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Getting Kids to Take Online Safety Seriously

When you ask students to think through their own scenarios about online safety, they’re more likely to look out for themselves and others.

Three high school students work on a laptop together

The top-line statistics about online safety for kids are troubling: According to a 2019 study by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, 40 percent of kids in grades 4-8 reported that they connected or chatted online with a stranger. Meanwhile, the Journal of Adolescent Health reports that approximately one in five youth experience unwanted online exposure to sexually explicit material. And the risks just come from strangers: Pew Research Center reports that 59 percent of kids have been bullied or harassed online.

ISTE standards for students don’t quite seem up to the task. While they touch on cyberbullying and data privacy and acknowledge that being a “digital citizen” means learning about the responsibilities and behaviors for interacting in this space, they don’t say a word about access to and sharing of inappropriate and explicit content—including the risk of kids making a naive but devastating misstep themselves.

That’s a big gap. The easy solution would be cut-to-the-chase lectures that treat cyber safety as a standalone topic, but lectures often fail to make meaningful connections with students. In our years of teaching cyber safety to kids, we’ve arrived at what we think is a better approach—one in which cyber safety instruction is woven into subjects such as language arts, social studies, math, PE, and electives like STEAM, health, or theater.

We’ve seen it again and again in our classes: When cyber safety is contextualized and personalized and provides students with an opportunity to create, apply, or synthesize higher-level ideas in their subject-specific areas, the learning is far more profound. Moreover, with a cross-curricular approach, students become more empowered digital citizens who want to share their stories, research the facts, and inform their peers.

Make use of compelling, relevant narratives

Narrative is relevant in most subjects, but we’ve discovered that in the context of ELA, sharing cyber safety narratives with an element of suspense gains students’ attention, gets them thinking critically, and gives them ideas for their own narratives. Start with short, narrative videos such as those from Storybooth , a site that animates real-life stories submitted by 7th-12th graders, including testimonies relevant to cyber safety. BrainPop , which is aimed at elementary teachers and students, also has cyber safety videos.

After watching a video, ask your students to pick a related prompt. For example, if you’ve just watched a video on private and personal information, offer these:

Explain why it can be risky to share information online.
What steps would you take to prevent your private information from being shared?
Create a T-chart of safe and unsafe information to share online.

Then they can write a response to the prompt and then turn and talk to a peer or share their responses in a whole group, e.g., “This reminds me of…” or “I wonder what would happen if…”

Or have your students write real or imagined narratives around topics of cyber safety. Start with story prompts such as, “A friend tells you that they are planning to meet up with someone they met through social media and wants you to come along. How do you respond?”

We have students work collaboratively on different story prompts related to cyber safety, then use a jigsaw approach where each group rotates to a completed story prompt with sticky notes to ask questions, share “a-ha” moments, and give peers feedback.

Storytelling with avatars and comics

Comics can both inspire and educate kids . Consider having your students create virtual avatars and comic strips with a tool like Pixton . They can create representations of themselves, classmates, peers, family members, or teachers who will play a role in the narratives they create (with permission, of course, from the represented people—yet another opportunity to model consideration and consent).

For example, kids could envision a scenario in which a high schooler meets someone they think is a peer online, agrees to meet them in person, realizes the gravity of the situation, and flees, and then depict that entire storyline in a comic strip format. The same thing can be done with scenarios related to sharing photos or a bank account number.

With digital comics, students can change backgrounds to build settings, vary facial expressions and body posture of their avatars, and learn technical skills like camera zoom to edit. Digital comics can launch discussions about other important topics, too, like the importance of nonverbal communication and how to support their peers when warning signs of cyber safety arise.

Practice problem-solving with scenarios

When students act out scenarios, they explore possible solutions to complicated problems with their peers. Pose scenarios and ask cooperative groups to act them out. Here's an example:

A group of classmates asks for your help to create a website about a teacher at your school. They want to include inappropriate pictures, images, and comments about her. What do you do?

With practice and trust, your students will likely want to write their own scenarios. Whether you teach health, theater, or creative writing, having kids write a script for a cyber safety situation can bring new energy into your classroom.

Integrate research

When students research facts about cyber safety issues, they build their critical thinking and media literacy skills and gain a clearer understanding of what cyber safety is and what affects it, both in terms of outside influences and their own behavior.

For example, in a social studies class, ask them to consider this scenario: “Your friend tags you in a picture at the beach on Instagram. Other users have begun to make comments that make you feel uncomfortable and don’t seem appropriate to post online. You’re worried that your mom will see it. What should you do?”

As part of the assignment, have students look at legislation related to cyber safety to understand the legal ramifications of bad (and sometimes illegal) behavior; advise them to add links and resources they’ve discovered. Using an online collaboration board such as Padlet, Jamboard, or with Nearpod or Pear Deck, you can also do “think-pair-share” activities rooted in online research.

