Safer Internet Day - We are ALL responsible!

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Updated 5 years ago

Today, Tuesday 5th February 2019 is “Safer Internet Day” and a time when organisations across the world will come together to raise awareness of the benefits of the internet but also the risks posed by connecting ourselves across the globe using technology.

Many school, colleges, preschools and universities will be organsing events and holding workshops to help our young people develop the awareness and responsibility to be able to use the internet safely.

In the UK (where I am), the day is coordinated by the by the UK Safer Internet Centre, which consists of three charities that are supported by the European Commission. The charities include:

Childnet International
South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL), and
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)

Together, these organisations provide resources to help parents, teachers and young people start conversations about using the internet, the risks, benefits and how to deal with unwanted situations. They also offer free training and an anonymous way to report online abuse.

This year, the theme for this year’s day is “TOGETHER FOR A BETTER INTERNET”.

I like this theme because it reminds me that we ALL have a responsibility to make sure the internet is as safe as possible and that the people we love and care about are kept safe using it.

The aim is to help people understand more about how they ‘give consent’ for their content and private information to be used online, offering information and advice about not only how to ask for consent; but it will also encompass the responsibilities that we all have for ourselves, our children and our friends.

As we all take more pictures, open more accounts, share more memories online, the risks increase.

Talking about the internet and trying to make it a safer place, I think, should be something we all engage in regularly - especially if we have children or, as many of us do here, we make money from it.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE THE INTERNET.

But the risks for ourselves and our children of using it are many, including: online abuse, cyber-bullying, identity theft, inapropriate images, sharing data, misuse of data, virus threats, online computer attacks, fraud, phising, spam.....the list is endless. And we all have a duty to ensure that what we do is legal, above board and as safe as possible.

You can get involved in Safer Internet Day by visiting their website and at the very least, raising awareness of the day with your readers.

You can also download resources which are free and included things for parents, teachers, children, youth groups to name but a few.

I have 2 children of my own and we have encountered inappropriate content sent by messaging services as well a cyber-bullying and peer-pressure.

Luckily, my children and I can easily talk about these issues and I'm very pleased to say that when this happened, my daughter felt she could come and talk to me straight away so things could get sorted.

So I urge you all to investigate ways that you can highlight these issues in your own countries, and make sure you have had good conversations with your own children to alert them to the risks and how to deal with problems. The resources on the websites above will help.

The internet has many, many more potential benefits than risks in my opinion, but we should also be open and upfront about keeping our children, young people and ourselves safe too.