of the entire US market. That’s a lot of money: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/19/under-13-year-olds-on-facebook_n_1898560.html.

      And isn’t it the parents’ responsibility anyway? Well if so, isn’t it the parents who should be signing up to these T&Cs, not the kids? If you took your child to an offline activity, say gymnastics, the kid couldn’t sign up for that without the parents. Imagine the child turning up at the hall saying ‘here I am, my Mum’s fine with me signing up, look I’ve got cash, can I come in’. No, the gymnastics club would have paperwork to sign and they’d need the guardian’s consent. Why is it different online?

    3. “Does it make it more acceptable or seemingly ‘less dangerous’ because this is coming from a large company?” – what a great question. It has been well covered in the press that grooming happens online. That cyber abuse happens online. That personal posts about a person leave an eternal imprint online. Companies take steps on each of these, but cannot eradicate the risks. In fact, if you read the press for just a week, you’d see they can’t even get close. So were are we at allowing our kids to walk blind into this environment, trusting the companies to do the right thing by them? Are we just closing our eyes and hoping for the best?

    4. Thank You Shevon for pointing this out. This link is well worth reading.
      Bottom line is things are getting from bad to worse.
      We have zero real policing on the Internet.
      Lets get real this is a serious global issue.
      Is it time we stopped blaming the government?
      Is it time we demand that children are educated at a very young age about the internet?
      Are we as individuals are equally responsible for this?
      Is turning a blind eye as it is not one of our family enough or do we need to speak up?
      Are parents finding things too much with daily life so letting the kids do what they want online is what the problem is?
      Are we not engaging at the dinner table every single day and connecting with our kids the real problem?
      Is it time to ask for change but start by making some changes ourself in the way we conduct our life online and off line?
      WHY do we all seem to think that because it is on line it is somehow less serious than if it was on the streets?

  9. Yes, we need to ask if computers and the internet are realy good for our children. As a parent I noticed that when my children spent time watching TV or using the computer it changed their behavior. I used to call it getting “tubed”. They were more hyper and not themselves.

    When children are young they do not know that the things they see on the TV are not real. There body’s are reacting to the unreal images as if they are real. I feel that most TV and computer use is giving our children a false sense of reality.

    The internet has incredible potential if we use it wisely. We control what is available on the internet, what we ask for the internet will provide. It is time to take more responsibility for what we have created.

  10. Dear World

    This email business is big and most of us with any internet has one or more email accounts. The fraudulent emails are a big problem and most of us tend to have this ‘spam’
    thing going so we don’t get all the irrelevant, unwanted and intrusive messages in our inbox. But what if there was more we could do to stop this nonsense that clogs up our websites and inboxes daily?
    What if we reported the general junk category emails that fall into spoof, phishing or spam?
    PayPal are partnering up with their customers and have a spoof team where you forward your dodgy emails.
    They say that “approximately 90% of all email sent worldwide falls into the spoof, phishing, spam and general junk category. By us submitting our suspicious emails we are helping to address this problem.
    Could it be possible that if more of us were willing to commit and consistently take action, things may change?
    Could it be possible that we just think ‘whats the point’ and accept what happens?
    Could it be possible that doing nothing guarantees no change?
    Could it be possible that doing something confirms that we are saying no to abuse?
    Do we ever think of these ugly unwanted emails as abuse?

  11. 4th February 2017, The Guardian newspaper had an article asking whether Snapchat is the new Facebook.

    The paper states –

    1.2 billion Facebook users check their account every day. That’s about 65% of all of Facebooks’ active users.

    Snapchat has 158 million daily users with two-thirds checking the app each day. The average Snapchat user is said to check the app 18 times a day.

    What these statistics are telling us are that we are increasingly using social media. 18 times a day checking one app, let alone how many others we may be checking in one day, is a lot.

    As the writer of this blog asks – “Is it possible that Social Media is our new form of connection?’ ‘Could it be possible that Social Media is safer than real life connection?’

    Have we stopped to really contemplate what it is we are craving with the incessant need to keep checking our social media accounts?

    Is true connection what we are missing?

    1. Checking in to Snapchat 18 times a day! And I read recently we’re checking our phones something like 85 times a day on average: online a third of our waking time. It sounds so extreme when you reflect on it. Are we interested in WHY?

      There certainly is something about social media in particular.
      What is it about it that makes it so addictive? That keeps us hooked – incessantly checking in?

      Call me old school, but, for me, connecting with the man in the post office or the bus driver or the guy I see every morning cleaning the stairs in my office building is AS IMPORTANT as calling my Mum and dare I say they’re all more important than checking my social media feed.

      A colleague asked me yesterday what he should give up for Lent, instead of ‘how about gluten and dairy?’, perhaps I should have said ‘checking your phone’!

  12. A recent study has concluded that social media results in feelings of ‘social isolation’.

    Having done the study because ‘mental health problems and social isolation are at epidemic levels’, the study’s professors say they don’t know whether social media caused the social isolation or social isolation resulted in people using social media more. What they do say, though, is that “we are inherently social creatures, but modern life tends to compartmentalise us instead of bringing us together… and [social media] may not be the solution people were hoping for. ”

    What is happening if we are going online to be social and connect, but we end up feeling ‘left out’?

    Social media is such a huge part of our lives – is it time for us all to look at this?

    Here is the study: http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(17)30016-8/fulltext

  13. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-13/south-korean-children-seek-help-at-digital-detox-boot-camp/6769766

    How serious is it that we are sending our children to a digital detox boot camp.
    Audio on this link has the full story.

    What on earth has the Internet done that has led to this?
    Those who worked hard to start the Internet most certainly did not want it to become this a few decades down the road.

    South Korea is the most wired nation on earth and has the highest rate of Internet addiction in the world. The country’s children are spending every waking moment immersed in fantasy role play or gaming. One in 10 kids are addicts.

    This link is showing us that the South Korea government sees it as a national health crisis and is now taking drastic measure to help the country’s 2 million addicts.

    The bootcamp is to rebuild connections back to the real world and weaken ties to the virtual one to reclaim the childhood lost to the computer.

    Professor Kang Young says “It affects the frontal lobes which are important for critical analysis”
    In other words the addiction was damaging critical thinking.
    How scary and serious is that?

    Is a digital bootcamp a bit like a rehab for a drug addict?
    Is this fantasy world a drug for our children of today?
    Is there something deeper going on that we need to address?
    Would it be wise to read our International Youth Day blog?
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/international-youth-day/

    Lets get real – these children are going to soon be our adult population and if every waking moment is immersed in this false virtual world, it would be true to say we have a serious problem.

    We all know this is one news story and one country and of course it is going on worldwide.

  14. The statistics presented here are quite sobering, so thank you Simple Living Global, for another illuminating blog.

    The World Wide Web had the potential to be one of the most amazing and influential inventions throughout all of history, from the wheel to ‘slicing of the bread’.

    And, although it can be used as an amazing and influential tool, it is becoming more and more synonymous with abuse whether it is from cyber abuse, cyber bullies, pornography, fraud, greed, corruption or simply just checking out from life by constantly being on one of the social media sites or gaming sites.

    This dis-connection from reality and the anonymity the internet provides is fuelling the hate and vitriol directed towards people, in most cases people they don’t even know.

    If we know we can get away with something, we can say what we want with impunity irrespective of whether it is true or not.

    Who is at blame here?
    Is anyone to blame here?

    Is this the responsibility of the internet service provider?
    Is this the responsibility of the individual user?
    Is this the responsibility of the public to make their views known?

    Are all of the above ‘RESPONSIBLE’?——-The answer is YES.

    We all share the responsibility because we all use the internet and until the internet is used ONLY for the amazing and influential tool it was designed for, we all have a responsibility in standing up for the TRUTH.

  15. We have people from all walks of life using the internet in an abusive way. I read in a UK national newspaper recently the case of a bishop who had been found guilty of on-line harassment that was described as ‘relentless’.

    People of high social standings are not exempt from carrying out on-line and off-line abuse and so we do have to ask – what is going on?

    What role models are we if any of us are behaving in this way?

    What gets into us that we would be abusive to others?

    Is there some kind of self-abuse going on which means that on-line and off-line abuse are easy to carry out?

    More questions need to be asked as both abuse on and off-line are escalating and they do need to stop.

    Articles like these by Simple Living Global and the many comments on this website are essential in bringing more awareness to humanity, as the way that we are living is not part of our natural TRUTHFUL way.

  16. When we think of the words, ADDICT/ADDICTION/ADDDICTED, we immediately go to either alcohol, drugs, sex or even food.

    But what about TECHNOLOGY? – Things like, video games, apps, phones, social media sites, mass on-line games like World of Warcraft, on-line shopping or even just browsing the internet.

    The following link talks about how ‘Technology’ is the new addiction and that the technology is being invented with the purpose of causing addiction:

    https://www.musttechnews.com/technology-addiction-deliberately-us/

    Some people say that our ‘technology’ habits can’t be described as an addiction but looking at the dictionary definitions of the words addicted and addiction, it’s quite clear that technology CAN be considered an addiction.

    Addicted – “Physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance.”

    Addiction – “The fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance or ACTIVITY.”

    I’m sure that when Tim Berners Lee invented the internet, he didn’t foresee people becoming addicted to its use and if this article has any foundation of truth, then questions need to be asked about why these addictive innovations are being allowed to be produced.

    1. It was pretty full-on, Tim, reading your post and realising that, if I’m honest, I am addicted to technology. I carry my laptop around like a pet and am never far from my phone.

      There is much here to look at and probably to change. Thank you for the look in the mirror.

  17. The inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, is concerned about how the web is being used:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39246810

    One of his concerns is the proliferation of this ‘Fake News’.

    It seems there are some people who are creating fake news stories for their own benefit and gain.

    And yes, fake news has the potential to “spread like wildfire” and has very harmful consequences.

    But surely this is not just a modern issue?

    Hasn’t fake news been going on for as long as mankind has existed?

    Do we not tell people what they want to hear whether it is true or not?

    Do newspapers or media outlets tell both sides of the story or only what they want us to know based on their own judgments and perspective?

    Just because it is in a newspaper or on the news, does that mean it is the truth?

    Why do we need the constant stimulation that comes with these sensationalist stories?

    “The arrival of social media – and the fight for clicks – has meant real and fictional stories are presented in such a similar way that it can be hard to tell the two apart.”

    Is it possible that if we didn’t ‘click’ on these sensationalist stories, the media outlets would have to rethink what they present to the world?

    Is it possible that we can feel what is the truth or not but we are enticed by the excitement of the story?

    This ‘Fake News’ emergence is only possible because we are buying into whatever stories are being told to us.

    Where is our Responsibility in discerning what is the Truth and what is not Truth?

  18. I have been supporting these last few days with an incidence of revenge porn.

    It seems that sharing intimate photos of yourself is now pretty much standard practice and in the moment, little thought goes into the downside of sharing those images.

    It is no wonder revenge porn is becoming so prevalent. It presents such an immediate and effective way to thrash out when you are in pain. And it seems to be made worse by a sense of being untouchable behind online anonymity.

    It has been clear to see the hurt underneath the revenge and the downward spiral everyone goes into as a result, causing huge suffering.

  19. Government asking our website giants to block sites that sell prescription only medication reports the Daily Mail – 15 April 2017.

    An investigation found potentially dangerous drugs for sale without prescription from pharmacy websites which included abortion pills and a controversial acne drug linked to several teenage suicides.

    The Internet now allows us to buy within minutes prescription drugs like abortion pills, sleeping pills, cancer drugs, statins and antibiotics from online pharmacies where we are not warned of potential side effects or asked about our age.

    We all know that it is illegal to sell medication without a licence as there are regulations.

    Neal Patel of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, warned that tests on drugs sold from such sites had found they could be contaminated with other substances, including illegal drugs such as crystal meth.

    HELLO
    Can we just stop here and read the blog on this website, which talks in detail about the harm and dangers of crystal meth – https://simplelivingglobal.com/the-raw-truth-about-amphetamines/

    Who is responsible for policing our Internet?
    Are we just blaming the suppliers without looking at the bigger picture here?
    Are we ever going to stop this illegal trade that is growing under our nose?
    Are we dealing with the root cause by blocking sites or is there more action needed?
    Are we going to look at why our suppliers receive the demand to offer services online?
    Are we the consumer ready to question why we demand these drugs from the Internet?
    Are we using illegal websites because it suits us in some way?
    Are we bothered about the dangers and do we even think about the side effects?
    Are we not asking as it is easy with no questions asked, thank you very much?
    Are we ready to admit that we maybe the ones feeding this supplier chain?

    Are we ready to ask – ARE we as individuals using the Internet Responsibly?

  20. The UK Royal Society for Public Health has conducted a study on social media and its impact on wellbeing.

    The study has found social media to be more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol.

    91% of 16-24 year olds are using the internet for social media and it is causing anxiety, depression, self-identity and body image issues. Rates of anxiety and depression in that demographic have risen 70% in the past 25 years.

    70% in just a couple of generations. That is a huge rise.

    Are we listening?

    https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/policy/social-media-and-young-people-s-mental-health-and-wellbeing.html

  21. The world and its brothers know that the UK have just had the worst terror attack since the 7/7 atrocities in 2005.

    Reading in the London Metro newspaper yesterday – 24 May 2017
    Trolls spread fake posts about victims

    Images were posted of missing people which were totally made up. That’s what Internet trolls do and we seem to be comfortable in our complacency to have a shock moment and then just read it and accept it.

    How ugly has the Internet world become that some choose to use a tragic event to send a fake frenzy for no reason and the only purpose is to harm?

    Trolls never stop as they seem to find a way of tormenting others, abusing them or stalking them online. Their job is to make another person’s life hell and I wonder if the word Karma crosses their mind.
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/karma-karma/

    What if there is a universal law that most of us would conveniently not want to know about?

    What if it is called the Law of Oneness and that means the old saying ‘what goes around, comes around’ – call it the cause and effect we all know about?

    What if this Law of Oneness takes care of everything eventually so it catches up with us and we then have to be at the receiving end of what we put out there.

    Without sounding goody goody, I reckon it pays to live a life that has the utmost integrity and taking the Responsibility to not harm self or others or our precious planet.

    Of course without perfection as we all need to be reminded we are human, not perfect.

  22. Reading an article in a UK National newspaper it quotes a statistic of 89% of women aged 20-35 having taken naked pictures of themselves.

    The article is on Revenge Porn and one of the questions the writer asks is why so many girls and young women are putting themselves in this position, where by posing for naked pictures they run the risk of these photos being online. Great question.

