7 February 2017
By Rebecca Avery
SID2017 - Top Tips for Young People and Parents
The following tips from the UK Safer Internet Centre may be helpful for schools and settings to share with learners and parents/carers so they can consider how they can help "be the change?" for this years Safer Internet Day.
How can young people ‘Be the Change’?
- Be kind: use images and videos to make a positive impact, and think carefully about the impact on others before you share something online.
- Be a critical thinker: seeing is not believing… when you see something online take a moment to see the full picture.
- Be you: technology provides a powerful way to express yourself. Think about what your images and videos say about you, are you happy with the story you are telling? Don’t be pressured into doing something online you don’t feel comfortable with.
- Be a digital citizen: report anything you see online, including images and videos, which are offensive, upsetting or inappropriate. Speak to a trusted adult if something worries you.
- Be a good friend: look out for your friends online and make sure you are only posting images and videos that they would want to go online.
- Be the change: use the positive power of images and videos to help create a better internet.
How can parents and carers ‘Be the Change’?
- Be engaged: talk regularly with your children about how they use technology, and find out what their digital life is like, including how they communicate using images and videos. Perhaps you can start off by discussing your favourite emojis?
- Be curious: technology continually changes, and while you don’t need to be a tech expert, you do need to be curious about the apps and services your children use, how they are used and what safety tools they have available.
- Be there: the most important thing is to ensure that you are there if something goes wrong. Your child might be very embarrassed to discuss the issue they are facing so reassure them that they can turn to you no matter what.