Relevant research works in math, too, and the objectivity of numbers provides a nice counterbalance to personal narratives. A good infographic, for example, can prompt questions and robust discussion. Because infographics are data-rich, they can reinforce understanding of statistics and probability and help develop quantitative literacy.

Students can also create surveys using Google Forms and collect data from their peers about a cyber safety topic of their choice—they are often more interested in crunching numbers when working with a data set they’ve created or contributed to and care about. Once students have collected and analyzed their data, they can create a Canva infographic of their own, which can also be used for a “notice and wonder” conversation that they lead.

Cyber safety instruction helps students see the connections between good citizenship overall and digital citizenship . Students need to understand the facts, cause and effect, personal responsibility, and the importance of both etiquette and context. Most of all, they need to understand that the lessons of compassion they learn throughout their school years extend into the digital world. One of the best ways to be compassionate towards others (and themselves!) is to be safe online.

September 18, 2023

Here’s How to Actually Keep Kids and Teens Safe Online

Controversial policy proposals such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) are making headway across the country, but there are other ways to help protect young people in the digital world

By Lauren Leffer

Mother interacting with teenage boy who is woking on laptop with headphones

fotostorm/Getty Images

The Internet can be a risky place. There are endless feeds filled with posts that contain graphic sexual and violent content, glamorize eating disorders, encourage self-harm or promote discriminatory and offensive diatribes. People often share too much personal information with a too-public audience that includes cyberbullies and strangers with ill intent. And they also risk losing time: by spending hours online, they might miss out on experiences and growth opportunities that can be found elsewhere. These problems are particularly acute for children and teenagers, and new laws that attempt to protect youth from the Internet’s negative effects have their own serious downsides. Scientific American spoke with experts about the best evidence-backed ways to actually keep kids safe online.

Young people spend a huge chunk of their lives on the Internet. For most teens in the U.S., the bulk of their waking hours play out in front of network-connected screens, according to surveys from the nonprofit organization Common Sense and from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry . Kids younger than age 13 aren’t that far behind; they spend upward of five hours online daily.

Though the exact impacts of online activity aren’t yet well understood , it’s clear that what happens on the Internet does matter for young people’s well-being. “I don’t know that we can say ‘cause and effect’ at this point,” says Mary Alvord, a practicing psychologist who specializes in treating children and adolescents and is an adjunct associate professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine. “But we can make correlational statements,” she adds, noting that excessive time spent on social media has been associated with poor mental health among kids and teens.

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Both the U.S. Surgeon General and the American Psychological Association issued health advisories earlier this year about potential harms of online social media to youth. Each advisory is clear: online activity carries benefits and risks, and more work is needed to understand and mitigate the downsides.

In recent months lawmakers have introduced and enacted policies ostensibly aimed at doing just that. Multiple states have imposed age restrictions for certain types of online content. At the national level, the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has advanced out of a Senate committee and awaits consideration on the legislative floor. But experts are divided on whether age-restriction efforts and sweeping policies such as KOSA are set to help young people or harm them.

Proponents of KOSA, including the American Psychological Association, say that the legislation could be a positive first step toward holding tech companies accountable for their impact. Conversely, critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union fear that some of its provisions will reduce online freedoms, restrict access to information and penalize vulnerable populations such as LGBTQ+ youth by leaving the moderation and definition of harmful content up to state officials, who may have their own political agendas. Earlier this month one co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, appeared to imply that in her state, KOSA would be used to block minors from accessing information about transgender issues. Jamie Susskind, Senator Blackburn’s legislative director, has denied the senator was making any claims about using KOSA to censor trans content. “KOSA will not—nor was it designed to—target or censor any individual or community,” Susskind posted on X (formerly Twitter).*

But these controversial policies aren’t the only way to promote online safety. Other legislative actions that are less focused on censorship, along with clear content guidelines and better social media design, could help. Plus, digital safety researchers and psychologists agree that getting families, schools and young people themselves involved would make a big difference in keeping kids safe.

Digital privacy legislation is one alternate policy path that might shift the online landscape for the better. “If people’s data is treated with respect in ways that are transparent and accountable, actually, it turns out a whole set of safety risks get mitigated,” says social psychologist Sonia Livingstone, who researches children and online media at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

A comprehensive data privacy bill could require social media companies to disclose when user data are being collected and sold—and to obtain consent first. This would help users make better choices for themselves, Livingstone says. Limiting the data that tech platforms amass and profit from could also help block the proliferation of algorithms that emphasize increasingly extreme content in order to hold social media users’ attention. Additionally, privacy legislation could ideally enable users to request the removal of content or data they no longer want online—potentially protecting kids (and everyone else) from their own short-term choices, Alvord says.

Beyond privacy, national guidelines for social media sites could help. Livingstone and Alvord suggest that a content rating system like those used for movies, TV shows and video games might help young people avoid inappropriate content—and allow families to set firmer boundaries. Design features that let users block others and limit the audience for specific posts allow kids and teens to take the reins of their own safety—which is critical, says Pamela Wisniewski, a Vanderbilt University computer scientist, who studies human-computer interaction and adolescent online safety.