    Sexting is endemic as we know from this article on World Internet Day by Simple Living Global.

    The writer of the UK National newspaper article acknowledges that this is all having a great toll on young people’s mental health. Young people are ending their lives through suicide as a result of sexting blackmail cases.

    Where I disagree with the writer is that they are saying that the men/boys are to blame.

    However what if they are just as much a ‘victim’ of something as the females?
    A controversial statement, but we have to always remember that if there is abuse happening in relationships both parties have allowed it in in some way.

    What if due to the way that we are raising our children our boys/men are lost as to how to behave in a truly harmonious and loving way towards women?

    What if they don’t have any true female role models from their grandmothers, mum, aunty, sisters, teachers at school, etc that show them how a woman lovingly respects herself and says no to abuse?

    What if our girls and young women are not shown how to respect their bodies and so we have a situation where 89% of 20 – 35 years olds are having naked photos of themselves taken?

    I say this as having allowed lots of harm into my relationships with men in the past, I recognise that there was no chance of me being treated with respect by them if in my day to day life I was not loving and respecting myself.

    There is certainly much more to look at with this Revenge Porn issue and any online/offline abuse between males and females.

  23. Globally, we are spending an average of 456.1 minutes each day consuming media and mobile internet usage drove much of that.

    456 minutes is 7 and 1/2 hours.

    That’s 7.5 hours PER DAY.

    The suggestion is we’ve reached ‘peak media’ as there aren’t enough hours in the day for it to grow much more.

    So I’m sitting here thinking:
    …Why are we zoning out for the equivalent of a working day?
    …What else could we each be doing with those 7.5 hours?
    …How much more productive could be if we didn’t waste so much time?
    …If we have all this time, shouldn’t we be spending at least some of it trying to help people, e.g. by writing blogs like this one?

    https://www.recode.net/2017/5/30/15712660/media-consumption-zenith-mobile-internet-tv

    1. Interesting comment here JS with the amount of time we are choosing to spend on the screen and this ‘peak media’ stuff.

      So it would be true to say that for many the Internet is taking over daily life and seems to be escalating?

      Call me old school or a bit old but I choose what I want to search on the Internet and it sure is not rubbish or nonsense. It always has a purpose and most of the time it is to find information to write blogs on this website.

      I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but there are adverts flicking up on the screen non-stop and then there are videos of advertisements in the middle of you trying to read a medical journal paper that may hold some content of value to share with others.
      It is extremely off putting and no sooner do you get back to reading then up pops another few ads to your right visual field then at the top bar and on it goes.

      Utter utter waste of time if you ask me but as I question everything I had to stop and ask WHY on earth do we allow companies to do that to us?
      My take is that we are the consumers, the customers – the ones demanding more of this and that so they SUPPLY because of our DEMAND.

      If the world and its brothers (all of us) stopped paying attention or even watching an advert clip or buying stuff in this way then the marketing strategy of this kind would simply stop. Basic economics has told us from day dot about supply and demand.

      What we all need to at least consider is WHY do we need this constant ‘feeding’ of other stuff whilst trying to read?

      WHY are things just not simple anymore?
      WHY is there so much going on at one time?
      WHY can’t we go back to reading one thing at a time?

      By only focussing on one thing, could it be possible that we are more likely to be connected to what we are reading and not lose ourselves in the plethora of images on our screen?

      1. I really recognise this ‘constant feeding’ you talk about and the supply and demand point you make is exposing.

        How many of us think like that about life? Maybe it’s time for more of us to consider what we are feeding that is making our reality to be as it is.

        And I know I for one feed those ads you see on websites. The ones that know you’ve looked at a pair of shoes and then have that pair of shoes follow you around the internet when you’re working.

        The truth is: if you don’t feed the machine, it can’t advert stalk you.

        It feels like this is just the tip of the supply and demand iceberg. I wonder what else we’ll see if we really start paying attention.

  24. I have noticed at work this ‘constant feeding’ and distraction.

    Not so many years ago, it would have been rude to check your phone in a meeting but it’s now the norm. As is doing something on your laptop while someone is talking.

    What is the quality of our attention if we are doing this? How is it for the people in that meeting with us? How is it for those who are presenting?

    What is it doing to our brains and our relationships to have our attention split in 2?

  25. The Week – 8th July 2017, p.4

    More than 1 in 4 Britons have experienced on-line shopping scams.

    In a survey by Gumtree – 33% said they’d suspected the deal was dodgy but had been tempted by the bargain so went ahead regardless.

    Cyber crime is rife as this blog by Simple Living Global has pointed out and so it is our responsibility as consumers to be discerning when we are on the Internet including being astute to anything that feels/looks dodgy.

    Unfortunately, it is not just an innocent click of the button and can have grave consequences. In the past I had no clue that there were scams and to be honest I was not interested, but being caught by a scam because we are ‘tempted’ by a bargain shows us how much we can put our needs ahead of what we know is true.

    Is it really worth it?

  26. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0178480

    This research published in an academic journal dated 25 May 2017 is telling the world something that is serious and may be of great value.

    Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has been suggested as in need of further research with a view to being included as a disorder in future Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association, but lack of knowledge about the impact of internet cessation on physiological function remains a major gap in knowledge and a barrier to PIU classification.

    It is saying the changes are similar to those seen in individuals who have ceased using sedative or opiate drugs.

    PIU is a global issue and it is mostly among younger people and has been found to be associated with a range of psychological problems such as
    Depression
    Anxiety
    Social isolation
    Impulsivity
    Increased negative mood

    Cravings have also been noted for those reporting internet video game addictions.

    We can continue to read into this in depth study or we can simply re read this blog and join the dots – we are in serious trouble as our younger generations are becoming addicted to the Internet and these are going to be our future adults.

    Do we need to say anymore or do we simply need to stop and start asking questions, so at least things get out in the open for discussion.
    Saying nothing, doing nothing, expecting others to do something and just accepting this as some more bad news is not going to change anything.

    We each have a Responsibility and if we truly want change, then we need to take true action as it always speaks louder than words.

  27. You talk about giving our toddlers iPads to keep them entertained.

    Are we aware of the harm this can have on their development, mentally physically and emotionally?

    In this article in the Telegraph in April 2017
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/family/obesity-aggression-developmental-delays-what-tablets-and-mobiles/
    ‘Dr Mary Aitken delves into what impact all that screen time might really be doing to children…’ our time with the screen and our children’s.

    She talks of how we are looking at our phones rather than engaging with our babies and the impact this could have on their developmental stages.

    ‘What if that direct contact was in fact one-half or one-quarter as much as the days when my generation was raised?

    How will this seemingly small behavioural shift play out over time?

    Would a generation of babies be impacted? Could it change the human race? ‘

    ‘In Britain, an escalation of problems associated with pervasive tablet use among pre-school-age children has been reported by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, including developmental delays in attention span, fine motor skills and dexterity, speaking, and socialization — as well as an increase in aggressive and antisocial behaviour, obesity, and tiredness.’

    This is serious. Is it time we took responsibility with how, why, when and how long for, we use our tablets and phones and be the role models for our children in the use of them.. and connecting with each other?

    Are we being responsible for our future generations?

  28. Metro News – 25 July 2017

    The FBI have shut down the website which was labelled ‘the largest dark net marketplace in history’. To those of us on the street, the dark web is where dodgy stuff goes on – in this case it was selling illicit goods such as drugs and weapons.
    The owner died and £16 million has been seized.

    Question is – What was the purpose as this guy hanged himself in jail?
    What makes someone trade in this way under the radar?
    What is going on for these people that makes them trade online and get away with it?
    WHY are we just reading another news story but not making it our business to talk about it?
    Are any of us really and truly aware of the dark world on the Internet?
    Do we realise that this is economics as is everything today in our world?
    In other words – supply and demand.

    These dark websites continue to grow because there is a demand.
    We the public want something and they supply.
    No point blaming or saying they are they bad guys.

    We are asking for it and until we say NO to anything that harms, our dark web will continue to profit and remain a strong industry that destroys lives.

  29. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/20/dark-web-marketplaces-alphabay-hansa-shut-down

    News story dated 20 July 2017 – Two of the largest ‘dark web’ marketplaces for illegal and illicit items such as drugs and guns have been shut down.

    The network that allows all this helps users to browse the internet anonymously.
    It was considered the biggest online black market for drugs estimated to host daily transactions totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds.

    There is more but the question here is what on earth are we doing as a world watching all this go on and accepting it, as we simply read the next news headlines.

    Have we bothered to find out what the dark web is really about and what goes on?
    Do we care enough or have we got too much going on in our life to take note of the hidden world?
    Have we stopped for a moment to consider how many lives are ruined?
    How many are living against their free will in conditions that are far from normal?
    How many stand to gain and profit and at what cost?
    The huge cost to society in policing and investigations to track down these sites?

    But the most serious question is what have we as a world contributed to the Internet?
    This world wide web when it started did not forsee the uglyness that is currently going on and it is far from sorted. We each have a hand in what we choose to do with the Internet.

    Is it time we all started bringing in that word RESPONSIBILITY before we go tapping in the next search on our keypad?

  30. An article in ‘The Week’ magazine talks about how Germany has warned internet giants, including Google and Facebook, that they must do more to combat hate speech.

    The Justice Minister said that unless they start responding more swiftly to reports of illegal content on their sites, he will bring in legislation that would impose fines of up to 50 million euros (£44m) for violations of Germany’s strict laws on hate speech.

    In London, a Google executive admitted to MP’s that a video posted on its YouTube platform was “anti-semitic, deeply offensive and shocking”, but that it still didn’t breach Google’s rules of hate speech.

    For most of reading the above statement, our initial reaction would be something like: ‘WHHHAAATTT. How can something deeply offensive and shocking not break hate speech rules?’

    Is it possible there is an ulterior motive for allowing this diatribe on their sites?

    If something that is deeply offensive and shocking does not break ‘their’ rules, what could possibly be bad enough for them to consider a violation of ‘their’ rules?

    Is it possible that their ‘rules’ should be considered deeply offensive and shocking?

    If fining these internet giants millions of pounds is the only way to get them to look at the harm that is being caused by allowing videos, comments and blogs to be posted on their sites, then that is a good thing.

    But then, is it possible, that all it says about these companies is that money is the driving factor behind allowing this hateful content to be expressed and kept on their sites.

    The fining of these companies shouldn’t even have to be a consideration, common sense and decency should prevail with this type of abuse.

    This is a good first step in eradicating this unacceptable behaviour and maybe other countries will follow suit.

  31. Not sure if anyone has noticed, when you try and read something these days online, you are bombarded from all angles with advertisements flashing away to get your attention.

    How has our world wide web ended up like this and can we be honest and say most of us do get affected by this, even if we think we are not?

    I was trying to watch a video link and noticed the ads had no x to close them, so you had to go through them before you got to the video you want to watch.

    What I do know is things have got worse and the questions I ask are how come and what are we as individuals doing to contribute to this?

    There can only be a supply of these ads if we are demanding, so surely it is us asking and the advertisers supply.

    Ignoring them is not easy and not reacting is another one as I am sure it presses our buttons if not today then tomorrow when something really important that we need is online to be read.

    The word that comes to mind is RESPONSIBILITY.

    What are we doing to the Internet, that does not belong to any organisation but to ALL of us and how are we contributing to it if we put the word Responsibility in?

  32. BBC News – 23rd August 2017

    Identify theft is reaching ‘epidemic levels’.

    ‘These frauds are taking place almost exclusively online. The vast amounts of personal data that is available either online or through data breaches is only making it easier for the fraudster.’
    Simon Dukes – Chief Executive, Cifas

    The figures quoted are 4 out of 5 identify thefts occurring online.

    People are often not aware until they receive a random bill or they realised that their credit rating has gone down.

    Victims are likely to be in their 30s and 40s and not the elderly as previously thought.

    Identity theft is rife on the dark web with passwords up for sale.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41011464

    So here we have it confirmed again, the world wide web that is used by billions of people daily is rife with fraud and the figures are increasing.

    Why do we as human beings seek every opportunity to corrupt and destroy something that could actually be used for the true good of mankind?

    Have we asked WHY our own selfish needs get in the way?

    Why is our foremost viewpoint in life not on how we can unite, but how we can have more for ourselves regardless of the cost to others and society in general?

    We are not born that way and it is not part of our natural way, so what has happened and what have we allowed that enables this destructive behavior to take over?

    No amount of online security is going to stop the figures escalating.

    Could it possible that each one of us needs to be asking poignant questions to get to the root cause of why we have allowed the internet to be ruled by abuse and irresponsible behaviour?

  33. As someone who does daily research on the Internet for this website, I get a phone call at the office saying that they want to ‘trade’ with me.

    Having no idea what this guy was on about, he started raising his voice and his accent was so strong, I barely understood him.
    However, what I did feel is he was angry that I was not going to buy whatever he was trying to sell.

    My question to him that I kept asking was how on earth does someone get your phone number because you were researching on their website and it left me with “is this all really true?”.

    I felt a strong reaction in my body and my chest felt hard and I knew instantly that this call was not in my best interests.

    What is alarming is that how many of us in this world would fall for this type of call and what could it lead to? In other words what would the consequences be if we were not savvy enough to hear the alarm bells and say No.

    Our Internet is really no different to real life.

    If a stranger came up to us and claimed they know us and wanted us to trade with them, what would our response be?

    WHY are we all not seeing the Internet in the same way as planet earth, real life?

    With that comes a Responsibility, if we are going to be honest and do our bit. If not, this sort of stuff will continue to escalate.

  34. A massive data breach was exposed in the US last week.

    Caused by a sophisticated ‘hack’ of a company’s IT system, 45% of the US population is estimated to be affected.

    Swathes of sensitive personal data is now in the hands of criminals, including social security number, credit card information, drivers livence, date of birth etc. Everything needed to commit any number of crimes, including identity theft.

    As highlighted by this blog, the potential of the Internet as a tool for humanity is huge.

    As these massive scale data breaches show, there are also huge challenges.

  35. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39232620
    BBC news story – 11 March 2017

    The Internet has gone to another level and there are now social video platforms for gamers that allow 24/7 live streaming for gamers to continue playing and get to the top of their game at the cost of their health. The sites have millions of active daily users.

    What does this tell us about what is happening to our Internet today?

    Are health guidelines going to cut it when a professional streamer who takes part in 24 hour gaming marathons says it would be too restrictive to cut down hours.

    We cannot point fingers and blame. If there is money to be made and the demand is there, then of course there will be those in business who will choose that form of investment.

