Saugus students hear words of caution about Internet

SAUGUS – From texts and emails to Facebook status messages and tweets, educational speaker Josh Gunderson showed students at Saugus High School the pitfalls that can come with life on the Internet.In a presentation on Internet safety earlier this week, students learned the consequences that often arise from a seemingly benign post on the Internet. Mostly, that the Internet is far from a temporary sounding-off board.?Every message you send, there is a copy forever,” Gunderson said. “Take time to think about what you?re putting out there for the world to see. Take time to think about how your actions will affect your life.”Gunderson also tackled cyber-bullying. He showed photos and told stories of teenagers who committed suicide as a result of bullying, including Phoebe Prince, a South Hadley teen who killed herself after enduring months of bullying.Gunderson urged the students to think twice before they hit “send.” It could affect someone?s life. In the age of the Internet, anyone can become a bully in a matter of seconds, he said.?The next time you?re tempted to gossip about somebody, the next time you hear a rumor about somebody, I want you to think about Phoebe Prince. I want you to think about the faces you see in front of you right now. These, ladies and gentlemen, are the faces of bullying,” he said.Gunderson laid out five steps students could take to stop cyber-bullying, which includes not responding, not retaliating, saving the evidence, blocking bullies online and talking to adults.Gunderson said students don?t have to be best friends with every other student, they just need to be “decent human beings.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.