Parental controls can be appropriate for younger kids, but teens need the chance to exercise autonomy online, Wisniewski says. Such freedom lets them engage in some of the Internet’s positive aspects: civic engagement opportunities, community and educational resources, identity exploration and connections beyond one’s own social bubble. To ensure these benefits are accessible to all, youth should be directly involved formulating regulations and safety strategies, Wisniewski adds. As part of her research, she holds workshops with teens to involve them in co-designing online safety interventions. Though this program, called Teenovate, is in the early stages, some ideas have already emerged from it. Among them: social platforms could provide “nudges” that would ask users to think twice before sharing personal data and prompt would-be bad actors to reconsider personal requests or bullying behavior.

Education is another important way to reach young people. They may be digital natives, but there’s a lot for them to learn about engaging with the Internet safely. “You ask young people what they would like to learn about in school; they would love better digital literacy,” Livingstone says. “They’d love to be taught about data ecology. They’d love to understand how algorithms work.” And existing coursework should adapt to include discussions of online issues, Wisniewski adds. For instance, sex education classes could add modules about dealing with sexual solicitation online or learning safer ways to “sext.” Studies suggest that sexting, or sharing intimate information via digital devices, is practiced by 25 percent to 35 percent of teenagers.

Engaging with the ways youth use the Internet instead of dismissing them is key to improving young people’s experience—at their schools, in their families and under policies that affect them. Kids and teens are often better versed in the latest apps and platforms than their parents are. This dynamic can breed misunderstanding and judgment, and it can make open conversations about online struggles difficult, says psychologist Mitch Prinstein, who studies technology and adolescent development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “We’ve inadvertently communicated to our kids that we don’t understand or care and [that] we’re not going to be empathic or interested in talking about their online experiences,” Prinstein explains. “What we should be doing is just the opposite: saying, ‘This seems really important, and you’re spending a lot of time on it.’”

From that place of openness and curiosity, caregivers are much better positioned to help kids and teens develop resilience and healthier online habits. The online world “isn’t good or bad,” Alvord says. “It’s what we make of it, how we use it, how much we use it.” Accepting that “it’s here to stay,” she says, is the first step toward finding real and meaningful safety solutions.

*Editor’s Note (9/18/23): This paragraph was updated after posting to include a comment made on social media by Jamie Susskind, Senator Marsha Blackburn’s legislative director.

Research article
Open access
Published: 05 June 2013

Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives

Megan A Moreno 1 , 4 ,
Katie G Egan 2 ,
Kaitlyn Bare 1 ,
Henry N Young 3 &
Elizabeth D Cox 1

BMC Public Health volume 13 , Article number: 543 ( 2013 ) Cite this article

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Internet use is nearly ubiquitous among US youth; risks to internet use include cyberbullying, privacy violations and unwanted solicitation. Internet safety education may prevent these negative consequences; however, it is unclear at what age this education should begin and what group is responsible for teaching this topic.

Surveys were distributed to key stakeholders in youth safety education including public school teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents. Surveys assessed age at which internet safety education should begin, as well as experiences teaching and learning internet safety. Surveys of adults assessed willingness to teach internet safety. Finally, participants were asked to identify a group whose primary responsibility it should be to teach internet safety.

A total of 356 participants completed the survey (93.4% response rate), including 77 teachers, 111 clinicians, 72 parents and 96 adolescents. Stakeholders felt the optimal mean age to begin teaching internet safety was 7.2 years (SD = 2.5), range 2-15. Internet safety was regularly taught by some teachers (20.8%), few clinicians (2.6%) and many parents (40.3%). The majority of teachers, clinicians and parents were willing to teach internet safety, but all groups surveyed identified parents as having primary responsibility for teaching this topic.

Conclusions

Findings suggest agreement among key stakeholders for teaching internet safety at a young age, and for identifying parents as primary teachers of this topic. Clinicians have a unique opportunity to support parents by providing resources, guidance and support.

Peer Review reports

While the internet has provided adolescents with numerous benefits, including increased social support, academic enrichment and worldwide cross-cultural interactions, there are concomitant risks to internet use [ 1 – 8 ]. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recent report on children’s social media use describes specific risks such as privacy violations and cyberbullying [ 9 ]. A previous study found that one-third of adolescents had given their internet password to friends and one-fourth were unaware that content uploaded online cannot be permanently deleted [ 1 ]. Cyberbullying, or internet harassment, impacts up to a third of youth and has been linked to a variety of health concerns, some as serious as suicidal ideation [ 10 – 15 ]. In addition, adolescents frequently display personal and identifiable information about themselves on the internet. These details may include their home location, revealing photographs, or descriptions of sexual behavior and substance use [ 16 – 18 ].