    We the users need to look at what it is we want.
    If sitting for 22 hours without a break leads to a man dying, then do we need to wait for more research studies to confirm this or is a real life story enough proof for those of us who have common sense?

    WHY do we hang around saying we need more research when it is in our face and thIS news story is spelling it out to us?

    A guy died after playing 19 hours and another one died after playing 40 hours straight.

    How many of us could do that?
    Can we sustain an un-natural way of being for that long and expect to continue living?
    Are we championed as professional heroes if we can?
    At what cost to the human frame are we willing to go?
    WHY are we not policing our Internet?
    WHY are we ok just reading news stories like this, but doing nothing?

    No body or organisation owns the Internet and whilst this may be a good thing, leaving it up to ALL of us comes with a huge responsibility. So what are we all doing?

    We are all equal custodians of the Internet and what we put out there online does matter.

    Can we say we are doing our bit not to harm self or others or are we using it as a licence to do whatever we want because we can, without ever considering the consequences?

  36. I was thinking about the more more more culture at work – how much we expect from ourselves and our colleagues these days.

    A university has researched people’s experience in the workplace and found that we are struggling with the ‘always on’ culture brought by the Internet and device technology.

    They are recommending companies put in place measures to support workers to manage these pressures and to prepare for how technology will continue to influence the workplace in the future.

    They recommend workers have a regular ‘digital detox’.

    I wonder if there is more to study here.

    Why are we giving priority to Internet and workplace connectivity over connection to our own selves and wellbeing?

    http://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/workplaces-failing-to-tackle-always-on-culture

  37. http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/8014281/South-Korea-to-stem-digital-addiction-from-age-3
    South Korea to stem digital addiction from age 3.

    We could say this is an old news story as 5 years have passed but what is this saying to us.
    The government of heavily wired South Korea are taking further steps to curb internet addiction in youth.

    Do we all need to be concerned if an 11 year old was sleeping with her smartphone 5 years ago?
    Does it matter even though this young girl is not living in our country?
    Can we relate to this or is this a clear sign of what our youth are up to?
    Are we ready to start asking the WHY questions?

    The fact is she carries it with her all day, on the street, in school and in the restroom, as she is constantly typing messages to friends.
    Every hour she then taps open an application on her mobile phone to feed her digital hamster.
    She finds it stressful if she is out of the wireless hotspot zone for too long.

    Her obsession with being online is a byproduct of being reared in one of the world’s most digitally connected societies where 98% of households have Internet access.

    What is the real state of digital addiction today in this country and what is it globally?
    5 years ago South Korea government were providing counselling programs and psychological treatments for an estimated 2 million people to wean themselves from playing online games.
    Has anything changed?
    Have the figures gone up?
    Are the treatments offered not able to keep up with the rise in addiction?
    Are we on the front foot or any closer to finding out the Truth about Internet Addiction?

    “New mobile devices that instantly respond to a touch of a finger seem to make children more restless than before…
    Babies are in a stroller with a smartphone holder. Kids sit in the grocery shopping cart watching movies on the tablet computer.
    Educating children against digital and web addiction should start early because smartphones are their new toys.
    Kim Jun-Hee – Kindergarten Teacher

    Can we join the dots here?
    Babies are connecting to something that is not real?
    Who do we blame or point the finger at?
    Can we wait for governments to come up with solutions?
    Are we going to look at how we function really with this way of living?

    What is the Responsibility for parents?
    How are the parents choosing to live?
    In other words, is the Internet just a way of life and such a normal choice everyday that they don’t think a baby with a screen in front of it is going to be harmfull in anyway?

    The National Information Society Agency, estimates 160,000 South Korean children between age 5 and 9 are addicted to the Internet either through smartphones, tablet computers or personal computers. Such children appear animated when using gadgets but distracted and nervous when they are cut off from the devices and will forgo eating or going to the toilet so they can continue playing online, according to the agency.

  38. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40840823
    BBC news – 6 August 2017

    Children consuming online time ‘like junk food’

    Children’s Commissioner for England – Anne Longfield says parents should be proactive in stopping their children from bingeing on the internet in the summer holidays.

    Industry watchdog Ofcom said the Internet overtook television as the most popular media pastime for children in the UK.
    Children aged 5 to 15 are spending 15 hours a week on the Internet.

    If we are being honest is it just the school holidays or should we be taking action on a daily basis so that it does not matter if a holiday was there, things would remain constant?

    Do we as adults have to first and foremost look at the choices we are making when it comes to the Internet?
    No point imposing on our kids and telling them what to do, yet we do not live the same. We need to walk the walk and talk the talk, as the saying goes.

    To have real change and turn the tides, we each as individuals have a Responsibility with the choices we make and in this case it is about the use of the Internet. We have another world that can, if we allow it, dominate our lives and become our priority.

    What our kids do best is follow what they see us do.
    Those of us without children also have a responsibility in how we choose to use the internet.

    As this blog says, no organisation or individual owns the Internet so it is up to each of us to do our bit and not wait for things to get any worse.

    If what the Commissioner here is saying makes sense then it is no surprise that the digital world is a drug and it can lead to addiction and in this case with our children.

    How scary is it that our modern day world does little to support our kids to be truly met and nurtured for who they truly are and instead feeds them with screens of all sizes to keep them distracted and numb from their very essence. No blame here, as we are all part of this world and we each have a hand in what goes on.

    The suppliers will keep giving us what we demand and want. Things can only change if we start saying No to what we innately can feel is harming us and our children.

  39. The internet is what it is because we have created it so.

    But the companies that are using the internet to make a profit are censoring what it brings to put on there. They are not allowing some people (and censored whole countries) to post things because they feel they are too controversial. That may be ok but my point is if they can control what is being posted on the internet, why not put a stop to sexist and racist cyberbullying?

    The Internet is proving to be a powerful tool in our world.
    We have the ability to control what the Internet is. If we stopped using it for even a day, all the internet companies would be on their knees.
    We literally could tell them what we want.

    It all comes down to individual responsibility again.

    1. I like what you say Ken about the Internet being what we have created it to be.
      Everything is on there because we are demanding and just recently I have noticed whilst researching for valuable stuff to support this website, I get flashes, adverts from all corners of the screen and if I don’t keep the noise down there is the sound too. If there is a small x and I click to switch the ad off, another one appears instantly. All I know from experience is that it has got worse.

      Gosh what on earth is going on and how scary that you cannot just sit and read something that may be useful because of all the outer distractions.

      I can see how people end up buying online and hooking into ads as it just takes you off if you allow it.

      You talk about individual responsibility Ken and what a powerfull tool the Internet is in our world today. I agree with you.

      All I can say is Thank God I have a way of living that does not allow me to get sucked or drawn into the nonsense that is out there on our Internet but to use it wisely and with the utmost discernment to help me and others by way of writing and bringing more awareness about topics that our world needs to know about. In other words, having a true purpose.

  40. I am proposing that cyberbullying is causing some people to be afraid to express themselves on the Internet.

    I know from own experience as a child that bullys basically changed the way l was in the world, afraid to be myself.

    With the change in leadership in the USA there has been a rise in supremacy group activity. Is it possible that because of the cyberbullying on the internet, people that would normally express themselves are afraid to speak out about what is happening?

    This is very similar to the fear that was used to suppress woman and people of color in the past in the USA.

    I am feeling the power of my individual expression. What we say does make a difference and it is everbodys responsibility to speak what we feel is the truth.

  41. Things are stepping up with Internet Safety in the UK.

    Culture secretary Karen Bradley revealed a new Internet Safety Strategy on 11th October 2017.

    A news article in the Daily Mail on 10th October 2017 (p.4) revealed: social media companies will be the first to be told that they are to publish how many complaints they receive each year about abuse and the proportion of abusive messages that are taken down.

    All of the information will be available to the public and are to include the number of children, women and gay people targeted and how many people are targeted due to their religion.

    The UK Government hope that they will not have to force some social media companies to agree to publish their annual reports, instead trusting that they will all willingly co-operate.

    This is certainly a greater call to transparency and responsibility both of which I strongly support.

    Statistics in the article are quoted as follows –

    A fifth of 12 – 15 year olds came across something online that they found worrying or nasty in some way.

    Almost 50% of adult users said that they had seen something that had upset or offended them on social media.

    ‘MPs – particularly female MPs have also complained of the rising tide of online abuse.’
    We have one example in this blog by Simple Living Global of Jess Phillips – MP for Birmingham Yardley.

    The Daily Mail article closes with a poignant statement from the Culture Secretary
    ‘Put simply, behaviour that is unacceptable in normal life should be unacceptable on a computer screen.’

    This to me is simple common-sense.

    If we all chose to live this way the Internet would be a very different place with much more meaningfull and purposefull activity.

    Could it be possible that we would then have more websites like this one by Simple Living Global that have been created and written simply for the true growth and evolution of humanity?

  42. An article in the Daily Mail, 18th November 2017, talks about how, “We’ve ALL been hacked”, and cyber criminals have sold your details, warns police chief.

    Almost all of us have been hacked and had our details sold on the Dark Web.
    (The Dark Web is a term that refers specifically to a collection of websites that exist on an encrypted network and cannot be found by using traditional search engines or visited by using traditional browsers. Almost all sites in the Dark Web hide their identity using an encryption tool as many sites buy and sell recreational drugs and a lot of other dangerous goods).

    A chief constable who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council on cyber-crime issued the warning over rampant computer hacking as he urged firms to come clean to customers when their security has been compromised and revealed that he himself has been personally targeted three times by thieves who stole his name, date of birth, address and email.

    He said that Russia was the worst culprit, bombarding the UK with ‘state sponsored’ or ‘state permitted’ criminal attacks on a daily basis.

    At a media briefing he said, “I can almost guarantee that every single one of you around this table has had a data breach against you and that some of your personal data is held somewhere on the Dark Web and is being sold or traded.”

    The daily attacks are costing billions a year and online fraud is now the most common crime in the country with more than 5.5 million cyber and fraud offences taking place each year.

    The head of the National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), warned the scale of fraud from stolen bank details was now so vast that banks will soon have to stop refunding affected customers because they can no longer tolerate the losses.

    Hacking has become hugely profitable – nearly half of UK businesses suffered a cyber breach or attack in the last year, while in May, the NHS was crippled by an attack.

    Police have called for mandatory cyber security on consumer goods after a huge rise in internet-connected domestic products including TV’s, fridges and even kettles.

    There is no doubt that the internet is a great tool if used with the intention it was created in but as with all technology, it is open to abuse.

    Of course, it would be very easy to portray the internet as the bad guy when we fall foul of its darker side but is it possible that we are the creators of our own woes?

    Is it possible that our need/desire to have things sent to us, to have the luxury of going shopping from our own homes, is fuelling cyber-crime?

    Is it possible that demanding large internet-connected domestic goods is making it easy for those who wish to commit cyber-crimes?

    Is it possible that being able to buy internet-connected domestic goods is just going to push prices up because of all the extra security needed?

    Why do we need TV’s, fridges, kettles or any other domestic good that is controlled by the internet?

    Like all things in life, it is not the ‘thing’ that is bad, dangerous or unsafe.

    It is not the internet, banks, insurance, guns, knives, vehicles etc. – it is the person behind it.

    We are the ones that make the world as it is.

  43. Are we afraid to look at the truth about the internet? Our world is basically addicted to the internet. What would happen if someone could hack into the internet to the extent that, we would have to shut it down?

    I imagine that we do not want to go there, we are so dependent on the internet, it is beyond imagination the repercussions of that happening.

    Is this the next form of terrorism?

    It is already happening with cyber-abuse, identity theft, and banking fraud.

    What will it take for us to take responsibility for what we have created?

  44. Daily Mail – 18 November 2017

    Children are to be taught how to recognise fake news on the Internet.

    The Government strategy document said it is important for children and young people to be aware that not everything they see and read online is real. Being able to distinguish between factual and fabricated content is a critical skill.

    So these fake news lessons form a part of the Government’s Internet Safety Strategy which is seeking to enhance children’s critical thinking skills.
    This comes after a survey in 2016 found more than one in four children, aged 8 to 15 agreed that if Google lists information then the results can be trusted.

    We all know the Internet is plagued with false information and we need to learn to discern, what is Truth and what is Not.

    Sounds simple and achievable but is it really?
    Are critical thinking skills the answer?
    Are we relying on a government strategy that aims at wanting something to work?
    Is there something missing here?

    Do our children need to learn how to connect to their body so that they can feel when they read something whether it is truth or not?
    Do we need a marker that is going to serve us as we grow up to ensure we can tell the difference between truth and lies?
    Do we need to live in a way that is about making daily choices that support us to simply know when fake news is on our radar?

    Is this a RESPONSIBILITY we as adults in the community, parents and elders need to develop so we can help our children?

    Are we ready to admit that maybe a strategy, however great it sounds may not be getting to the root cause of WHY we are not able to know the difference between truth and fake news?

  45. Talking to a colleague at work, he was sharing about his kids’ phone addiction.

    They live in Finland and you go to school on your own there from 6 or 7 years old so parents like to have a way to keep in touch with their kids.

    He said the problem is that since they had their phones, they don’t know how to occupy themselves without playing games. He will say ‘what shall we do together now?’ and they have absolutely no ideas and no spark. Their main recreation is playing on their phones and nothing else seems interesting.

    He says he wishes they had phone-only functioning devices so they couldn’t access games or the Internet, but he said that boat sailed too long ago and his ex-wife is making these decisions.

    How hard it must be to see your capable, curious kids checking out this way.

    I wonder how it is for the kids, feeling hooked that way – like nothing else is intersting.

    What are we doing to our kids, gifting them over to this constant distraction?

    Surely we see this is all within our control – the direct consequence of choices we are making. And that we can make a change any day we choose.

  46. An article in the Daily Mail, 18th November 2017, says: “Beware posting pictures of your babies online, mothers warned.”

    Parents of newborns are to be given official guidelines warning them to be careful about posting pictures of their babies online.

    They will also be warned not to use tablet computers as babysitters amid fears that too much screen time may harm a child’s mental development.

    The plans – which are open to consultation – are contained in the Government’s Internet Safety Strategy.

    It raises fears about parents putting photos of their children online – particularly if they make it possible to identify where they live.

    This could lead to people stealing the child’s identity, as well as bringing them to the attention of paedophiles.

    The new strategy document says: ‘This information will focus on the technology and parenting issues that are relevant to this young age group, including the impact of screen time on a child’s cognitive development.

    Around four in ten British three to four year olds use the internet for around eight hours per week on average, often via a tablet computer.

