CYBERSORTER: Amanda Brownadvises on how to back off from an overzealous contact you accidentally encouraged
Dear Cybersorter,
When an ex-IRA superspy friend requested friendship with me I said “yes”. Knowing how folk on Facebook and Twitter like to play around with faux famous names I thought it was someone playing a joke.
He’s been “poking” me a lot, sending messages and having a general gas with me. I’ve been responding, slagging him off, being slightly provocative, and so on. Now I find out from a Belfast mate that this is the guy (not just a namesake) and that he’s a tad obsessive. I felt a bit appalled and want to ditch him but obviously he’s not the kind of character I’d like to offend. Any ideas?
JL
Dear JL,
Block him from viewing your updates on Facebook.
Go to “Account”, “Privacy Settings”, “Customise” settings in the “Sharing” on Facebook section. Click on “Posts by me” and click on the drop-down menu. Select “Customise” and type the name of your superspy in the “Hide this from” box. This is the first step in cooling off the relationship.
He won’t be notified. He will no longer get your written updates in his news feed. This gives him less opportunity to have day-to-day interaction with you. Cool your responses right down. After a month of estrangement, block him on Facebook. Protect your tweets and then block him on Twitter. Once protected, you have to pre-approve all new followers and he won’t be able to view your tweets. If he persists in trying to contact you or makes you uncomfortable or worried, call the Garda and the PSNI.
Dear Cybersorter,
My son is dyslexic. He regularly updates his Facebook profile using faulty spelling. Generally the computer is the dyslexic’s friend as it corrects spelling errors. Facebook, though, doesn’t catch misspelled words. I’m worried a future employer will see his profile page and it will reflect unfairly on him. I would like to broach this with him but I don’t want him to think that I’m snooping on his Facebook profile.
GR
Dear GR,
You are right to be concerned about future employers. A recent Microsoft survey found 70 per cent of hiring managers eliminated job candidates on the strength of their online profiles.
Talk to your son about his privacy settings, which should be set to “friends only”. He should also go through his friends list and defriend anyone who isn’t a real friend. This is good practice for any Facebook user.
There is a simple, free, effective third-party application spell-checker for Facebook. Just go to the search bar and type in “spell-checker”. Click “Like”. If you are friends with your son on Facebook he will see that you have liked a spell-checker and will hopefully take the hint.
If you are not friends with him online and his privacy settings are closed it’s probably best not to badger him. Don’t forget, everyone makes typos on instant messaging and Facebook updates, so he won’t be the only one misspelling. Also remember children and teenagers have their own language, including textese. He’s chatting with his friends online. It’s not important that he spells correctly, only that they understand him.
Cyber Sorter's summer picks: Kids
5 kids’ tweets
- @KidsBooksIrel
BioChildren's Books Ireland: the national resource organisation which aims to share the joy of books with every child and we'll let grown-ups join in too!
Typical tweetListen out of (sic) Laureate na nÓg Siobhán Parkinson on RTE Radio 1 after 9am today
- @kidsinsligo
BioLetting you know what there is for children and families to do in Sligo, Ireland
Typical tweetSeries of free kids' weekend workshops being held in @modelsligo
- @mykidstime
BioOnline local listings for kids' activities, classes, events and services in Ireland.
Typical tweetWe've got lots of ideas for free things to do with kids
- @Kidscanhavefun
BioKids' fun activities with crafts, colouring, games, puzzles, e-cards, school activities and so much more! Colouring sheet print-out resource.
Typical tweetLots of new colouring pictures for the kids. Fun fish, horses, bugs and more. And if your child is a bit older, and bored, just plug her in too
- @justinbieber
BioBieberFever.com. Request my single somebody to love featuring Usher and thank you for making a dream come true. My World 2.0 – get that!
Typical tweetATL was incredible tonight. Brought out the mayor Jermaine Dupri and the big bro AKON. Crazy night! Thank you to everyone. Felt good!
5 Kids’ Apps
- Kids Madagascar Puzzle– Free for Android. A simple puzzle in the style of children's slide-the-blocks puzzles.
- Flags Trivia– free from Ovi store for Nokia. Score points for guessing the correct flags of 200 countries.
- Preschool Adventure– €0.59 from iTunes. Contains eight different activities from ABC animals to dot-to-dot. Brilliant for emergency distraction while waiting for planes, food, medics, etc.
- Nursery Rhymes– free for Android. Contains some basic nursery rhymes. Users have criticised this app saying that if you move the phone the music stops.
- Cars Matching HD– €0.59 from iTunes. Put together the cars that match. This app claims to improve your children's ability to concentrate, memorise and differentiate. The best part is grown-ups or other kids can play it together.
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