Online Sense is ICDL Arabia's philanthropic arm aimed at raising public awareness on Cyber Safety.
When people think of Snapchat, they think of a fun platform for people to chat with their friends and send fun images and videos of themselves. However, as time went by and Snapchat established itself as one of the biggest social media companies in the world, they created a ‘Discover’ section on their platform.
Catch up with the most important stories were published during the last week with the 3rd issue of Online Sense Digest. Subscribe to the Online Sense Digest to receive those digests weekly on your inbox.
Did you know that only 0.03% of the entire Internet can be found on search engines? The information found on Google, Facebook, and Wikipedia combined represents just a tiny fraction of one percent of all the information available on the Web.
We hear about victims of Internet fraud all the time. People tend to simplify those stories and say that those people are so naïve and that it would never happen to them.
You may want to think twice about that.
If you are an Arab or have lived in the Arabian Gulf, you probably know that privacy is a very important issue here (particularly for women). Moreover, keeping one’s personal information about oneself and sheltering oneself from society is particularly common in women who share conservative values
Self-destructing messaging apps with end-to-end encryption are taking over; these are apps that automatically destruct messages when the receiver reads them and/or sets a limit for how long the receiver can see a message before it gets deleted. Both kids and young adults use them to prevent certain people (i.e. parents, and future employers, etc.) from seeing things in their chat histories.
Instagram’s social media culture does provide a great platform to share authentic photos, but not everything is as flattering and amazing as it seems in those photos. People might not use Photoshop, but they can use filters (even if they use the hashtag #NoFilter). They can give off the impression that the photo was effortlessly taken with very little or no preparation whatsoever.
Police forces from all over the world use Facebook Live (and the Facebook platform in general) as a way to prosecute criminals. It is actually one of the first places detectives search for evidence. Based on the content of a criminal’s social media posts – like online extremism, for example – they can find out the person’s motive, the geolocation of where they recorded the Facebook Live video.
Astroturfing is the attempt to create an impression of widespread support for a policy, individual, or product, where very little support actually exited beforehand. In other words, astroturfers create marketing or public relations campaigns in an attempt to present inaccurate information as real information. Usually, special interest groups use this technique to give an organization credibility by withholding information about the source’s financial connection.
You know how we always say, “Think before you post?” Well, Instagram just introduced a new feature called Instagram Drafts.
![What Would You Do If You Saw an Online Predator in Person? [Video]](https://onlinesense.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/what-would-you-do-online-predators-1.jpg)
You’ve heard all these stories about kids being abducted by adults. But what if you saw one in real life? Click here to read about what happened in two social experiments filmed by one of the major news stations in the United States.
![Digital Heroin: Is the Internet REALLY a Drug? [Debate]](https://onlinesense.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/digital-heroin-online-addiction-internet-drug.jpg)
Online addiction is becoming such a major problem nowadays that people want to consider it a drug. One pundit even went as far as calling it ‘digital heroin.’ Would you agree? Read both sides of the argument in this article.
Have you ever heard anyone stereotype millennials? You’ve heard them all before: entitled, lazy, self-centered, etc. Internationally known entrepreneur Simon Sinek explains why this is the case and what we can do to help them.
Do you remember a program called YouTube Heroes? YouTube announced it in September 2016, and the communities detested it… for many reasons. Find out why.
Have you heard of Instagram Direct? It’s a new feature that allows you to share your Instagram posts privately? Learn how to use it in this article.
When Facebook introduced video to their platform, very few people knew that a lot of companies were stealing content… particularly from YouTube’s content creators. Read more about Facebook freebooting YouTube’s content.
There are a lot of cyberbullies and online trolls out there, especially on Twitter. Follow the directions in this article if there is someone you want to block or unfollow on Twitter.
Do you believe workers have the right to discharge at home rather than constantly having to check your phone for new emails? Europe has established new policies to protect their workers. Read more and think about what the GCC can do to protect their workers.
Why Parents Must Stop Sharing Everything about Their Kids on Social Media? What are Internet Trolls and How to Defeat Them? How #ICANHELP Promotes Positivity on Social Media?
We have reached a new problem since the arrival of the smartphone. We have become more connected, but only through our smartphones. As a result, we have become more disconnected to our surroundings. We refer to this concept as phubbing.
Google knows everything about you, from Google searches, to emails, to which videos you watch. You can find out just a snippet of what Google knows by using Google My Activity.
Do you ever feel like your phone heats up when you put your phone to your ear? How much do you think that impacts your health… particularly your brain? Read on to find out what science tells us about the health risks of too much cell phone use.
Facebook Likes? Dangerous? No way!
The Facebook like button is arguably the most recognized social media currency ever created, but you may not know how much people can find about you based on what you like.
YouTube is a great social media platform with a lot of great videos. However, you may come across something hateful or abusive. Learn how to report videos and abusive comments to let YouTube know that something should be taken down.
Have you heard of the Amanda Todd’s cyber bullying story? She became a household name after her tragic story was published in 2012. Listen to what some American teenagers have to say about her story and the implications of cyberbullying.
How many posts by online extremists do you think get uploaded online each week? How many do you think stay online for a while? We can help governments delete extremist content online. Find out more.
Do you know someone who is being bullied and could use a source of inspiration? Check out this in-depth list of 87 anti-bullying quotes and provide a source of inspiration and uplift society as a whole.
Do you know how to report abuse on Instagram? It’s important to know how to do it before you get an account. Find out what you should do when you come across something inappropriate on Instagram.
Over the past couple of years, Oman has seen reports on cyber blackmail increase in alarming rates. Several news publications in Oman recently reported a new campaign about cyber blackmail. Do you think it will work?
Did you know that there are certain types of content that could not allow you into certain countries? Learn about some of the things GCC nationals have posted and got sent back for…
Have you heard the story about the middle school teacher and her fake Facebook page? It led to a campaign called #ICANHELP (Delete Negativity on Social Media). Learn more about it in this article.
Have you ever come across an Internet troll before? Chances are you probably have. Find out more about who they are and what you can do to protect yourself from them.