    Experts have said it could affect children’s eyesight, attention span, motor skills and language proficiency, while one study said it could have an impact on ‘social-emotional development’.

    The secretary of the UK Children’s Charities Coalition on Internet Safety said: “Internet safety is now one of parents greatest worries so the sooner we start helping them to get to grips with the issues, the better it will be for the new arrivals.”

    But some parenting groups say this strategy is intrusive.

    A spokesperson from pressure group Parents Out Loud said: “There comes a point when the nanny state has got to stop. Giving new parents this sort of advice when they are just out of hospital is nothing to do with government. They should get on and sort out what is important and leave the rest to parents and the support services.”

    If parents are worried about internet safety for their children, is it possible that the simple answer here is that parents DO NOT use the internet to post photos or other information?

    The UK Children’s Charities Coalition on Internet Safety is saying that parents’ greatest fear is internet safety, but it is the parents that put all the information on the internet.

    With regards to the screen time that three to four year olds are having, is it possible that the first question we should be asking is why are these young children using the internet in the first place?

    Why are some parents using tablets as ‘babysitters’?

    It stands to reason that too much screen time has an effect on anyone and possibly has more affect on young children.

    As we withdraw more and more into this online world, is it possible that it could lead to a life of isolation in later years due to the lack of real life, face to face interaction with others?

    With the influence that the internet has on shaping young minds to fit a perceived ideal of what society says we should look like and be like, is it any surprise that the incidence of mental health issues in the young is increasing when they realise they can’t match what society is showing them and wanting them to be?

  47. Citizen Journalism here reporting in –
    Is it just me or has anyone noticed how bad things are getting on the Internet.

    As a researcher of news stories that could possibly bring more awareness to others, I am on it daily. There seems to be more distractions in my peripheral vision and with things moving, dancing and flashing around it is quite off putting.

    I was told to click the x and when I just done that another ad replaced it with even more pulsing pictures. Sometimes the ads are bigger than the news story I am trying to read.

    Thank God I have enough awareness and stillness in my mind and body to not get hooked out, but I can see how easily this can be done.

    All these ads would not be there if we stopped buying, as the supply would cease.

    Sounds simple, but in my world I know the supply and demand thing is down to us.

    Next – people comment on stories and I have made it my business to scroll and read some after a news story. What is interesting is there are very very few, if any I have come across with a real name.

    How easy and convenient that we can go online, say whatever we want and know we are getting away with it?

    WHY is being anonymous so accepted in our online world?

    WHY are we allowing it in the first place?

    The Internet is something we have created and as this blog highlights we are all EQUALLY responsible. The question is what are we as individuals doing and how are we contributing?
    Everything we put out there is a digital footprint that cannot be erased.

  48. The internet is so popular because people are looking for a real connection. They are not receiving it in real life so they turn to the internet.

    Is it possible that the connection we miss most, is our connection to ourselves? And without that connection first we will always be looking for more out there?

    So how do we connect to ourselves?

    Simple Living Global’s Back to Basics program presents exercises and techniques that have supported me to re- connect to myself. This has allowed me to make better choices in my life that supports me. It has been a critical step in getting me back on track physically and emotionally.

    A simple concept, connecting to ourselves – is this what our world is missing?

  49. TODAY IS SAFER INTERNET DAY

    So what exactly does that mean to us on the street?
    Do we care or are these just words that go out on the World Wide Web?
    Is this a message telling us to be more safe?
    What does that mean and how do we do it?

    Do we all have the same meaning when it comes to this word?
    Do some regard safe as something that applies to all or just some of us?
    Do we think safe is about children’s safety and nothing to do with adults?
    Do we want safe to be about policing the Internet?

    Dear World

    Could it be possible that we have created the Internet and we are responsible for not making it a safe place for all?

    Could it be possible that each of us has a duty to humanity and a grand responsibility to ensure we are not harming anyone, including ourself, with our online activities and that every choice needs to be considered and felt as there are consequences to our digital footprint?

    Are we ready for this kind of Responsibility in daily online activity?

  50. News story about how one man went to an Internet search engine giant to see if he could change the business model which was NOT built to give users their time, but built to take even more of it.

    This guy also mentioned how it is designed to get us more addicted.

    As this website is about reporting facts to make us – the general public, on the street more aware, is it time we started to question all this?

    WHY are we not helping our fellow brothers in a true way?

    What is it about us humans that are willing to ‘design’ something that will potentially harm, as let’s face it we all know what addiction is and what it leads to in the long term?

    WHY are we so reluctant to join the dots, as things are so obvious and clear now?
    Our kids are doing things so fast we are choosing not to keep up or take action when it comes to their screen time.

    This comment starts with the fact that Internet giants build a model to make sure we spend more time on it.

    Many of us have read stories or may have it going on in real life about our children and adults who are addicted to the Internet.

    ADD to that social media addiction, Video Gaming, Gambling and Shopping and most of us would be nodding now.

    Are we ready to admit that we are all responsible for what we put online?
    Most of us would rather not think about it like this but we cannot negate this immutable fact.

    Reading this blog we are all better informed and know a bit more about our World Wide Web which was originally created to help and support us to interconnect, no matter where we are in the world.

    What If we stop for a moment just to consider where it is at today?

    We have enough research studies confirming that there is evidence of the harm the Internet is causing to us.

    Can we blame or can we start to consider the choices we are making?
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/why-do-we-blame/

    Is it like a food, a drug of some kind as it stimulates similar rewarding parts of our brain?

    Has the Internet become the latest legal drug of choice in our modern world?

  51. Reading an article in the paper about billionaires and their brainwaves – in other words what they are up to, I realised all the people quoted had made their money because of the Internet. Be it founder of a social media platform, software, search engine or tech venture capitalist – this industry is potentially a super big money earner.

    So they are going to end all disease, get us onto another planet, cure death with longevity solutions and of course feed our lifestyles to another level of luxury and at the same time go on humanitarian missions.

    ALL sounds amazing and many of us will be jumping on the bandwagon to make sure we keep up with their visions, as we think money can buy us anything – but can it really?

    Are we blinded in some way, if we cannot see that all the money in the world has kept humans very divisive and we still have war going on amongst our fellow brothers?

    Are we truly able to end the dis-ease that man has created because of our ill choices?

    Are these billionaires really in touch with the pulse of humanity?
    In other words do they know how bad the mess really is and how far and way out we are from nailing all this that we have created?

    Are our tech billionaires feeding us a reality that helps us to escape from the feelings of how bad our world has really got into?

    Are we going to continue with our doing good because we can afford to but is it the Truth and are we ready to question this to the endth degree?
    In other words, is the good better than bad but simply NOT the Truth.

    Having billions is not a good or bad thing but we do need to look at what we are doing with our money and does it truly serve the ALL.
    In other words, is there any self identification, self recognition or self in any form, as we are all as humanity interconnected and therefore equal regardless of the size of our financial assets.
    Is this making sense?

  52. The internet has incredible potential as a communication tool.

    But is it being used for true communication?

    Are we using the internet for communication because we feel our current level of communication is not adequate?

    Are we missing a level of communication that we have forgotten?

    Many humans believe we are superior to animals because we can talk.
    Is it possible that animals communicate on a level that is much more intimate than words?

    Are our pets there to help us remember that our bodies movements communicate on a much deeper level?

  53. What has happened to common decency and respect?

    The Internet has become a playground for abuse and lies.

    The sad thing is that many of us believe what we read on the internet, especially if it is about others and careers and lives are ruined as a result of the lies.

    The thing is none of us would lie back and accept this if it was done to us, so why do we choose to lie about others, especially under the cloak of anonymity?

    If we do not agree with what someone is doing that is fine – but to abuse and lie is totally unacceptable.

    We have become a world where our standards of decency have dropped far too low.

    In an article in the Daily Mail, written by Esther Rantzen on 7th January 2017, she states that –

    ‘Psychiatrist Raj Persaud told me that research proves that internet trolls tend to be sadistic, Machiavellian psychopaths. They take pleasure in inflicting pain, they manipulate people and search engines to get the result they want and feel no remorse about the effects of their actions.

    And yet, if anyone were to meet these trolls in person, they would often seem timid, meek and diffident…they have a secure hiding place from where they can inflict as much pain as they want – anonymously…These are people who may well be suffering from serious mental disorders.’

    Esther speaks in her article about the lack of support received from search engines when she asked for a defamatory article filled with lies about her to be taken down. Eventually the company did take it down, but only because she threatened to expose them in the national press and they knew that this was a real threat as Esther Rantzen has had a long career in broadcasting.

    This is an example of the lack of common decency and respect.

    Why would it take the threat of exposure in the national press, for a company to then comply?

    Where is the care and concern for our fellow brothers – mankind?

    Have we become all about me, myself and I and so considering others no longer exists?

  54. Standing at the bus stop checking my emails.

    An older chap came along and asked if the bus was due. I told him and my autopilot wanted to me to go back to my phone. Except this did not feel right at all. So I put the phone in my pocket and we started talking.

    What a wonderful conversation. He told me about his life and how he spends his weekends helping get old people together in the community. He told me about his love of roses, all the different colours and types and what they represent to him.

    It made me realise how much we cut each other off in our day to day. Noses stuck in our phones. This man wanted to connect. He had much to share. How many others out there are the same?

    It has made me consider – do we let the internet take over?

    Are we making sure it works for us and our interconnected society or are we letting ourselves get lost in it?

  55. We just donated our old printer to a young man from a local council estate, via a community forum.

    He uses a pseudonym online and had to tell me his real name when we met in person.

    He was a savvy guy who has seen a lot in his life. But he is afraid of what happens online. He talked about trolling and identity theft and how you can’t trust people. He was blown away by our help and openness.

    It was a stark reminder of the human impact of the current state of the internet, in particular on this generation and the ones to follow.

    1. This is great JS as this is Citizen Journalism if you ask me.
      Reporting real life stuff that goes on.

      What is interesting is you say this man with an online name is savvy but afraid about what happens online.

      I know those who were originally responsible for creating the Internet had no idea this is how people would behave or where it has reached today in terms of the abuse and the impact as you say it is having.

      What is amazing is that this man was able to feel that there are people out there, like you, who he does not need to hide or be afraid of and this in itself restores the trust that is needed. If we all go around with areas of abuse in our lives then it spills out into the world and we are left with no real role models.

      It is high time we had more people in the world like you JS reflecting decency and respect, so others can see that there is another way and the world, no matter how bad it is will not affect us.

      The Internet can be used to harm others including ourself or it can be used to leave a digital footprint for generations to come to show that there is another way.

      I for one am dedicated and committed to see this happens until my last breath.

      This website alone is living proof of the fact that it is possible and it comes with deep appreciation and joy, as there is a real connection to True Purpose and what that means to live those words every day.

      We have been given the Internet and we do not own it, so that means we each have a Responsibility as a custodian to make sure we bring no harm.

  56. Something I am noticing more and more is the adverts across the page when I am researching and doing my best to stay focussed and read something that may be of value for writing blogs on topics, like this website is covering.

    ADD to that now there is this subscription business.

    Today I researched 4 news stories but I could not get to them unless I subscribe and give them authorisation to send me adverts and track me.

    What is clear is our world is geared to making sure it knows everything about us and whilst this may sound like a good thing so it’s all transparent, I know there is a hidden agenda. The fact they want to send me adverts that they feel are relevant speaks volumes. The other two options on the screen were payment subscriptions.

    I know I have a choice and for now I feel to continue reporting on my Twitter, news stories that I can still access without having to go down the road of cookies and whatever other demands are on screen.

    If we just stop for a moment and re-read this blog and all its comments thus far, what is it telling us?

    Is it saying that we – all the people who use the world wide web are not using it with the intention in which it was given to us?

    Is it time to look at the word RESPONSIBILITY and have a digital licence so we can use the Internet with respect and raise the bar when it comes to open transparency and integrity?

    Could this be the way of the future of our much loved Internet?

  57. The Week – Issue 1135
    p.8

    I read an article about a pornography website that has had 23 billion visits.

    23 billion visits is a lot!

    Why is there such a demand for pornography sites?

    What is going on for us that these sites are so popular?

    Why is it that pornography sites are within the top 10 searches as Simple Living Global have reported here?

    Is there something that we are missing in our lives why pornography is in such high demand?

    We may blame the internet and say that this is the root of all evil and of society’s problems – but what if the internet is just reflecting the way that we are living?

  58. Metro – 4 September 2018

    The UK’s Home Secretary is demanding change from tech giants – stating that they could face new laws because efforts thus far to stop online child abuse have been ‘nowhere near good enough’.

    The Home Secretary spoke after the National Crime Agency revealed up to 80,000 people in the UK pose a sexual threat to children online.

    He said that he wanted to see the same level of commitment that has been taken by companies towards counter-terrorism to target child exploitation.

    £250,000 is the amount that has been pledged by the Government, for ideas on how to disrupt the live-streaming of child abuse.

    Why is it that we place more value on some issues in society over others?

    Why do we see some things as more important and others as less?

    Is this how we also see people?

    Is this part of why we have these problems – like child exploitation because not everything and everyone is seen as important?

    Do the rising numbers of people online who pose a sexual threat to our children have anything to do with the way that we live as a society?

    Is it because we do not like to get involved and say what we see, or report what we see as to why these things happen?

    Have we falsely believed that we can get away with things online because nobody ‘sees’ us or because we can make up a pseudonym, so it doesn’t matter?

    But what if it does ALL matter?

    What if everything matters?

    And what if we won’t get away with any of it?
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/getting-away-with-it/

    What if there is such a thing as Karma?
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/karma-karma/

  59. When we see something for ourselves – in real life as I call it, we then have some idea why the world is as it is.

    I am observing kids – as young as 3 totally and utterly wired and hooked into their iPad screen, that mommy and daddy have given them.

    The slightly older child aged 7 has the iPhone and taking a quick glimpse, it is some game or streaming of some silly show that engages them to do silly things, like throw small bullets filled with some kind of gel.

    Having been at the receiving end of this, it is not what I would rate as proper, decent or respectful child raising.

    On reflection, I realised that these are going to be our future adult generations one day and if I were a business investing in these young kids, I am certain I would lose, as nothing whatsoever confirms to me that these young generations are going to be steady and strong in life as adults.

    Our internet is a great tool for accessing and communicating, but have we gone too far with it?

    By this I mean, have we allowed and accepted whatever others create to get us involved, to the point where we lose sense of what is real and what is not?

    Let me expand – the supply and demand stuff.

