Internet Safety

Internet safety day is organised by UK Safer Internet Centre and was held on 10th February. The purpose of this awareness day was to promote safe and responsible internet use aimed at those unaware of the potential dangers, particularly the young. 

Due to the expansion and improvement of technology over the years, the majority of us have easy access to the internet through our laptop, mobile phone or tablet which strongly reflects possible dangers involved especially for those uninformed of the risks.

Let’s not forget the internet is a brilliant resource when used correctly. It enables people to connect, communicate and be creative in a range of ways. It makes learning more fun, offers choice in what and how people learn, supports homework and revision, provides a flexible range of learning materials and improves work presentation. All of these activities develop skills and prepare children for later life. 

So how do you promote internet safety in your school?

You can start by ensuring children are aware of the following:-

Content: Children may need help when accessing content as it can be unsuitable and may be harmful. When accessing information via social networks, online games, blogs and websites, it is important for viewers to consider the content reliability as well as ensuring they are aware that it is a personal viewpoint written with bias. 

Social Media: It is important children understand that friends made online via social media may not be who they say they are. To avoid this as much as possible it is highly important to use the application’s privacy settings in order to prevent anyone unknown accessing personal information. 

Advertisements: To ensure children are safe, encourage them to keep personal information private and block pop ups and spam mail. Young people’s privacy can sometimes be affected by advertising and marketing schemes where they are instructed to input personal data.

Online activity: It is very important to make young people aware of who is able to view and potentially share information displayed through their online activity even if they feel they are anonymous.

By following the above points, this will reduce the risks involved and ensure people are using the internet in a safer way whilst receiving the full educational benefits. 

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