Internet safety is highly salient for today’s youth as they spend up to 10 hours a day using various forms of media [ 8 , 19 , 20 ]. The ever-increasing popularity of social media, including websites such as Facebook and Twitter, have contributed to youth’s time investment in the internet [ 7 ]. The vast majority of adolescents have internet access and most report daily use [ 21 , 22 ]. Several organizations, including the AAP, have offered expert advice regarding internet safety, but an evidence-based approach to educate youth about the dangers of being online does not currently exist [ 23 ]. Further, data to guide decisions about the age at which such education should begin, and who would have primary responsibility for teaching this topic are incomplete.

An ideal approach for teaching internet safety would likely involve a person or group who could reach most children in order to provide widespread dissemination of this knowledge. An ideal candidate would also have experience teaching about the internet or related safety issues, and be willing to invest in teaching this topic. Given that most US youth and adolescents attend public school, a first possibility is public school teachers. However, it is unclear at what grades and in which school subjects this material could be integrated into existing curricula. A second possibility is child health providers such as pediatricians or family medicine physicians. The AAP social media report argues that “pediatricians are in a unique position” to provide internet safety education [ 9 ]. Several resources exist to guide pediatricians in these discussions, but it is unclear whether pediatricians are comfortable in these discussions. Previous work has suggested that pediatrician’s performance of adolescent health behavior screening and prevention counseling regarding health risk behaviors is quite low [ 24 , 25 ]. A third potential candidate is the parent of the adolescent. While adults’ use of online media such as social networking sites continues to rise, data regarding parents’ comfort or experience with teaching internet safety remains elusive [ 26 ]. While all three groups undoubtedly should play a role in online safety education, it remains unclear which group is seen as holding primary responsibility among these stakeholders.

The purpose of this study was to investigate views of key stakeholders on internet safety education, including school teachers, clinicians who see children and adolescents, parents of adolescents, and adolescents themselves. Our goals were to investigate at what age internet safety education should begin, and to identify a primary candidate to teach this topic.

This study was conducted between July 1, 2009 and August 15, 2011 and received IRB approval from the University of Wisconsin Human Subjects Committee.

Setting and subjects

Participants in this study included public school teachers, health care providers who see children and adolescents, parents of adolescents, and adolescents themselves. School teachers were recruited from a summer continuing education conference within a public school district. This district includes 4 elementary schools, one middle and one high school. Inclusion criteria limited participants to teachers who taught kindergarten through 12 th grade within that public school district. Clinicians were recruited at a yearly regional continuing medical education conference; inclusion criteria limited participants to physicians (MDs and DOs), nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and nurses, all of whose practice included pediatric patients. Parents of adolescents were identified within a large general pediatric practice that includes 8 pediatric providers. Inclusion criteria for parents were that they had a child between the ages of 11 and 18 years. Adolescents (ages 11-18 years) were identified and recruited within this same large general pediatric practice. Most parents and teens were recruited as dyads. We did not exclude parents or teens who elected to participate in the study separately because we did not compare data between parents and teens.

Data collection and recruitment

In each recruitment setting, potentially eligible participants were approached by a research assistant. After explaining the study and obtaining consent, participants completed a paper survey. Survey respondents were provided a $5 gift card as compensation.

Survey design

The goals of the survey were to understand at what age internet safety education should begin, explore the experiences of adult participants in teaching online safety or the adolescents learning about this topic, and to identify a group who has primary responsibility for teaching this topic. Thus, we included all potential survey participants in the survey design process. Surveys were designed after a review of the literature and conversations with a panel of physicians, parents and researchers. Questions were pilot-tested first with a panel and then among teachers and adolescents. In the final survey items some words were modified to make the survey clear to all groups of participants. For example, among health care provider groups the question: “For how many years have you been in practice?” was changed for teacher groups to read: “For how many years have you been teaching?” All four surveys are included as Additional files 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 .

Data sources and variables

Participants provided demographic data including gender and age. Teachers were asked to disclose the grade levels they taught, subjects taught and years of teaching experience. Clinicians were asked to provide their training background (i.e. MD, NP), field of practice (Pediatrics, Family Practice) and years in practice. Parents provided their age, gender and the ages of their children. Adolescents were asked for their age, gender and grade in school.

Age to begin teaching internet safety

Teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents were asked to provide at what age internet safety education should begin. An “other” option was presented for write-in answers.

Candidates to teach internet safety

In order to identify potential candidates to teach internet safety, participants were asked about previous experiences teaching or learning about internet safety. Then participants were asked for their own willingness to teach this subject and to identify an ideal primary candidate to teach this topic.

Experiences teaching internet safety

To describe experiences in providing internet safety education, teachers were asked how frequently they had ever taught internet safety education. Clinicians were asked how frequently they had ever counseled patients on this topic. Answer options included regularly, sometimes, never and never but plan to do so soon. Parents were asked about how frequently they talked with their child about internet safety: regularly, sometimes, never and never but plan to do so soon (Table 1 ).