    Others being the suppliers create say in this case, a new show or game that is designed to entertain a very young child via a screen, to the point that it becomes so real to them that they have no interest in real life activity outside of the screen.

    I was at the receiving end of a 3 year old not willing to look or talk to me.

    What I did observe were the eyes moving rapidly to keep up with what was going, on the screen.

    It was so engaging for the child that nothing seemed to distract it away from this.

    We the parents, the guardians of these children make the choice, albeit a convenient one to suit us as whilst a child is engaged in something, we are assured that their attention and focus will remain on the screen and nowhere else. In others words, safe and secure that they will not be exploring and playing around in other natural ways.

    Suppliers are busy creating to meet our needs and demands.

    So if we want quiet kids (and who doesn’t) then let’s create games and shows that keep them totally hooked in for hours on end, which works for our lifestyle.

    So where is the Responsibility?

    Are we ready to admit that we are exhausted and need some time out from the incessant constant chatter of small kids we are trying to raise?

    Are we wanting a break – a kind of relief from our own busy day and the only way that seems to work is giving them a small screen which seems to work unsupervised?

    Are we considering the long term impact that this may have when they become adults?

    Have we had the awareness of what excess screen time at the weekends is doing to the physiology of these children?

    I for one will not shut up in reporting what I see and know is not the Truth.

    What I recently observed in 3 young children tells me clearly SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.

  60. Talking to a colleague this week. She is an advocate for the benefits of internet-enabled technology and an early adopter, having worked at some of the big name tech companies.

    She said she is increasingly becoming paranoid about tech.

    She has disabled the location data collection on all her apps and worries about whether that works or if they are still getting info from her phone.

    She wishes her laptop didn’t have an integral camera and longs for the days when you had to buy a separate one. She says getting your camera hacked and people watching you through it is all too common these days. Criminals now use the computer camera footage of people using porn, for example, as means to commit blackmail.

    Suppliers have cottoned on to this and small stickers to cover the computer camera lens are on sale everywhere. Some slide back and forth like a curtain.

    Recently when my colleague was at home (she lives alone), she started to wonder whether any of her devices had been hacked and whether someone could see her.

    She said all this internet-enabled tech is starting to degrade trust and create a low level of fear in us.

    Is it worth reflecting on this trajectory and considering that how each of us uses tech feeds into the demand we create?

  61. Talking to a new father today. He was sharing how scary screens and internet time are for kids.

    He said he has seen in his 4 month old what happens when they do video calls with family abroad.

    He said his son gets a fixated look on his face throughout and he gets seriously angry and agitated when the screen is taken away.

    He said he never expected this to happen with a baby. He has concluded the screen sucks the child in. The colours and the light and the movement. Something about how it is designed and what comes through the screen.

    He says it is scary and has woken him up.

    He has started being careful about getting his phone out around his baby son.

    I know this from my own experience. You can watch that fixated look come over any child with a screen.

    It is pretty shocking to hear about it with a 4 month old.

    It makes you realise that our parenting and education needs to keep up with new technology.

    Realising the affect of screens on our kids, in fact on all of us, and learning how to handle that. Setting a new standard for these modern times.

  62. If we read this blog, we get to know that the intent behind inventing the Internet was not how it has turned out to be today.

    In fact, there is so much harm that most of us would not be able to join the dots.

    We all know of stuff that gets reported or statistics tell us this and that but there is so much that will never make it to the news.

    For example, I was just thinking about a private conversation recently where someone has searched the Internet and found a way to commit suicide.

    I have to ask out loud – what are we allowing if people can search on the world wide web and take their life because someone has posted ways to do this?

    This is one example and there are a million other stories and we all know deep down that SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT.

    Whilst I cannot get directly involved, I have this website as a platform to go to and express what I feel in this moment.

    I know just writing this comment puts something out there and whether it gets read or not is not why I write. I know this digital footprint counters the ill of what is going on in our world today.

    How I know that is simply because expressing how we feel cannot harm another if it is done in a way that others may benefit as it’s not just about I, me and myself – it includes us all.

    If one person is searching the Internet to take their own life, then all of us in this world should have a tension because we are connected.

    Everything and everyone matters and whilst we cannot change things overnight, small steps in the right direction may just make a difference long-term.

    I use the Internet with great care and am fully aware that things can be traced and we don’t really get away with anything.

    I have no desire or cell in my body that wants to surf, shop or do social chit chat as I see no point, no purpose in any of that stuff.

    However, if I can feel a true connection to purpose then count me in, I will be on that bandwagon.

    Purpose to me is about bringing awareness to humanity because I know deep within that there is another way to be and live in this world and the proof is I am living that to the best of my ability for over 12 years now.

  63. BBC News – 4 February 2019

    Police Raids ‘Target hundreds of UK Web Attackers’

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47117499

    UK police have seized more than 60 computers and other gadgets suspected of being used to carry out web attacks.

    The National Crime Agency (NCA) said that it plans further action against another 400 customers of what Europol calls the ‘world’s biggest marketplace’ for distributed denial of service attacks (cyber attacks). In these attacks huge amounts of data are funnelled at a target to knock it off line.

    The cost to bombard websites start as low as £13 per month.

    This news article goes on to explain more about the attacks, reporting that many banks were a target and that the marketplace is being blamed for launching more than 4 million cyber attacks.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43893420

    Jo Goodall, lead investigator in the operation for the NCA said Cyber-crime by default is a threat that crosses borders. The arrests made show that the internet does not provide bulletproof anonymity to offenders.

    So what this means is that there has been a specific marketplace set up on-line that has customers who pay to have websites attacked so they are knocked off-line?

    How is this possible and why have we allowed this to happen?

    Is it because we think that we can remain anonymous and not get caught?

    Is the internet a replica of how we live in day to day life?

    Is the attitude of competitiveness and victory over another what would lead us to attack each other both on and off-line?

    Are we so desperate to see the downfall of another that we will even pay for this service?

    Is it really jealousy eating away at us in seeing another do well, that leads us to behave in this way?

    How far will we go to see the downfall of another?

  64. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47524474

    BBC News – 11th March 2019
    How the creator of the World Wide Web says that global action is required to tackle the web’s “downward plunge to a dysfunctional future”.

    He said that people had realised how their data could be manipulated after the recent scandal that involved a huge data breach but he felt problems such as data breaches, hacking and misinformation could be tackled.

    In an open letter he acknowledged that many people doubted the web could be a force for good, but he also had his own anxieties about the web’s future saying he was very concerned about nastiness and misinformation spreading.

    He also stated that after the recent huge scandal, people realised that elections had been manipulated using data they had contributed and they were now beginning to understand the risks they faced as web users.

    In his open letter, he outlined three specific areas of dysfunction that he said were harming the web today:

    • Malicious activity such as hacking and harassment
    • Problematic system design such as business models that reward clickbait
    • Unintended consequences, such as aggressive or polarised discussions

    He said, “These things could be dealt with, in part, through new laws and systems that limit bad behaviour online”.

    But, initiatives like this would require all of society to contribute – from members of the public to business and political leaders.

    “We need open web champions within government – civil servants and elected officials who will take action when private sector interests threaten the public good and who will stand up to protect the open web,” he wrote.

    What the creator of the World Wide Web wants is a good thing – responsibility and accountability – but without transparency, it is not going to go too far.

    Whilst we still have the ease of web users being able to be anonymous, this vision of what is required will be very hard to achieve.

    In his open letter he said that many people doubted that the web could be a force for good but is this the Truth?

    The web is as good or bad as it is, simply due to our actions and inactions.

    If used correctly, the web is an amazing tool but while we, the people, choose to not stand up for Truth, we will continue to have things like the dark web and cyber bullying in all of its forms.

    The World Wide Web could be considered the greatest invention of all time but it is we, the people, that make it what it is.

  65. Taking to a high functioning New York businessman about a recent ‘life experiment’.

    He had realised he was wasting hours of his life and a load of energy on apps, and consuming ‘constant feed’ content.

    Content with a continuous scroll: his many social media feeds, news, a dating app.

    He decided to delete them all and see if he could get this time and productivity back and stop what had become an obsession.

    He said the impact was huge.

    He realised that in always being so ‘well informed’, he had been cutting off human connection – there was little he didn’t know so there was not much to discuss. Whereas becoming less up to date meant people would tell him things and he would engage with them – there would be a discussion; he became more curious about people’s points of view.

    He also found himself at a loose end a lot. All that filler time had gone and he was left purposeless. There was a discomfort in that. Sometimes he sat with it and sometimes he would distract himself with myriad things, including food.

    He also found himself trying to get to his old content via his browser – searching for his social media sites now his apps were deleted.

    So he deleted his browsers from his phone too.

    This had the impact of him stopping his habit of looking things up mid conversation. Previously, when a topic or word or issue came up in discussion he would automatically ‘ask the internet’ about it. Now he couldn’t do that.

    This had the effect of him reflecting on the topic more himself. Coming to a view. Asking others. More human connection again.

    He said the whole thing has changed his life. He didn’t know where he’ll go with it from here, but he has started advocating the power of it to his friends and beyond.

    He feels liberated. And more connected. And he has started to consider the downsides of how people use and engage with tech.

    As someone involved in his line of business with tech companies, this felt like a significant realisation and shift.

    For us to start to consider that the way we consume online and use tech has an affect on our relationships. On our sense of purpose. On how we connect with one another. On our energy and purpose and productivity.

    I took it as a great reminder of the responsibility we have not to be passengers, carried along with what’s there.

    But to be discerning about our choices and what we engage with, about where we are getting sucked in and how we spend our time (even our micro moments), and about our movements even.

  66. Daily Mail – 25 May 2019

    Latest figures on Internet use show that there is a huge rise in the number of older people surfing the net.

    83% aged 65 – 74 regularly go online

    47% increase those age 75 and over

    It is the largest increase in recent internet use of any age groups.

    The Office of National Statistics has reported that almost everyone in the UK under pension age is now a regular internet user.

    99% of those under 45 are routinely online

    So what is this telling us and if this is great grand news, then why do we have a Loneliness problem with the elderly?

    Do we need to look at the bigger picture before we get concerned about anything we read out there?

    Are our elderly vulnerable or super savvy when it comes to using the internet?

    Are we going to wait and see what research tells us about what happens to those who use the internet and may for whatever reason not be discerning?

    The Internet has been our biggest modern invention that supposedly connects us to anyone and everyone, no matter where they are in our world.

    What about the real everyday connection we used to have – on the street, with our neighbours, in the community, on the bus, train or in our local shop?

    Is the time our pensioners spend on the Internet, in anyway affecting their health and well-being because the screen time robs them of the real life everyday human talk?

    Have we considered that they may be using the net to feel like they know what they should be doing, even if it is not their truth?

    Are others promoting this and it has not come from them to make the steps in the first place to use the internet?

    Are we assuming that older people are wanting this form of engagement as there is little else left for them to look forward to in their day?

    Announcing statistics and giving us figures in headlines may be news we welcome but what use is it if we are not asking more questions and finding out WHY?

    Why are older people surfing the net?

    Let’s get on the street, let’s talk to our neighbours and friends and those in our communities. Let’s find out more and not just leave it as some numbers on a news story.

    This is our world and we each have our bit to play as we – each of us – make up this world.

  67. The Guardian – 1 February 2020

    Most parents are oblivious of the extent to which their children watch pornography.

    A rare in-depth study found teenage viewing habits shows adult material has become a normalised part of young lives in Britain.

    The research found pre-teen children were often disturbed by being accidentally exposed to material.

    Most children had seen pornography they found disturbing, with many saying it had influenced how they behaved in sexual encounters and influenced body image concerns.

    75% of parents of older children did not think they had watched pornography.

    What is clear is viewing pornography has been normalised among children from their mid-teens onwards with more encountering it on popular social networking sites.

    Plans for mandatory age verification for all porn sites have been delayed after a bungled introduction of the policy last summer.

    There has been limited research into online pornography by those preparing to implement the policy. The industry estimates a third of the UK population watches pornography.

    The study also found half of 16 – 17 year olds have recently seen pornography, but researchers believe this to be much lower than the true figure because of social awkwardness.

    We all know this is going on in our homes and at the schools, but little if anything is really being done and the confirmation above says it all.

    What if more than a third of the UK population are doing porn because in honesty they are not going to say they do or ever admit it?

    What if some of these adults who visit porn sites are those in positions of power and have a hand in policy making?

    How can we be certain and how transparent are we living our lives?

    We have something new – our kids are doing porn, but is it really the latest thing or are we just catching up and the truth is it’s been going on behind our backs for a very very long time.

    Is it time to get real?

    Do any of us buy it when we get told one day we will have a mandatory age verification on all porn sites?

    Let’s assume it does happen – what does that mean and have we forgotten that our teenagers and those even younger are streets ahead of the game when it comes to this type of stuff?

    They work it out, find ways and bingo they get into these sites and they know how to hide it from us who think we have barred them or put the child lock thing on the Internet at home.

    Let’s not forget these social media platforms where the playground is to circulate and the masses are going for it. Porn is not anything different.

    The guy who came up with the Internet as mentioned in this blog – how would he respond if he got to know the masses are into online porn and this is what this medium called the internet is being used for in our world today.

    If parents are doing it – would it be a blind spot?

    In other words, they would not smell it or even suspect it with their kids because they do it OR mum keeps ‘mum’ about it and that means says nothing, even though it’s going on with the kids and dad in the house but just not spoken about.

    So mum plays the game just by enabling them to continue, as she would not dare call it out…and so it continues and perpetuates.

    Have we considered WHY our children want sexual gratification at such a young age?

    What is missing in their lives and can we start to ask these types of questions?

    How are they living and how are they communicating in daily life with those they live with?

    Who are they hanging out with and is that having an effect, or do we not want to go there?

    Are they not really into it but to not be targeted as the odd one, they join the masses?

    Is there a social unspoken pressure to have ticked these boxes and do daring stuff?

    The fact they find it disturbing speaks volumes and yet we dismiss that immutable fact and have no idea how we can stop this ill behavior?

    Let’s call it for what it is – ill behaviour even though we have now normalised it.

    Just because we make something normal it does not mean it is the truth in anyway.

    What we cannot do is blame the Internet or blame anything or anyone.

    We all need to start at home and wake up to smell what is really going on and end the ill ways of living that harm not only us and our family, but our communities and the whole of society.

  68. Talking to a waitress in a Japanese restaurant in California yesterday, I asked her how she was and she mentioned she does 3 jobs. As I was interested in what else she does, she tells me that she sells sexy women – animated dolls online and it’s big business.

