At the UK Safer Internet Centre, we’re inviting you to ‘Be the change’ and help make the internet a better place this Safer Internet Day.
Celebrated globally and coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the day is a great opportunity to talk to your family and friends about the safe, responsible and positive use of technology, and to ‘give a smile’ to help create a kinder online community.
Visit the UK Safer Internet Centre website (www.saferinternet.org.uk) where you can take the Safer Internet Day quiz, see what’s happening on the day, and find out more about what you can do to help your friends and family to stay safe online.
As part of the day, we’re delivering a range of exciting activities, from a youth photo campaign and exhibitions, to our #giveasmile social media campaign, while hundreds of organisations across the UK are getting involved in supporting the day, with schools and youth groups using our Education Packs and SID TV films to engage children, young people, parents and carers.
This Safer Internet Day the global theme is ‘Be the change: unite for a better internet’ and we’re calling on parents and carers to get involved. Here are ideas about how you can ‘Be the change’:
Be engaged: talk regularly with your children about how they use technology, and find out what their digital life is like. Perhaps you can start off by discussing your favourite apps or games?
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.
We know that Safer Internet Day can have a hugely positive impact. As a result of the collective action last year we reached 2.8 million UK children and 2.5 million UK parents, with the majority going on to speak their families about staying safe online and feeling more confident about what to do about any worries online.
Together we can make #SID2017 the biggest campaign yet and make a real difference to the digital lives of children right across the UK.
The Safer Internet Day theme this year sums it up – we have a shared responsibility to make the internet a better place, from schools, parents and carers, to the internet industry, government, charities, policymakers, and children and young people themselves. We all have a role to play.
But change begins with each and every one of us: a parent engaging positively in their child’s digital life, a teacher championing e-safety in school, a child who doesn’t just stand by when they see cyberbullying, a tech company that takes time to listen to children’s needs. Join with us to ‘be the change’ this Safer Internet Day.
Visit Safer Intenet Centre site for great resources and join the conversation at #SID2017
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