Q&A for How to Communicate Online

The overall best way to stay safe would be to limit the amount of personal information that you disclose, whether it be the location or area that you live in, what you do for work, where you go to school, or what type of restaurants you go to normally. Something else to consider too is do you have a sexually suggestive username or chat name that you use in that chat room? We do notice that people that have a more sexually suggestive screen name or handle tend to get the wrong type of responses. Try to keep your username or handle something that's very generic and does not include your first and last name and the year that you were born in. If you're talking to someone and they're being aggressive or making you uncomfortable, block them or avoid contact with them.

I would suggest telling somebody that does know your routine how to get ahold of you if they need to and check up on you if they don't hear from you. I would also suggest meeting that person someplace in public. Don't meet them at their own residence or invite them to your residence. You could also make the first time you meet them a group get together so you're not alone with them.

You can communicate via email, instant messaging or social media. The internet acts as a means to connect computers from around the world so they can interact.

You are more likely to lose connection to the internet than for the internet to break. It connects different computers around the world and will function normally as long as at least two computers connect to it. Considering that more than ten million people are accessing it at any one point in time, this isn't something you need to worry about.