    Her job is to buy the ‘cartoons’ very cheaply from Japan and then sell.

    I got some numbers as I told her I am a researcher and this type of information would serve well on this website.

    Buys for $50 and sells for anything between $300 and $500.

    Question – How many can you sell?
    Answer – Literally hundreds and hundreds

    Question – Do you mean thousands?
    Answer – YES

    At this point I added up the dots as it was so obvious.

    Her waitress face is so she has social security covered and the legal system will not be investigating a simple waitress doing a job.

    Just to be covered totally she does a second waitress job so chances are no one will ever suspect a big business operating under the radar.

    I say big business because this is what it actually is.

    My questioning continues and I find out that the clients are from all over in the USA and of course all money is exchanged online and these are animated figures so no courier or postage and packing required.

    She said her job is to continue feeding their Addiction and they want sexual gratification and these dolls provide that.

    At this point I asked again as I wanted to be certain – these are not physical dolls but cartoon figures online. She said Yes.

    I asked how she felt and she said it’s disgusting what these dolls look like but as long as the customers want them, she will supply.

    On that note, it is easy to blame, cast judgement or say how ugly this all is, but the truth is there are customers and as long as they make the demand, there will always be people out there ready to meet their demand. This is what we call the suppliers.

    What we all need to be asking is WHY have we got so many people addicted to animated characters on a screen and what drives this type of behaviour?

    Then we need to ask where have we got to with the Internet and how has it got to this point?

  69. The Guardian – 9 May 2020

    Online stalking has surged in lockdown.

    A surge in cyberstalking involving social media, messaging apps and emails has been reported for the first 4 weeks of the lockdown in the UK.

    40% increase in victims getting in touch by phone or email asking for support. Some people think they are safer now as people cannot go out but that is not the case.

    1.5 million people in England and Wales are victims of stalking every year.

    The chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and herself a victim of stalking called on police forces and criminal justice agencies saying “stalkers now have 24 hours in the day uninterrupted to obsess over their victims”.

    A stalking advocacy service reported a 75% increase in cyber and online stalking activity.

    This blog makes it clear what the intent was for our Internet and yet today we are totally off track to what was seen as the future of this global communication system.

    It would be true to say that some have used it for the wrong reasons and this is one such way – cyber harm, be it bullying, stalking, trolling or anything that affects another.

    We as a world are not valuing and respecting this tool called the Internet and those in power do little if anything to stop it or fund the resources so we can out those who behave in this way.

    What we need is a global standard to be upheld so that those who fall short of it are exposed, but in truth we are a long way off that and this news story confirms this.

  70. Euro News – 30 June 2020

    https://www.euronews.com/2020/06/30/german-police-probe-30-000-people-over-child-abuse-network

    Police in Germany are investigating 30,000 people suspected of taking part in a child abuse network. Findings so far were “extremely disturbing”.

    The Justice Minister has said –
    “we need to recognise that child abuse is more widespread online than we previously thought. The challenges that such crimes pose to the judiciary are enormous.
    The acts are not only committed by individual offenders but in an online network of sympathizers, supporters, assistants and accomplices.
    They exchange information, pictures and videos of their deeds and use the technical possibilities of the internet to communicate undetected with each other under pseudonyms in chat groups.”

    44 victims have been identified including a three month old baby.

    Dear World

    Is this what we could call a 911 wake up call?

    This is one investigation in one small country in Europe.

    This is a microcosm of what is going on in our world right now, so how big is this issue really?

    If we read the content of this blog and what it presents – how far have we deviated from the original essence of why the Internet was created and what it stands for?

    Each of us is a contributor even if we think we only do ‘good stuff’ on the world wide web.

    Those of us who read stories like this and never talk about it are equal contributors.

    WHY?

    Because each of us has a voice, an expression and that needs to be used. Some may take to writing to report and others may just have a conversation at the dinner table. The key is we keep talking so more and more people are aware of what actually goes on in this world, even if it is not in our neighbourhood.

    What happens if we all start to wake up and realise this is real life and it’s going on and whilst we do not know the victims personally, we do happen to belong to the one human family, which means as humans we are all inter-connected even if we don’t like to think so.

    The Internet was here to get us all to unite and share information – not abuse others in any way.

    Back to the news story – 30,000 potential suspects.

    Have we stopped to consider how many resources are needed on just this one investigation?

  71. The Guardian – 10 October 2020

    More than 500 children were victims of ‘revenge porn’ in England and Wales 2019.

    Distribution of sexually explicit images or videos with intent to cause harm were reported to 36 polices forces across the country.

    Average age of the victims, mainly girls was 15 and there were 8, 10 and 11 year olds involved.

    The consequences are bullying to mental health issues.

    Would it be different if the implementing of relationships and sex education (RSE) was not delayed on the curriculum?

    A third of all child sexual abuse is perpetrated by other children. The non-consensual sharing of sexual videos and pictures is a big part of this problem and can leave young people feeling guilty, ashamed or humiliated.

    Last month, the UK revenge porn helpline experienced its busiest year on record with experts predicting the number of images it deals with will increase by 60% this year.

    When it comes to revenge porn it is known that a big barrier in supporting a police investigation or seeking emotional support is the fear of judgement.

    This is serious and in just one small country – call it a microcosm of what is going on in our world today. The fact is we cannot ignore or pretend this is not happening because it is and more likely at a much larger scale than what is getting reported.

    The key point in this news article is the word “intent”. That means the intention is to harm, there is a purpose to doing this criminal action.

    What about the victims that we are having sympathy for?
    What is their role in all of this and what if they simply said No thanks this is not me?
    WHY do they succumb to the pressures and forces coming at them from others?
    What will it take to say No and mean No and then walk away?

    We all make mistakes and any adult would be the first to admit the silly stuff they got up to in their teenage years, but it seems that the modern day is going to extremes and it comes with intention so it is not just an error, it is deliberate. Call it fun or ‘having a laugh’ but for many victims it would crush them and have an impact for the rest of their life.

    Our internet seems to hold on to stuff and even if we remove it, we can bet someone somewhere is holding it and one day it comes out. That is the fear most of us live with when we post something dodgy that we know is not for public viewing.

    What if we never put ourselves into that situation in the first place?

    What if we have a code of conduct for when we use the Internet and we stick to it and that means live by it and share with those close to us and then they have a go and make these small changes, so there are groups all around the world connecting with a real purpose and that means bringing no ill or harm to the internet, others or themselves in any way?

    Hello – is it time to re-write the policing that we want on the Internet by starting with ourselves?

    Porn revenge is what some might call evil. A force that comes through another that is not them as no one in their right mind would ever even consider let alone take action by posting an image or video of another which is sexually explicit.

    Next – how many do regret what they have done with intent and then continue on this ill road and harm many more?

    How do we change the intentional behaviours of our children and have we ever stopped to question WHY it has got to the point where our kids are doing this stuff?

    It would be wise to look at how we live our own life and what we are allowing that may not be what we know is real Responsibility.

    As this comment relates to the Internet, why not start now by using the Internet with the intention to express with a purpose?
    In other words, if it is just about I, me and myself – leave that out and swap it for something that may just benefit another to read it. Bit like this comment or the other 6,000 + comments on this website or the 220+ blogs.

    Let this website inspire that anything is possible and we do not have to become a part of the mess that this world has created that is having a devastating impact, like revenge porn.

    The content of this website is leaving a digital footprint that is not harming.

    What digital footprint are we leaving when we post on the Internet?

  72. Police Professional News – 12 January 2021

    https://www.policeprofessional.com/news/online-child-sexual-abuse-material-soars-to-record-levels/

    We have just got into the new year and Police News is telling us that Online child sexual abuse material soars to record levels.

    Predatory online groomers are now a “grave and widespread threat” to children in their bedrooms as new figures reveal the record breaking scale of child sexual abuse imagery on the Internet.

    The IWF – Internet Watch Foundation said it processed a record number of reports of online child sexual abuse in 2020. This organization is also responsible for finding and removing images and videos of child sexual abuse from the Internet.

    77% increase in the amount of ‘self-generated’ abuse material as more children and more criminals spend longer online in 2020.

    The chief executive at IWF – Susie Hargreaves has warned that children were at greater risk of being approached or groomed by strangers online than ever before. The pandemic has forced many people to work and learn from home last year. What was a recognized phenomenon has now cemented into a grave and widespread threat to our children.

    With schools forced to close yet again, experts are warning that organized “communities of sex predators” will be looking to take advantage of the situation to exploit more children and to share and distribute child sexual abuse material online.

    Analysts have warned that there are now whole online communities of sexual predators who devote themselves to finding and tracking down children on the internet, so as to bully and coerce them into abusing themselves sexually. They can groom a child into making videos of the most serious kinds of abuse from the apparent safety of their own bedroom.

    In 2020, the analysts processed 299,600 reports, which included tip-offs from the general public.
    Over half of these reports were confirmed as containing images and or videos of children being sexually abused. Note – every report contained between one and thousands of child sexual abuse, which equates to millions of images and videos.

    Self-generated content includes child sexual abuse content that has been created using webcams, very often in the child’s own bedroom and then shared online.

    Enough said – for more information go to the link and continue reading.

    Dear World

    Will our campaigns work for such a serious issue as this?
    While we wait for more government funding to support organisations to tackle this – can we be doing something?

    Is the problem the fact that we do not have anyone out there in the world that can police our Internet and as this blog states the original intent by the founder of the Internet was not so that we can abuse in any form behind a screen?

    We can easily say that the huge rise has a direct link to lockdown restrictions and for most that meant doing what they may not have done had they been able to go out and not stay home for long periods.

    We now have another lockdown period so where is this going to escalate to this year?

    What if we ALL need to start talking about this and not just parents or guardians of young children?

    If this is going on in the UK, let us wake up and know this is a microcosm and that means we can be assured it is happening across the world and we could call it a 911.

    With this extent of abuse – what will be the new normal for our children?

    How will they be growing up and what kind of mental and general health issues will this bring?

    What kind of adults are we going to have in our future workplaces if so many of them were the victims of online grooming and sexual abuse of some kind?

    What is missing for these children in their relationships that they feel the need to escape on a screen and be enticed into a dark world where they are not in control whatsoever?

    How are we as parents and adults behaving as role models for these children when it comes to decency, respect and responsibility?

    Are we all certain we are not visiting porn sites in our spare hours because lockdown has forced us to find other ways of entertainment?

    Can we be honest and say we are not distracting ourselves with self-medication like drugs and alcohol that alter our natural state, which our kids can sense so they keep away from us?

    Is there more we can do by engaging with our children, meeting them every day to just talk and give them the space to share how they feel or are we way too busy with work and our own vices and secrets to pay attention to what is going on under our roof, so to speak?

    What if we take a look at our own life and see how we are behaving as adults online – are we in anyway contributing to what is going on? In other words, are we irresponsible in our movements online even if it is not directly related to grooming children?

    Everything is everything and everything matters. Let us not forget that, because it suits us to switch off and think we are ok as it’s not happening direct to us or our immediate family.

  73. iNews – 12 February 2021

    https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/men-romance-scams-women-online-money-tricking-identity-theft-868728

    Thousands have been targeted in the UK by romance fraudsters last year – 2020.

    Men are more than twice as likely to end up the victims of online romance scams than women, according to a new research study.

    Romance Fraud is the act of approaching unsuspecting people looking for love on dating websites or apps with the aim of tricking them out of either money or enough personal information to steal their identity. This has risen significantly while the UK has been in lockdown.

    11% of men have fallen victim to romance scams online compared to 5% of women.

    24% of the 2,000 respondents in the study said they had been scammed after being approached through popular social media platforms.

    20% rise in bank transfer fraud, linked to romance scams during 2020, as more time was spent online during the pandemic.

    2.3 million Britons used dating apps during the first national lockdown in March 2020.

    Criminals spend time online cultivating relationships with their often vulnerable victims for weeks or months, convincing them to transfer money, sending gift cards, vouchers or presents and providing them with access to their bank account or cards.

    The lockdown has led more people to seek companionship online.

    £68.2 million was lost to dating fraud schemes in 2020 from 6,748 reports, data from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau found.

    40 – 59 age group were most successfully targeted by fraudsters.

    Dear World

    How can we avoid or bring a stop to this kind of stuff going on?

    Our Internet was never intended or made to ever do this type of fraud. It seems that those who exploit or seek something from another to profit find ways and they keep themselves on the front foot. That means whilst we are on the delay switch, just waking up to these real life facts, they are busy planning and plotting how they will make their movements so that they can continue to take what is not theirs, simply because they can.

    WHY the reader may ask?

    Well it is simple really – there has to be a demand.
    That means we are the ones that are lonely or we seek out social media platforms or websites on the internet to give us what we want, in this case a partner. The suppliers are waiting out there as they know what our intention is and they fool us because we are not discerning, being savvy or reading the signs, telling us to keep away. It is like we have lost our inner compass, which contains lived wisdom and a compass that keeps us on track. Instead, we go out looking and they wait, watching and clocking our predictable movements. Bingo we are bait and we don’t even know it.

    What if we listen to common sense that tells us “Do not talk to strangers and that applies in real life, which we call offline and the same goes for online”.

    Fraud is getting bigger by the day and we all know the lockdown has given rise to this and it’s now in our face. How we choose to use the internet does have consequences and this news story is confirmation of that.

  74. Metro News – 25 March 2021

    http://metro.co.uk/2021/03/25/number-of-revenge-porn-victims-has-doubled-in-the-past-two-years-14302063/

    The number of British revenge porn victims has doubled in the last 2 years.

    There has also been a rise in the number of people threatening to share explicit images.

    75% of the victims are women.

    15% age 18 to 45 said their own intimate sexual pictures had been shared without their consent.

    1 in 10 admitted they had shared or threatened to share an explicit image.

    25% said the threat was ‘just a laugh’ or saw the picture as ‘their property’ to share.

    20% ‘wanted to scare’ the other person.

    2,000 people surveyed.
    40% knew someone who had been a victim of revenge porn.
    22% knew someone who had been threatened with revenge porn.

    40% threats came from an ex-partner.
    18% from a friend.
    11% from a family member.

    The reason behind the behaviour includes revenge for someone ending a relationship and trying to force someone to stay in a relationship.

    2015 – sharing explicit images without consent became illegal.

    Refuge – a domestic abuse charity has branded revenge porn threats as a ‘devastating form of domestic abuse’ which ruins lives. It suggests that most threats are a domestic abuse issue because they are mainly made by current or former partners and often used to control or manipulate victims.

