Student Voices: A High-Schooler’s Perspective Staying Safe Online

As part of the ever-growing generation of technology, social media is an important aspect of many people’s lives. The online world has a place in everyone’s lives, no matter the age, no matter the factor. However, we have to remember tips on how to stay safe online, otherwise, it’s not going to turn out well for us. Welcome to the Student Voices: A High-Schooler’s Perspective, where I’m going to help you, reader, remember how to stay safe while surfing the Internet.

Let’s first focus on the publc perspective. Millions of thousands of people use the Internet every day, do you ever wonder what they see when coming across your Instagram profile, or your Twitter feed? While it’s okay to introduce yourself with basic information when you first create your social media profiles, it’s important to remember to not overdo it. You cannot go around sharing your personal information with people you don’t know, simply because you don’t know the people coming across your account. Social media is a way of showing that you are within the online world, so if you do release information, release scarcely.

Also, when chatting with other people, you have to remember that you are not, in any way, obliged to reveal anything about yourself. This part is important: especially when you don’t know or do not feel safe with the people you’re chatting with, do not further engage in interaction. There are many creeps and dangerous people lurking behind some accounts, and the worst part is, we don’t know which accounts. So be careful, be wise on who you talk to, and stay safe.

For a more private point of view, there are many things you can try to prevent being bombed by hackers, viruses, or just plain old weirdos. I’m sure you know about IP addresses and what they are, and I know that you have heard of changing those addresses regularly. While I don’t know the exact process of it, I do know that this is a very helpful way in securing whatever trackers or dangerous cookies from shady websites and people are shaken off. I may explore this topic on a further blog, but until then, the basic things you’d probably want to do would be to resetting your router or moving to another place with a different connection. I, for one, haven’t tried these out yet, but I know that they are very good ways in staying safe in regards to changing your IP.

Honestly, I don’t know what else to tell you. If you don’t know how to stay safe online, it’s better for you to just go offline. Not revealing personal information is a thing a lot of us should know already, and so is being careful with chatting up other people. Changing your IP address should be common knowledge by now. I would just like to encourage everyone reading this to stay safe. Thank you

Jon Zaccary C. Regala, Grade 10

Shayan Fareed

Shayan Fareed

Shayan Fareed is an Undergraduate Ambassador for StEPS who recently graduated from Warwick Business School with a BSC in Management. Prior to that, he completed his A Levels at the prestigious Aitchison College. During his time at the University of Warwick, Shayan cherished the vibrant campus life and considered it his home for the past three years, leaving behind fond memories as he moves on to new endeavors.

Faiza Omar

Faiza Omer

Faiza Omer has a Masters in Finance from Punjab University. She is a highly experienced Communication Coordinator with excellent leadership and project management skills. She is skilled in crafting engaging content for various platforms and managing internal and external communications. Faiza has received several certificates and awards, demonstrating her proficiency in teamwork, customer service, and administrative expertise. As Communication Coordinator at StEPS, she successfully leads and manages multiple client projects. Prior to this, she worked at DNATA Emirates Group, providing passenger services and coordinating flight operations.

Rida Fatima

Rida Fatima

With experience in education management and administration, Rida takes the lead in handling university applications and follow-up protocols.

Wasim Hashmi Syed

Wasim Hashmi Syed

Mr Wasim Hashmi Syed, Senior Advisor, Professional Development and Transnational Education.Mr Wasim Hashmi Syed has over twenty years of visionary experience in initiating and leading educational initiatives with tangible outcomes, creating international linkages, and providing development opportunities for Pakistani youth under the country’s vision 2025. He has been involved in various government and foreign-funded projects, including monitoring research and development projects in IT and engineering.

As an Advisor and Consultant at the Higher Education Commission (HEC), he managed programs aimed at increasing the number of PhD faculty, providing scholarships for students, and fostering collaboration with foreign universities. Additionally, he oversaw the monitoring of research and development projects and played a key role in policy development for higher education institutions. He established collaboration with  more than 30 international foreign universities and organizations. He played a significant role in launching and overseeing scholarship programs and initiatives related to information and communication technology.

He also served as an Advisor International Linkages at Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Haripur, he had engaged in obtaining charter for Institute from HEC and PEC.

In his role as General Manager Monitoring/Projects at the National ICT R&D Funds (IGNITE), he monitored numerous technical projects funded by academia and local industry.

Mr. Hashmi obtained his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from University of Engineering Technology Lahore. He also holds MS in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, from the University of Louisville Kentucky USA, and a Ph.D. (in progress) in Transport Engineering University of Hasselt Belgium.

Zeeshan Riaz

Zeeshan Riaz

Zeeshan Riaz is an internationally experienced consultant with over 25 years of proven track record with comprehensive experience of advising corporate, higher education, consulting and training institutions.

Zeeshan leads the business development, international brand building and student recruitment initiative in the region for StEPS partner institutes.

Zeeshan has extensive experience in corporate strategy and development in Europe, Middle East and Asia, working in a range of industries with extensive involvement in Green-Field and Public & Private partnership development projects.

Which provides a unique platform with in-depth knowledge of the global job market to advice on career growth and educational pathways for professionals and students.

After primary education from Smedstad School in Oslo, Norway, he pursued higher education from Norway, Pakistan and UK in Computer Science with Business Management followed by MBA specialising in marketing.

He is a UK certified Clinical Therapist and British Council certified Trainer of Trainers (TOT).

Saima Asghar Riaz

Saima is a TESOL qualified Warwick Alumna, with over two decades of experience in student counseling, teaching, teacher training, and English language assessment. She has been representing her alma mater for international student admissions since 1998, and has successfully supported hundreds of students with their university, scholarship and job applications globally. As a certified DiSC and ‘How Women Rise’ coach, she supports professionals in bringing about workplace improvements through behavioral change.

Saima is a British Council trained and certified IELTS professional and has taught English at The University of Warwick, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Kinnaird College for Women, and the Virtual University of Pakistan. She has trained educational professionals at Kinnaird College, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and the Ali Institute of Education, and has been a consultant trainer for the Punjab Judicial Academy for development of soft skills of district judiciary and judicial staff of the Lahore High Court.

With extensive experience in education management and administration, Saima has been the Founding Director for the Directorate of Faculty Development & Internationalisation (DFDI) at LCWU, and successfully launched a Faculty Development Centre as well as Pakistan’s first university-level mandatory Citizenship programme in collaboration with the British Council. She was thus responsible for supporting the enhancement of teaching and research capability of Asia’s largest women’s university, creating linkages with local and international partners, enabling students in social entrepreneurship projects, and raising the university profile on an international academic platform.

She is a member of the board of Advisors at the Pakistani Schools in Fujairah and Ras Alkhaimah and of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital Lahore.