Adolescents’ experiences learning about internet safety

Adolescents were asked ways in which they had learned about internet safety. A list of answer options was developed through review of the literature and the web and then piloted with several adolescents to ensure completeness. Answer options included learning from friends, siblings, parents, teachers and clinicians as well as learning by self-teaching. A write-in “other” option was also provided. Adolescents were allowed to choose all applicable answers from this list.

Willingness to teach internet safety

Teachers were asked whether or not they supported teaching internet safety education in public schools. Health care providers were asked whether or not they supported teaching internet safety education in provider offices (yes or no).

All groups, including teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents were asked to select a candidate group whom they felt had primary responsibility for teaching internet safety to children and adolescents. Based on a review of current groups engaged in teaching this subject, answer options included churches, community groups, health care providers, law enforcement, parents and teachers. An “other” option was presented for write-in answers.

All statistical data analyses were conducted using STATA version 11.0 (Statacorp, College Station, TX). Descriptive statistics were calculated for survey responses. ANOVA was used to compare mean age to begin teaching between teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents. Logistic regression was used to assess whether experience teaching internet safety was associated with years of career experience.

Participants

A total of 356 participants completed the survey (93.4% response rate), including 77 teachers, 111 clinicians, 72 parents and 96 adolescents. Teachers had an average of 14.8 (SD = 8.4) years of teaching experience. The subjects that teachers taught included: health, social studies, language arts/English, special education, health and technology/computer skills. Clinicians included 68 (61.3%) physicians, 16 (14.4%) nurse practitioners, 15 (13.5%) physician assistants and 8 (7.2%) nurses. Their practice background was mainly pediatrics (61.3%) and family practice (27.9%). Clinicians’ years of experience averaged 14.5 (SD = 10.1). Parents were 81% female. Adolescents were 62.5% female and had an average age of 15.1 (SD = 2.3). Please see Table 2 for further descriptive information.

The overall mean age at which stakeholders indicated for starting to teach internet safety was 7.2 years (SD = 2.5), range 2-15. Teachers reported that the average age at which internet safety should be taught was 6.9 years (SD = 2.1), while clinicians felt the average age to start teaching this topic should be 7.3 years (SD = 2.4). Parents felt that internet safety education should begin at age 6.6 years (SD = 2.3). There were no statistically significant differences between these groups regarding age to begin teaching internet safety (p = .2). Adolescents reported that internet safety education should begin at age 8.7 years (SD = 2.4). Please see Figure 1 for a summary of recommended ages to begin internet safety education.

Age to begin teaching internet safety to youth.

Among teachers, 16 (20.8%) reported currently teaching internet safety, 51 (66.2%) had never taught it, and 4 (7.8%) had never taught it but planned to soon. The number of years teaching was not significantly associated with the likelihood to have taught internet safety.

Among clinicians, 3.6% regularly and 55% sometimes counseled patients on internet safety. One-third of clinicians (33.3%) had never counseled or taught patients about internet safety and a few clinicians (8.1%) had no experience with this but planned to begin soon. The number of years in practice was not associated with the likelihood to have taught internet safety (p = .6).

All parents reported discussing online safety with their children either sometimes (58.3%) or regularly (40.3%).

Experiences learning internet safety

Adolescents were asked to identify ways in which they had learned about online safety. Adolescents were permitted to select all options that applied. Adolescents selected people including teachers (87.5%), parents (75%), friends (41.7%), siblings (27.1%) and clinicians (11.5%). Some adolescents indicated that they had learned internet safety by being self-taught (27.5%).

Teachers uniformly reported supporting online safety education in public schools (100%). Clinicians almost uniformly supported providing online safety education in clinicians’ offices (99.1%).

All groups selected parents as the primary candidate to teach internet safety. Among teachers, 97% ranked parents as their first choice candidate, and 3% ranked teachers as first choice. Among clinicians 97% ranked parents as first choice candidate, and 3% ranked teachers as first choice. Among parents, 96% ranked themselves as first choice candidate, and 4% ranked teachers as first choice. Among adolescents, there was more variety in answers. Most adolescents (74.7%) ranked parents as first choice candidate, 13.8% ranked teachers as first choice, 5.7% ranked law enforcement as first choice, 1.5% ranked community as first choice, 3% ranked churches as first choice and 3% wrote in answers of making a movie related to online safety and making a powerpoint regarding online safety.

The results of this study illustrate several key points regarding promoting safe internet use among youth. Findings suggest general agreement among key stakeholders for teaching internet safety at a young age, and for identifying parents as primary teachers of this topic.