    Dear World

    Is it time to start asking some serious questions?

    What gets inside someone that behaves in this inappropriate manner?

    What force takes hold of a human being to behave in this way towards someone they know?

    This is not a natural state and there is more here to question if we are ever going to consider a different way of the current model of life. Something is clearly not right and something about the way we behave when we are rejected or ending a relationship needs to get more focus and attention. These are peoples lives. We can say that in essence, we are all decent in the very core of our being but something comes in and hijacks us, so to speak and we behave in these “ugly” ways as the lawyers who commissioned the survey said.

    So how do we change and how do we stop this un-necessary pain and torture for all those involved?

    What would common sense tell us?

    If we don’t get an answer – simply ask what would my grandmother have to say about this?

    High time we applied good old fashion ways to behave in society, which comes with decency and respect at the very core.

  75. The Guardian – 1 July 2021

    4 of the world’s largest social media networks pledge to tackle abuse of women online, by committing to overhaul their moderations systems.

    More than one third of women worldwide have experienced abuse online, rising to almost half for younger women, according to a new 2021 study from the Economist Intelligence unit. https://onlineviolencewomen.eiu.com/

    85% – the overall prevalence of online violence against women globally.

    Will it work and is this the solution or is there another way, or more to consider?

    How on earth did we get to this point, knowing how the Internet started, what its intent was and the purpose, as this blog presents?

    We are now seeking ways to create security and safety for women online because for a long time, women have been routinely harassed, attacked and silenced in online spaces.

    Dear World

    Do we all need to change our response and that means – it is high time we called out abuse, as that is exactly what this is? Why are we allowing cowards to hide behind the cloak they call “anonymity” and why are these behind the scenes entities allowed to get away with it because our Internet is not policed?

    If we never say anything and accept things as the norm, then how on earth can we ever expect change of any kind?

    Our world is full of people with opposing opinions and the majority of us call that freedom of speech, while waving their ‘free will’ banner, and we just leave it at that and make it our norm. But deep inside we know this is not the truth and yet we tolerate it on some level. Speaking out feels like putting our head above the parapet and we don’t want to be attacked, so we say little or nothing.

    We may never be able to fight and deal with this with our limited resources but what we can do is change our approach to the Internet. Start to live in a way that we do not engage in areas of the world wide web that serves no meaning or purpose. Learn that uploading our private life will always expose us to more than we may think we signed up for. In other words, we go on social media one day and then the next as we feel great and want to share and show the world what we are up to, but it comes at a price. Everyone has access now to what you uploaded.

    Question is – is it worth it?

    This comment is on the Internet blog and so on that note – do we realise that our behaviour is allowing this and we need to take a closer look at how we operate our daily life using the internet as a medium to communicate and access whatever we want from our digital device.

    And finally, do all women need to start with their everyday life and calling out any form of abuse, at any level, so that they can learn to say No and put an end to this type of abuse and all abuse, full stop?

  76. Deeside.com news – 26 July 2021

    £2.6 million has been lost to criminals through fake pet adverts, according to new figures published from Action Fraud data, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime.

    This is an increase of over 20% from the previous year.

    Due to the national lockdowns caused by our current pandemic, criminals have been capitalising on the rise in people getting pets. They post fake adverts on social media (11%), online market places (25%) and specific pet selling platforms (37%).

    A deposit will be requested first without even seeing the pet and using the restrictions as the excuse to not see the animal. After the initial payment, more requests are made for insurance, vaccinations, and delivery of the pet.

    In the financial year 2020/2021, Action Fraud received over 400 reports a month from victims of pet fraud. 29% were in their 20s and 74% were 20 to 49 years old.

    During April and May 2020, Action Fraud received more than 800 reports per month of pet fraud, which clearly indicates that purchases of pets was very high during the first national lockdown.

    71% – Dogs and puppies were the most reported animal victims claimed.

    We are being reminded to ‘think twice’ before making a purchase for a pet online.

    But how many of us are not in our right minds when we embark on the sudden urge to need a furry friend and go seeking online and surfing away until we find the perfect cutie or the look and type of dog we had in mind. A kind of picture, an image of what we want in a pet and it’s there, too good to be true and we just sign up and never even take a breath, let alone a stop and pause moment to consider is this the truth for ALL? A dog is not seasonal and just there to suit us when we want and distract us away from the lockdown misery, boredom, loneliness or whatever it is that we feel.

    There is also news that many pet owners no longer want their lockdown pets and are abandoning them. It is early days, but what if there is more of this coming and we end up with a surplus of ‘unwanted’ pets.

    Where is our responsibility?

    We blame the suppliers, but we could put them out of business overnight if we took a decent dose of responsibility before we make any life choices. But the thing is we are a long way off from that right now. We want what we want and we will not stop long enough to even consider the consequences. We are nowhere yet really taking proper ‘responsibility’ and if we did, we would feel the accountability that goes hand in hand with that word.

    We make a mess and we then want to find a solution, but not once did we bother to plan and prepare if this is something that would support us, our home, our lifestyle and the dog or puppy.

    The internet is what we have made it as are our social media platforms. We keep going after them and trying to make them responsible and accountable, forgetting that we hold power too as we are the reasons they are in business.

    Time to wake up and see it all for what it is.

    Back to the news story, these so-called criminals seem to be on the front foot, plotting and planning way ahead of the game and there is us, in a rush to buy, not even able to discern or honour those subtle thoughts that said “This could be dodgy, hold off”.

    No we go ahead and then bombard our police because we want these criminals to be caught. Meanwhile they are already scamming what their next moves are going to be and what area they will focus on to profit, from those of us that are not paying attention and taking full responsibility for how we are choosing to live everyday.

    Sounds like a tall order but the way things are going, it is super clear we are just not taking the responsibility that is needed if we are to ever see an end to news stories of this kind.

  77. NBC News – 30 August 2021

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-cracks-down-fan-groups-bans-celebrity-rankings-beijing-targets-n1277793

    China cracks down on fan groups, bans celebrity ranking and targets stars’ influence.

    China’s top Internet watchdog has said it will bar platforms from publishing lists that rank celebrities and will also regulate the lucrative industry of fan merchandise sales.

    The announcement is to increase efforts to regulate society and curtail the “chaotic” influence of the entertainment industry after a series of controversies involving celebrities.

    Online celebrity fan clubs have become a widespread phenomenon with the country’s “idol economy” thriving.

    Competing fan clubs clash on social media and trade online abuse in “fandom wars” over lists that rank popular celebrities or other points of fan contention. Some are spending large amounts of money to vote for their favourite stars on idol competition programs. This type of fan culture is now becoming common across Asia and in China the government are moving to exert its influence over what has been an unregulated space for digital expression.

    The watchdog has said that platforms will no longer be able to publish lists of popular celebrity individuals and fan groups must be regulated. It will also stop shows charging people to vote online for their favourite acts and young fans buying celebrity merchandise.

    Regulators need to “increase their sense of responsibility” the Cyberspace Administration of China said in a statement.

    Dear World – how many of us are familiar with the word ‘fandom’?

    We the public are the fans in this celebrity world we have created. Without the fans, the celebrities would pack up and find proper day jobs.

    What this news story highlights is how big the industry is and what goes on with our Internet – the worldwide digital platform where we have no true boundaries or guidelines to speak of. We have space and we call that cyberspace and whilst the original intent when the internet was first launched was not anywhere what it is today, we are all part of it. The internet exists because of us and it is us that can make the changes or continue as is.

    If we think a country can stop users then this would be a good step in the right direction, but we all know how the real world operates and we have this habit of finding ‘another way’ to continue with our ill habits. Let us not be surprised if those subscribing to fandom culture find another way to continue stimulating themselves with their fantasies and distractions.

    The Government want regulators to increase their sense of Responsibility but don’t we all need to take responsibility for how we are living and take an honest look at the consequences of our choices, which are polluting all of us and everything else and that includes our Internet?

  78. Independent News – 1 September 2021

    https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/sexting-children-grooming-drugs-b1911639.html

    This blog about the Internet mentioned the ugly side and the list included “Sexting”.

    Some of us may not be familiar or even aware of what this is and the harm that follows.

    Children age 12 and under are sexting.
    This is self made sexual images via mobile phones and it is widespread among young people, according to newly published research.

    For a quick reality check, we all know that many children will not confirm, conform or be honest about this type of stuff and we all know why. That means these figures quoted as ‘estimates’ are more than likely to be a lot higher. For this reason, there is no purpose in quoting inaccurate numbers as what is being presented will be enough to wake up and alarm those that are ready to take note of what is actually going on in our world.

    This is serious now –

    Receiving and sending sexts at an early age is associated with a range of other harms and problems. This type of exposure leads to a disproportionate number of children having sexual intercourse before the age of 13, as well as experiencing higher rates of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

    Early experiences of sexting was also found to increase the risk of using alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs, such as cannabis and cocaine.

    This behaviour is explained in part by prior emotional and psychological problems among these children, as well as poor parental monitoring when it comes to the use of mobile phones for children.

    What we ought to be asking is WHY are many parents unaware of what their children are up to on their mobiles and how come they are so tech savvy they can disguise and hide any activity they want to keep private?

    On that note, we all know that most kids of that age are not going to openly admit to sexting, so these figures and estimates quoted could be less than the actual numbers.

    Recent prosecutions indicate that sexting is something that predatory adult paedophiles employ too. This new research suggests that many children are pressured into sexting, but when it is an adult rather than a peer initiating it, the adult has an advantage and will likely be skilled in grooming young children to achieve their goal.

    We will all have an opinion on this and that will change nothing.
    Waiting for government funding is just us saying we are ok with the delay game.

    We need real change and reading a news story like this needs to prompt us into action, not reaction. If we re-act then we can be sure there will be no change.

    Action means what can we, each and every one of us can do. We cannot pretend it isn’t going on in our street, so that makes us exempt from taking any action.

    Those of us that can write or post a message on social media need to do so to bring more awareness. Talk at every dinner table, so more of us start to bring this topic to the fore, as uncomfortable as it will be for many.

    The elders in our communities can no longer be shielded. They would have a few wise words and a dose of common sense to offer these children.

    Blogs like Screentime and TV and Social Media on the website are worth reading and discussing with our young children.

    https://simplelivingglobal.com/screen-time/
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/world-tv-day/
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/social-media-day/

    Bring it into schools to teach them the harmful impact of what happens and how they can bring change, regardless of the trend forcing them to succumb to pressures of sexting and other harmful behaviour.

    And let us not forget the parents. Are they blind or do they choose to ignore what they do not want to be part of? Where is their responsibility in raising children that are not being affected by the world of sex that has been created?

    We can no longer buy a phone for a child and assume all is ok when we know what is open to them that could create a lifetime of harm.

    This is a 911 – a wake up call Dear World, as this sexting is going on all over the world and not just in UK.

  79. Reading about someone with a large social media, following where at the start they had barely a few and knew no one. This news story was about overnight success.

    The guy said “if your content is good and you are consistent and upload every 2 days, then your Algorithm will push it to others”.

    For those of us who cannot even pronounce or spell the name Algorithm – it means a series of instructions, telling a computer how to transform a set of facts about the world into useful information. The facts are data and the useful information is knowledge for people.

    Another meaning is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations.

    Enough said and if it makes no sense, that’s ok as we don’t have to understand jargon.

    The point of this comment is what if we applied that to what we upload on the Internet?

    An example is the blog about Alcohol on this website. We have zero interest or understanding how we get to be on the first page of a google search if you put in The Real Truth about Alcohol. In fact, we held the number one spot for many years and then a national newspaper story with over 18.5 million readers had a story and we are second place today. Not bad considering the stories we hear of those that pay to get their website or their content on the first page or are trying hard to make sure the public go on their website.

    So let’s go back to the first quote “if your content is good…”
    The content on this particular blog presenting the Real Truth about Alcohol is not good at all – it is Excellent, to say the least. Well researched and very well written for the lay person to understand and in simple down to earth language. No fancy words and nothing complicated. Just straight talk when a commentary is posed for consideration.

    Consistent is another key word – read our blog on consistency and it would be true to say we are consistent with our uploading of blogs (not every 2 days as that would not be possible), but there are comments going on every 2 days CONSISTENTLY and many research studies have been published by way of comment to expand our blogs like the Real Truth about Alcohol. This means it livens up the writing that was done years ago. Bit like feeding the plant so it keeps on growing and growing.

    Without getting caught in the word and what Algorithm means, what if this consistency of top quality excellent content is making a difference, albeit invisible to most of us? In other words, we are making a difference even if we have not got millions following as we have no feedback method to tell us so.

    How we choose to use the Internet is up to us as we have this thing in our world called Free Will.

    What if we all just get on with it and do our best to not pollute the world any further, but share what we can from our own lived experience? How enriched and educated would that be for the future world?

    Simple Living Global is one example of what is possible if we just zip up, not shout from any roof tops and simply deliver non-stop on what are important topics in our current times that may just give the reader another way to consider living.

  80. iNews – 1 October 2021

    https://inews.co.uk/news/technology/online-grooming-victims-girls-sexual-communication-child-offences-nspcc-warning-1227744

    60% rise in online grooming offences of young girls in the past 3 years.

    80% of the victims are female.

    How are we going to stop this and will the UK’s forthcoming Online Safety Bill be enough to turn the tides or are there more questions we ought to consider?

    The NSPCC is saying that the bill in its current form is failing to protect children sufficiently by only covering companies recorded as having a ‘significant’ number of children on their apps and shying away from naming executives to be held personally liable should they fail in their duty of care to users, among other shortcomings.

    Can we really just blame it on the failure of the platforms to effectively protect their young users when they are in it for business and recognition? Business meaning profits for those that stand to gain and recognition because that means their app, their name is selling more that others and is that not what this is all about?

    Are our young children a big part of the grooming industry because of the lax at home when it comes to online use and policing and the parents don’t want the tension that goes with discipline consistently? It is not cool and we want our kids to be open minded and have the freedom we never got, blah blah but has it worked if we’ve got this news story in our face now?

    Yes, we all have a duty of care as to what happens to our children but we need to examine this thing about keeping our children ‘safe when they go online’. If we do not bother paying attention, making it our business or expressing when we sense something has changed with our young daughter after being online, then where is our Responsibility?

    We need to collectively work together and put these online groomers and all those that use the world wide web to ABUSE in any form out of business, once and for all. However, in reality we know that this will not happen overnight, but waiting for governments to change laws or sharpen up current legislation may not cut it, as we as individuals also have a hand in this.

    How about we look at our online behaviour and take a big dose of Absolute Honesty?

