Safer Internet Day will be taking place on Tuesday 9th February. This event is organised each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.  The topic for 2010 is “Think B4 U Post!“ watch video below.

Island Pulse are supporting Safer Internet Day 2010 by providing our website visitors with valuable links of information and interest:

Safer Internet Day is a European-wide initiative and this one day (Tuesday 9th February 2010) will give a focus to internet safety issues. There are a range activities taking place (from Monday 8th – Friday 12th February across the continent to help protect young people online.

For users of all ages, the Internet is part of everyday life. Children and young people use it to meet friends via social networks, parents do online shopping and banking, and ‘silver surfers’ make travel plans. However, digital pollution, which includes threats from cybercriminals and other unwanted intruders, is growing and poses serious risks for Internet users – risks that Safer Internet Day 2010 will bring to the public’s attention.

Social networking sites count today 41.7 million users in Europe. It is mostly young people, children and teenagers who register with social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Dailymotion, and they use these new creative opportunities to express their identity. However, they do not always realise that the personal information they post such as pictures and videos remains online and can be accessed by anyone, exposing them to risks such as cyber bullying or online grooming.  Children and teenagers must be empowered to manage and control their online identity in a responsible way. 

“Think B4 U Post” Video

Anything anyone posts online remains there for an indefinite period and accessible for everyone, as you can see from SID in the video this can have serious consequences. Read more on ThinkUKnow 

Do you know if your kids:

use the privacy settings offered by social networking services?

select friends online that they can trust?

publish their own photos after thinking carefully about the potential consequences?

publish pictures of their friends with their permission?

Social networking websites are a modern cultural phenomenon. Facebook alone currently has 300 million active users, 150 million of which logon at least once a day. Each user has on average 130 ‘friends’, with the fastest growing demographic being in those who are 35 years old and over. Many are either unaware or do not care that lax security settings can enable everyone to read their information. Anyone can, for example, easily use a search engine to collect personal data from online sources such as Facebook profiles or Amazon wish lists. They can then use this information to create a complete personal profile.

It’s also important to consider that it is often impossible to completely delete photos or comments posted on social networking sites. These, in turn, may affect the way in which potential employers assess users’ job applications – even years down the line. “Think before you post”, the motto of Safer Internet Day 2010, is thus intended as a clear guideline to be followed when using social networks.

Insafe the European Safer Internet awareness-raising network co-funded by the European Commission, states:

New technologies have turned all of us, and mostly young people, into publishers of information, pictures, and videos. In addition, we can also manage our online identity in a way which may turn us into “celebrities”. While bringing about new opportunities for personal expression and creativity, new technologies may also lead to embarrassing or even traumatic situations. For example, photos, once posted online, remain online and can be seen by anybody, even years after they have been posted. Posting today photos from a fun party may have consequences on the way a potential employer considers a job application years later. Therefore, children and teenagers need to be empowered to manage their online identity in a responsible way, to be in control of their own online identity, and at the same time respect other people’s choices of posting or not certain information or photos online.

As part of the public awareness coordination role on behalf of the UK, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre have launched a micro-site at www.thinkuknow.co.uk/saferinternetdayuk which has been designed to give schools, teachers, parents, youth workers and child protection specialists some ideas and suggestions about how to get involved.  CEOP will also be launching new resources to teach online safety to 4-7 year old children.

Island Pulse are supporting Safer Internet Day 2010 by providing our website visitors with valuable links of information and interest:

• CEOP Safer Internet Day Resources – Child Exploitation and Online Protection offer links and activities, the website also allows you to discover related events taking place across throughout the UK.
• Lee and Kim’s Adventure – Animal Magic (Key Stage 1 – Ages 5-7) more here:
• ThinkUKnow – This website,  has interactive e-safety resources for children aged from 5-7, 8-10 and 11-16.
• Dongle the Rabbit – The BBC created this website for primary school children.
• Safer Internet Day - Insafe