First, our findings regarding the suggested age to begin teaching online safety may seem younger than expected. The suggested age range of 6 to 8 years identified by participants suggests that internet safety education could begin in early grade school, around 1 st or 2 nd grade. However, given our current society’s focus on technology, it is likely that children are being introduced to computers at ever-younger ages. Data from 2010 suggests that almost 20% of 8 to 10 year olds spend time on social networking sites daily, in the past three years it seems likely that this percentage has grown [ 20 ]. Timing safety education with the onset of internet use may allow for the concomitant development of computer skills and safety skills. As with many health teachings such as nutrition or sexual behavior, providing education to children before dangers can arise is a key strategy to help youth integrate these lessons into their lives and prevent negative consequences.

Second, our findings include a general agreement among key stakeholders that parents should hold the primary responsibility for internet safety education. These findings are supported by a recent study in which teachers felt that parents should have the primary role in teaching this topic [ 27 ]. Interestingly, we found that while parents all reported that they regularly or sometimes teach internet safety, only 75% of adolescents reported hearing from parents on this topic. These conflicting findings may be due to social desirability on the part of parents reporting their teaching efforts, or that teens may underreport their parents counseling efforts as they may not recognize parent attempts to discuss these difficult topics. Previous work has found a similar disconnect between parent and pediatrician reporting of counseling on risk behaviors [ 28 ].

Finally, our findings suggest that parents are willing teachers in providing internet safety education, and that many report some experience in this area. However, while parents may be candidates to guide their children’s digital lives, some parents may feel underprepared for the task of instructing their children who have grown up as “digital natives.” Thus, health care providers and public health educators may have an unique opportunity to support parents by providing resources, guidance and support. Pediatricians who see adolescent patients have the opportunity to serve an important and perhaps familiar role. As with many other topics of health supervision including safety, nutrition and fitness, parents are the primary source of education for their children. However, in many of these health topics, clinicians and health educators are trusted sources for parents on how to talk with their children about these issues. Some child health providers may feel untrained or unprepared to answer questions about internet safety or cyberbullying given that these are relatively recent health concerns about which much remains unknown. Pediatricians can use American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines to recommend parental supervision of internet activities, decreasing or eliminating isolated screen time (ie, moving the computer to a public space), and having open discussions about the potential dangers of electronic media [ 23 ]. Pediatricians and educators can also partner with schools or other community groups, such as law enforcement, to provide consistent and reinforced messages about internet safety.

Limitations to this study include the regional focus of our data collection. Our study aimed to draw representation of populations of teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents within our region, the excellent response rates and distribution of participants within each category support that our results are generalizable within our region. However, there are other groups who may engage in teaching internet safety that were not included in this study such as churches and community groups. Second, it is notable that our study did not provide data on what methods would be best to provide internet safety education, this is a logical next step for future study. Third, we did not specify in the context of this study whether online safety should include additional technologies such as cell phones or texting. Fourth, data was collected by self-report, thus recall bias or overestimation of experience or willingness could have impacted our findings. Based on the varied stakeholders included in this study, there was some variation in data collected from each group.

Technology is now an integral part of life, and thus, part of the health of our patients. Our findings illustrate consensus around several groups with experience and investment in working with children and adolescents that parents should have primary responsibility for teaching internet safety. Our study highlights an opportunity for pediatricians to play a collaborative role with parents, patients and teachers to address the critical topics towards improving internet safety. Given the importance of this topic for today’s youth, it is likely that collaborative efforts are needed to provide consistent education about safety in the digital world.

Authors’ information

MM is an adolescent medicine physician who conducts research on the intersection of technology and health. KE is a medical student interested in pediatrics. KB studied consumer science and is interested in ways to improve internet safety education for youth. HY is a pharmacist and researcher with interest in provision of education to patients and parents. EC is a pediatrician and researcher interested in improving health systems and communication.

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Ybarra ML, Espelage DL, Mitchell KJ: The co-occurrence of Internet harassment and unwanted sexual solicitation victimization and perpetration: associations with psychosocial indicators. J Adolesc Health. 2007, 41 (6 Suppl 1): S31-S41.

Perren S, et al: Bullying in school and cyberspace: associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2010, 4: 28-10.1186/1753-2000-4-28.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Agatston PW, Kowalski R, Limber S: Students’ perspectives on cyber bullying. J Adolesc Health. 2007, 41 (6 Suppl 1): S59-S60.

Hinduja S, Patchin JW: Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Arch Suicide Res. 2010, 14 (3): 206-221. 10.1080/13811118.2010.494133.

Hinduja S, Patchin JW: Personal information of adolescents on the Internet: A quantitative content analysis of MySpace. J Adolesc. 2008, 31 (1): 125-146. 10.1016/j.adolescence.2007.05.004.

Moreno MA, et al: Display of health risk behaviors on MySpace by adolescents: Prevalence and Associations. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009, 163 (1): 35-41. 10.1001/archpediatrics.2008.502.

Back MD, et al: Facebook profiles reflect actual personality, not self-idealization. Psychol Sci. 2011, 21 (3): 372-374.

Jones S, et al: US College Students’ Internet Use: Race, Gender and Digital Divides. J Comput-Mediat Commun. 2009, 14 (2): 244-264. 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01439.x.

