Have you ever wondered about the internet at school? Ever wonder if it’s as safe as they tell us? At CKHS, students use the internet every day for all kinds of purposes. Google is a great and “successful search engine” said librarian Steve Trunkey. There are links you can see on the Moodle page to find more information more easily, but people like our ASB President Ben Huang are concerned “about how students use Google instead of the well-prepared research databases of credible scholarly publications that our school district pays for.”

Huang said, “Google collects data on user search habits.”Google claims that it helps block any non-relevant information to the user, but Huang believes that blocking opposing views “ leads to segregated research results, and eventually leads to an echo-chamber effect of polarization known as the ‘filter bubble’ where students see only what they feel ‘comfortable’ seeing and not what uncomfortable ideas the rest of the world holds.”

Students mainly access the internet on their mobile phones at school for easy and quick access to our school’s WiFi. The school WiFi is safely secured using multiple programs like Safe Search, which blocks anything inappropriate using keywords that can lead to inappropriate topics or insecure sites, so phones are safe using the school WiFi unless as well as the school computers unless if you were to use your phone’s data plan which some students have and use to get around the Safe search to access previously blocked sites but this may leave your phone unprotected from potentially dangerous sites that have viruses.

There are loopholes, though, that some people may know of to get around Safe Search or Safe Search might  miss a site that contains inappropriate contents. There are some sites that students use at home that are very helpful for finding information but are blocked by the district. though many have been taught this in elementary school, students should be educated more on  safety using the internet, as risks of data theft and hacking becomes larger in our society. “Otherwise, students lose control over technology,” said Huang.