    Where are we failing before we point fingers at those in positions of power that are failing?

    What if we can start to turn things around by taking small steps and being honest about where we switch off and go off and do what we want, when we want, as if big brother ain’t watching us? Before we know it we are doing things we would never want to disclose or tell another, as we know and can sense it is very wrong.

    Well bingo – that is what is going on for the children and they know it’s wrong but too far down the rabbit hole and lack the maturity to find a way out, or are way too scared to say anything or they are enjoying the attention they desperately seek at home but never get.

    ALL the above needs to be questioned and considered.

    Next – it is high time to admit that we created the Internet. Yes, All of Us and with this going on and so much more when it comes to corruption, trafficking and cyber abuse to name a few, we cannot say our Internet is doing well.

    Re-read this article about how the Internet was initiated and the purpose and look at what we have done to it today?

    Every moment we waste blaming and waiting for those out there to fix it is wasted as we can start by just talking and expressing about our own Online behaviour.

    How do we use the Internet everyday?
    What is the purpose of why we use the Internet?
    How many hours a day do we spend doing stuff we know is not true?
    How is our online conduct affecting others, if we are going to be honest?
    How consistent are we with our abuse online as we know we can get away with it?

  81. Open Access Government – 31 January 2022

    https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/sextortion/128564/

    This news story today reporting from a government website tells us about a first of its kind study.

    During the pandemic, men were twice as likely to fall victim to online extortionists threatening to publish explicit photos, videos and information about them.
    Researchers were surprised as they expected women to be at greater risk.

    For those of us that need a reminder – sextortion is mentioned in this blog.
    It is a form of extortion wherein the blackmailer uses the threat of publishing private images or videos online unless the victim meets their demands.
    The blackmailer can of course be anyone – current or former partner, an online dating scammer or a stranger hacking into a person’s photos or webcam.

    Since the start of the pandemic, government institutions, legal professionals and non-profit organisations in the U.S. have reported a substantial increase in technology facilitated sexual violence.

    Sexual violence through technology can come in several forms, one that has gained a lot of attention over the past few years is revenge porn. This is described as revealing or sexually explicit images or videos of a person posted on the internet, typically a former partner, without the consent of the subject to cause them distress or embarrassment.

    Dear World

    Time we got a big bomb and drop it right now – we need a reality check.
    Great we have the academics giving us this kind of information and of course that will always come with “we need more research” because that is how we operate in our world. It is like we wait for more and more research studies to tell us the same thing and we like the delay as it gives us more time to continue down the ill road that offers zero evolution for mankind.

    How about we take a look at this whole thing from a totally different angle, apply that common sense we all have and that means we do know. Yes we do know.

    Pandemic – lots of people out of their daily routine and rhythm.
    Those that were abusing online or getting away with the dark stuff they do in the day and night off line were stopped. We could not get out and so we had to find other ways.

    Some of us were super bored and went into our fantasies even more than before.
    Some of us could not stand being in a small space called home with those we supposedly call family or close friends we share with.

    Some of us opted for more social media and upped our comparison to find ourselves obsessed with what others got up to.

    Some of us lived alone and the jealousy came in so fast that we started acting on those thoughts that were coming through us and we had no intention of stopping, as we kind of liked what we were doing and that was our movements to destroy another or others.

    Others went into revenge and were not even aware of the utter lonely state they had created for themselves and this void inside them led to abusive behaviour towards others whom they assumed had a life that was better than what they were having.

    Our jealous-ometer was off the scale, our spare time was full of behaviour that could only be labelled as ‘utter abuse’ and yet we continued despite KNOWING this is out of character, totally dis-respectful towards another and above all ir-responsible.

    This news story tells us men were at higher risk of sextortion during the pandemic but there were also other population groups mentioned.

    QUESTION – WHY are we uploading or publishing any content online in the first place that may one day be used to destroy us?

    Have we stopped for a moment to pause and consider the outplay – the knock on effect, the consequences of our ‘one minute wonder’ as they say, that could one day have such a devastating impact on our life? No we don’t because we love our irresponsible choices for whatever reason and we don’t want to then be at the other end for the correction.

    Yes let’s call it a correction.

    We have done something and then when it is called out we hate it and we are victims. But what if we are not victims and even if we got caught do we learn or do we go back and do it all over again, or do we up our hate and attack the other in revenge? Where does it all end and how do we end this game we have created in our lives?

    Much to consider and ponder on here Dear World.

    The author of this comment and this blog and this website uses the Internet to publish sensible content that may benefit or support another. There is zero intention to impress, hate or attack another in any way or form.

  82. BBC News – 8 February 2022

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60293057

    Porn websites in the UK will be legally required to verify the age of their users under new safety laws.

    The aim is to give children better protection from explicit material.

    The measures are to ensure users are over age 18 and proof of owning a credit card could be asked for.

    Firstly, would porn sites turning over millions and millions be overly concerned about losing 10% of their global turnover if they don’t act?

    And more to the point, why are we being told that we have studies that show half of 11 to 13 year olds have seen pornography?

    WHY are parents, teachers and all of us in the world not up in arms about this?
    How serious is this and where is it all going, as our solutions have failed us?

    Age verification is a great step we could all agree but is this front footing really?
    Are we really and truly going to make a difference, if we slap in an age thing before viewing porn online?

    WHY are none of us asking WHAT is going on and why are our kids going to porn?
    What happened and WHY are they seeking/viewing this kind of image on a screen?

    Commercial porn sites are here to profit but they can only do so if there is a demand.

    What is super clear and very obvious – it is a huge industry because we, yes we want porn and some of us doing porn are parents and come across as normal, healthy and well rounded, doing our bit in the community, yet we have this secret life.

    Unless we are well and truly going to be role models as adults for the children of today, we can stop pretending that some kind of legislation will stop these young children from accessing whatever they seek online. Let’s not forget they seem to be more at speed with the internet and keeping up with all the stuff we as adults are still learning about.

    Do we really think children will not have a game plan on how to make the next move if their porn is currently stopped online?

  83. Euro Green News – 12 May 2022

    https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/05/12/illegal-donkey-skin-trade-is-a-trojan-horse-for-wildlife-trafficking-claims-charity

    According to new research, vast numbers of donkey skins are being sold illegally on social media sites.

    The Donkey Sanctuary estimates that 4.8 million donkeys are trafficked and killed a year for their skins. Many are used to produce ejiao – a traditional Chinese remedy.
    https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/end-the-donkey-skin-trade/reports-on-the-donkey-skin-trade

    Marianne Steele, acting CEO of the Donkey Sanctuary says “This new research demonstrates just how vast the online donkey skin trade has become and how entrenched it is with criminal activity and other illegal wildlife trafficking.”

    The theft and cross-border smuggling of donkeys is rife, according to another recent report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.

    20% of donkey skin traders operating online also sell some form of wildlife product, including species of conservation concern such as elephant ivory, pangolin scales and big cat parts.

    Pangolin is the most trafficked mammal in the world. See link for more information.
    https://www.euronews.com/green/2020/06/23/why-is-this-the-most-trafficked-mammal-in-the-world

    Some of the 382 donkey skin sellers found on e-commerce sites were also offering drugs, fake passports and even human body parts.

    Dear World

    This is OUR INTERNET.

    What we choose to do on it affects us ALL and that includes the animals that are co-habiting on this planet right now.

    Social media is not going to ever get a grip of all these illegal criminal activities, so it is best we as individuals step up, sharpen up and take responsibility for HOW we use the internet. It can be a tool for great purpose and also support us to evolve or it can be for everything that simply distracts, entertains or disturbs us as a human being.

    We collectively subscribe to the Internet and how we use it contributes to the current mess we are in.

  84. I have been following a news story about a girl that met a boy age 15 with an online dating app when she was 12. Age 19 now, she came from Canada to live with this man who is now 23. She went to live with this man to “escape small town life.”

    He strangled and repeatedly stabbed her 90 times. She died of stab wounds to the chest.

    So the family were aware that this relationship started when the girl was a child. Her mother said when she became an adult she could not be stopped even though she was not happy.

    This guy had a clear history of violence and killed her when she wanted to get out of the abusive relationship.

    There are many stories such as this across the world. Do we blame the Internet?

    How easy has it become that a child can connect with someone they have never met and continue a digital ‘virtual’ relationship until they are old enough to leave home and start a new life in another country with a man they clearly do not know?

    There is something seriously wrong when we hear that things like this can actually happen and the devastation that it leaves behind for the family and those associated.

    With not much policing on our Internet and more and more dating platforms, let us not be surprised if we hear more tragic stories.

    How long will we continue to use the internet to find what we are seeking that may not be what we want as in this case?

  85. How interesting is this Internet when it comes to ‘selling’ us what we are already seeking for.

    Today I am on an official Diabetes website and reading about the first study of its kind where researchers in Australia have found that our poor sleeping habits increase the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.

    Whilst reading the news story, I have a whole list in bold capital letters with arrows and it looks like they are linked to the research study but oh no – it’s a marketing thing.
    Yep, we click the arrow and we can have any of the following:

    BEST SLEEP SUPPLEMENTS
    BEST SLEEP MEDICINE
    10 BEST SLEEPING PILLS
    SLEEP APNEA MOUTHPIECE
    SLEEPING PILL THAT WORKS
    MELATONIN FOR INSOMNIA

    I stopped reading and immediately felt to put this comment online as this is what we are demanding.

    Imagine if the list to buy was replaced with FREE articles that present another way when it comes to SLEEP and written by a true Master of Sleep. Yes this author of the whole Sleep category on this website and everything else knows what’s what when it comes to our Sleep, true health and wellbeing.

    Instead we continue to feed the multi billion dollar sleeping aids industry that does what it needs to and that is supply because we, yes we the collective, call us the masses are demanding it. We want a pill – let’s not look at the side effects to knock us out as we have insomnia and we don’t like it. We want a mouthpiece or the best there is out there to sort this annoying and inconvenient issue we have with lack of sleep.

    Dear World

    Could it be possible that our lifestyle choices are the reason WHY we have a sleep issue in the first place?

    What if our daytime has something to do with our sleep quality at night?
    What if the way we prepare for sleep (or not) has an effect on our sleep?
    What if being awake at night and unable to sleep is because we are off track in life?

    These questions and the long list presented in each of the articles from our Sleep category on this website would give us something to consider and allow us to make changes, if we are serious about nailing this sleep thing and knocking out whatever is in the way.
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/category/sleep/

    What this website is calling others to is taking Responsibility. Not many of us want that and this is where we just need to get honest. Most of us like the way we live and do what we want, when we want, with little or no regard for the body and then we seek the quick fix solutions and there are plenty of those around.

    What we forget is the short term ‘fun’ or whatever it is that we seek never lasts and we are left in a body that cops the consequences of our choices. Worth remembering these words of wisdom as that is what good old fashion common sense would tell us.

    And finally, we have come to use the Internet not to evolve as a species but to bring harm to the human frame, when we seek out anything that is not for our true health and wellbeing. Worth noting.

  86. SACPA (SAFEGUARDING AND CHILD PROTECTION ASSOCIATION) – 27 Jan 2023

    https://www.sacpa.org.uk/2023/01/27/covid-lockdowns-created-online-backdoor-for-child-abusers-says-charity/

    Rise in UK children aged 7 to 10 manipulated into abusing themselves on camera

    Internet predators have exploited a rise in online activity during lockdown to manipulate primary school age children into abusing themselves on camera, with reports of such imagery rising by more than 1,000% in the UK since 2019.

    Internet Watch Foundation received reports of 63,050 webpages containing images and videos of children age seven to ten sexually abusing themselves on camera in 2022.

    The foundation’s chief executive said the Covid outbreak had exposed children to an “online backdoor” into households.

    She said younger children are being pulled into abusive situations by predators, often while they are in their own bedrooms.

    Examples seen by analysts include a nine-year-old being asked by adults, speaking via an online platform, to perform dares over a webcam. The call in her bedroom was interrupted by a family member.

    In another call, a 10 year-old filming herself in a bathroom is interrupted by her mother who confiscates the phone.

    2022
    The foundation received 255,580 reports of images or videos of children under 18 being sexually abused.

    75% of those webpages contained footage made via an internet connected device with a camera, as opposed to an abuser being physically present.

    The forthcoming online safety bill, due to become law before the end of the year, requires social media platforms to proactively prevent child sexual abuse material from reaching users.

  87. SACPA – 31 January 2023
    Safeguarding and Child Protection Association

    https://www.sacpa.org.uk/2023/01/31/children-as-young-as-nine-exposed-to-pornography/

    Children as young as 9 years of age are being exposed to online pornography, according to a new study for the Children’s Commissioner for England.

    25% of 16-21 year olds first saw pornography on the Internet while at primary school.

    50% had been exposed to it by the age of 13.

    38% found pornographic content accidentally.

    Age 18-21
    79% had seen pornography involving sexual violence as children.

    50% of young people say girls expect sex to involve physical aggression, such as airway restriction.

    One 12 year old reported to the Commissioner that her boyfriend had “strangled” her during their first kiss as he had seen it in pornography “and thought it was normal”.

    “Every adult in a responsible position to take the findings seriously.
    Let me be absolutely clear – Online Pornography is not equivalent to a ‘top-shelf’ magazine.
    The adult content which parents may have accessed in their youth could be considered ‘quaint’ in comparison to today’s world of online pornography.”
    Dame Rachel de Souza – Children’s Commissioner for England

  88. Europol News – 17 July 2023

    https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/iocta-2023-forget-hackers-in-hoodie-cybercrime-has-become-big-business

    Criminals now operate as business-like syndicates across borders, according to Europol report 2023 on a unique law enforcement perspective on the state of cybercrime.

    Cybercrime has become big business, with an entire illicit economy set up to support it with service providers, recruiters and financial services.

    This makes investigating cyber-attacks even more challenging for law enforcement, with multiple specialists working on parts of the criminal process from every corner of the world.

    The report summary presented the different typologies of cybercrime, namely cyber attacks, online fraud schemes and online child sexual exploitation.

  89. Europol – 20 September 2023

    https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/international-operation-closes-down-piilopuoti-dark-web-marketplace

    An International operation closes down a dark web marketplace.

    Drugs and other illegal commodities were sold in large quantities on this Finnish-language platform.

    The investigation is still ongoing as law enforcement worldwide work together to identify the sellers and users on the platform.

    The successful takedown happened just days before the annual Dark Web conference where it is restricted to law enforcement only, bringing together over 180 investigators from across the world to discuss the latest criminal trends and developments on the dark web.

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