Rideout VJ, Foehr UG, Roberts D: Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8 to 18 year olds. 2010, Menlo Park: Kaiser Family Foundation

Lenhart A, Purcell K, Smith A, Zickhur K: Social media and young adults. 2010, Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Sun P, et al: Internet accessibility and usage among urban adolescents in Southern California: implications for web-based health research. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2005, 8 (5): 441-453. 10.1089/cpb.2005.8.441.

AAP: Media and Children. 2013, Available from: http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx

Halpern-Felsher BL, et al: Preventive services in a health maintenance organization: how well do pediatricians screen and educate adolescent patients?. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000, 154 (2): 173-179. 10.1001/archpedi.154.2.173.

Mangione-Smith R, et al: The quality of ambulatory care delivered to children in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2007, 357 (15): 1515-1523. 10.1056/NEJMsa064637.

Lenhart A: Adults on Social Network Sites. 2009, Pew Internet and American Life Project, http://www.pewinternet.org/Infographics/Growth-in-Adult-SNS-Use-20052009.aspx ,

Zogby: The State of K-12 Cyberethics, Cybersafety and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the United States. 2011, The National Cyber Security Alliance, http://www.staysafeonline.org/download/…/2011_national_k12_study.pdf ,

Cheng TL, et al: Determinants of counseling in primary care pediatric practice: physician attitudes about time, money, and health issues. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999, 153 (6): 629-635.

Pre-publication history

The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/13/543/prepub

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Award Number K12HD055894 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The funding organization had no role in the design, collection of data, analysis or interpretation on the data in this manuscript. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Michael Swanson and Jay Farnsworth to this project.

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Megan A Moreno, Kaitlyn Bare & Elizabeth D Cox

School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

Katie G Egan

School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

Henry N Young

Seattle Childrens Research Institute, University of Washington, M/S CW8-6, PO Box 5371, Seattle, WA, 98145-5005, USA

Megan A Moreno

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Correspondence to Megan A Moreno .

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The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Authors’ contributions

MM conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, participated in analysis and wrote the manuscript. KE and KB participated in data collection and helped to draft the manuscript. HY and EC participated in analysis and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Additional file 1: survey given to teachers.(doc 28 kb), additional file 2: survey given to clinicians.(doc 29 kb), additional file 3: survey given to parents.(doc 31 kb), additional file 4: survey given to adolescents.(doc 28 kb), authors’ original submitted files for images.

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Moreno, M.A., Egan, K.G., Bare, K. et al. Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives. BMC Public Health 13 , 543 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-543

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-543

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Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives

Megan a moreno.

1 School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

4 Seattle Childrens Research Institute, University of Washington, M/S CW8-6 PO Box 5371, Seattle, WA 98145-5005, USA

Katie G Egan

2 School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

Kaitlyn Bare

Henry n young.

3 School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

Elizabeth D Cox

Associated data.

Conclusions

While the internet has provided adolescents with numerous benefits, including increased social support, academic enrichment and worldwide cross-cultural interactions, there are concomitant risks to internet use [ 1 - 8 ]. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recent report on children’s social media use describes specific risks such as privacy violations and cyberbullying [ 9 ]. A previous study found that one-third of adolescents had given their internet password to friends and one-fourth were unaware that content uploaded online cannot be permanently deleted [ 1 ]. Cyberbullying, or internet harassment, impacts up to a third of youth and has been linked to a variety of health concerns, some as serious as suicidal ideation [ 10 - 15 ]. In addition, adolescents frequently display personal and identifiable information about themselves on the internet. These details may include their home location, revealing photographs, or descriptions of sexual behavior and substance use [ 16 - 18 ].

This study was conducted between July 1, 2009 and August 15, 2011 and received IRB approval from the University of Wisconsin Human Subjects Committee.

Setting and subjects

Data collection and recruitment

Survey design

Data sources and variables

Age to begin teaching internet safety

Teachers, clinicians, parents and adolescents were asked to provide at what age internet safety education should begin. An “other” option was presented for write-in answers.

Candidates to teach internet safety

Experiences teaching internet safety

Demographic data

Adolescents’ experiences learning about internet safety

Willingness to teach internet safety

Participants

Experiences teaching or counseling about internet safety

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is 1471-2458-13-543-1.jpg

Age to begin teaching internet safety to youth.

All parents reported discussing online safety with their children either sometimes (58.3%) or regularly (40.3%).

Experiences learning internet safety

Teachers uniformly reported supporting online safety education in public schools (100%). Clinicians almost uniformly supported providing online safety education in clinicians’ offices (99.1%).

Competing interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Authors’ contributions

Authors’ information

Pre-publication history

The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/13/543/prepub

Supplementary Material

Survey given to teachers.

Survey given to clinicians.

Survey given to parents.

Survey given to adolescents.

