Socialising safely online

Internet Matters Team | July 23rd, 2020

We work collaboratively across industry, government and with schools to reach UK families with tools, tips and resources to help children benefit from connected technology smartly and safely.

Two little kids on their devices

With school out and summer holidays here, children may be needing more options to get the best out of their screen time particularly when it comes to staying in touch with friends. So, we have provided some resources, advice and tips to help your child socialise safely and have a positive time online.

Online social activities

Here are some social activities your family can do over the summer holidays to keep your kids entertained and not feel as if they’re missing out!

Have a virtual hang out or party! If a social distanced meet-up is not on the cards, you can help them to set up a video group call with their friends. This can make it easier for them to adjust to the ‘new normal’ and help them stay in touch with friends throughout the summer.
Have a watch party! With watch parties, you can watch movies or shows online while chatting with friends and family all at the same time. Stuck on what to watch? Take a look at our recommended watch picks.
Allow social media socialising. With screen time more likely to increase, it’s important to realise kid’s screen time will increase, although it’s not necessarily a bad thing, ensure your child has a balanced digital diet. Additionally, we strongly recommend keeping an eye on who and what they engage with.
Why not enrol your kids ina virtual camps or class? Virtual Camps can offer a wide variety of enrichment to keep kids busy, learning, and having fun – while practising safe social.
You can find several virtual camps online, but here is one – Virtual Summer camp. Virtual Summer is an online summer camp for children ages 7-16 designed by camp experts which includes practical and interactive learning.
Online gaming – If your kid is an avid gamer, they may not only be playing the actual game itself, but they may also be talking to their friends or other users via chat. So, check out our article and scroll down to ‘Connecting through online video gaming’ for more info.

Online safety tips

Advise your kids to only speak to people you/they know and not to accept friend requests from strangers.
Be sure to know how to review their privacy settings – and teach them not to share or have their personal details such as their full name, school, address visible. Check out our parental controls should you need to enable specific security and/or privacy settings.
Teach children to block, mute or report if anything upsets them (and talk to you for help).

Here are some other ideas and your family can do over the summer: