Coordinated by UK Safer Internet Centre, Safer Internet Day offers a great opportunity for us all to play our part in helping children feel safer to be #FreetoBe who they are online.
You’ll find advice and resources below to help children navigate the issue of online identities in a safe, responsible and respectful way.
Online identity allows us to showcase edited versions of our lives, highlighting features that we feel others value.
So, when posting about an amazing holiday, for example, our posts reflect not only what's important to us but what we believe others expect from us.
Now having an online identity can be liberating as it encourages self-expression and allows us to connect with other people.
However, it can create a lot of pressure.
Kids can hide aspects of who they are or to try and live up to certain expectations in order to feel more accepted and this can be detrimental to their own sense of self worth and can impact things like body image and self esteem.
Parents should allow their child to express themselves online, however, it’s important we offer support to help them navigate this.
There are a few ways you can do this:
Firstly, start a positive conversation around online identity.
Have regular check ins and discuss what your child's online identity means to them and how they feel it reflects who they really are.
Secondly it’s important to speak about how and who they share their lives with online making sure to touch on what they should and shouldn't share by discussing issues around safety and privacy.
Thirdly, Help them think critically about how online and offline influences can impact how they see themselves and the world around them.
Get them to think about the intentions behind what people are sharing on online. Your child’s online identity is a self-expression of who they are and often it evolves and changes over time.
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For young people, building an online identity can be both liberating and challenging at times. With so many influences and platforms to use it can be hard to work out how to be yourself online and feel accepted. Offering young people tools to navigate this process can help keep their digital growth online healthy and positive.
Online identity, it means being yourself online.
It means the ability to do what I like on the internet without being judged.
Online identity means, to me it's something where you can express yourself. You can be yourself and you can be what you want other people to see you as.
It means to show who you are and not to be afraid to be different from everyone else.
Online identity means a lot to me because some people don't really like who they are, but it makes them more confident with themselves.
I think it's representing yourself, your ideas, your interests, being who you are, being free to do what you want to do.
You can express what you're doing, you can show your hobbies.
Not afraid to show who you really are.
Being safe on the internet and having so much fun.
Fairly treated.
Represented.
Empowered.
Equal.
Join us on Safer Internet Day. Find out more at saferinternetday.org.uk #SaferInternetDay
See the parent and carer Safer Internet Day resource pack filled with activities, conversation starters to get involved this Safer Internet Day.
If you work with children UKSIC has a range of impactful activities for Safer Internet Day we have created a range of free resources, including films, lesson plans, assemblies and more.
Offering families new training, resources, and activities to help build their digital skills.
Use Sky’s range of practical safety tools designed to help parents keep their children safe online.
Find out about TalkTalk parental control tools
See how Virgin parental controls can support children online
See how BBC Own it App can help children have a positive online experience
See a range of Google safety tools to help all the family develop good online habits
Learn more about the range of safety features on the app
Get children set up safe on a range of Samsung products