Acknowledgments

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Lenhart A, Madden M. Social Networking Sites and Teens: An Overview. Pew Internet and American Life Project; 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_SNS_Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf . [ Google Scholar ]
Lenhart A, Madden M, Hitlin P. Teens and Technology: Youth are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation. Pew Internet and American Life Project; 2005. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Tech_July2005web.pdf . [ Google Scholar ]
O’Keeffe GS. et al. The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics. 2011; 127 (4):800–804. doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0054. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Patchin JW, Hinduja S. Cyberbullying and self-esteem. J Sch Health. 2010; 80 (12):614–621. doi: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2010.00548.x. quiz 622-4. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Lenhart A. Cyberbullying and Online Teens. Pew Internet and American Life Project; 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP%20Cyberbullying%20Memo.pdf . [ Google Scholar ]
Ybarra ML, Espelage DL, Mitchell KJ. The co-occurrence of Internet harassment and unwanted sexual solicitation victimization and perpetration: associations with psychosocial indicators. J Adolesc Health. 2007; 41 (6 Suppl 1):S31–S41. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
Perren S. et al. Bullying in school and cyberspace: associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2010; 4 :28. doi: 10.1186/1753-2000-4-28. [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Agatston PW, Kowalski R, Limber S. Students’ perspectives on cyber bullying. J Adolesc Health. 2007; 41 (6 Suppl 1):S59–S60. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide. Arch Suicide Res. 2010; 14 (3):206–221. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2010.494133. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Personal information of adolescents on the Internet: A quantitative content analysis of MySpace. J Adolesc. 2008; 31 (1):125–146. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2007.05.004. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Moreno MA. et al. Display of health risk behaviors on MySpace by adolescents: Prevalence and Associations. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009; 163 (1):35–41. doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2008.502. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Back MD. et al. Facebook profiles reflect actual personality, not self-idealization. Psychol Sci. 2011; 21 (3):372–374. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
Jones S. et al. US College Students’ Internet Use: Race, Gender and Digital Divides. J Comput-Mediat Commun. 2009; 14 (2):244–264. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01439.x. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Rideout VJ, Foehr UG, Roberts D. Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8 to 18 year olds. Menlo Park: Kaiser Family Foundation; 2010. [ Google Scholar ]
Lenhart A, Purcell K, Smith A, Zickhur K. Social media and young adults. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project; 2010. [ Google Scholar ]
Sun P. et al. Internet accessibility and usage among urban adolescents in Southern California: implications for web-based health research. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2005; 8 (5):441–453. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2005.8.441. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
AAP. Media and Children. 2013. Available from: http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx .
Halpern-Felsher BL. et al. Preventive services in a health maintenance organization: how well do pediatricians screen and educate adolescent patients? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000; 154 (2):173–179. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.154.2.173. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Mangione-Smith R. et al. The quality of ambulatory care delivered to children in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2007; 357 (15):1515–1523. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa064637. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Lenhart A. Adults on Social Network Sites. Pew Internet and American Life Project; 2009. http://www.pewinternet.org/Infographics/Growth-in-Adult-SNS-Use-20052009.aspx . [ Google Scholar ]
Zogby. The State of K-12 Cyberethics, Cybersafety and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the United States. The National Cyber Security Alliance; 2011. http://www.staysafeonline.org/download/…/2011_national_k12_study.pdf . [ Google Scholar ]
Cheng TL. et al. Determinants of counseling in primary care pediatric practice: physician attitudes about time, money, and health issues. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999; 153 (6):629–635. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]

Youth Internet Safety Education: Aligning Programs With the Evidence Base

Affiliations.

1 Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
2 Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
3 The Net Safety Collaborative, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
PMID: 32242503
DOI: 10.1177/1524838020916257

Background: This review critically examines the messages of youth internet safety education programs in the light of research about both the dynamics of internet dangers and the efficacy of youth prevention education.

Methods: Using terms "internet safety education" and "digital citizenship," a Google search identified 12 multi-topic safety programs. Review articles were identified via Google Scholar for six forms of online harm to youth that have been targeted by many of these programs: cyberbullying (19 articles); online sexual exploitation (23 articles); sexting (19 articles); online fraud, hacking, and identity theft (6 articles); online suicide and self-harm promotion (18 articles); and internet overuse or addiction (15 articles).

Findings: There appear to be mismatches between dynamics revealed in the research about internet harms and the messages emphasized in educational programs, particularly on the issues of sexual exploitation and sexting. Overall, the review literature also suggests major advantages to integrating internet safety into already well-established and evidence-based programs currently addressing related off-line harms, for example, programs focusing on general bullying, dating abuse, or sexual abuse prevention. The advantages stem from four factors: (1) the considerable overlap between online harms and similar off-line harms, (2) the apparent greater prevalence of off-line harms, (3) the evidence that the same risk factors lie behind both online and off-line harms, and most importantly, (4) the substantially superior evidence base for the longer standing programs developed originally around the off-line harms.

Keywords: cybersafety; digital citizenship; online safety; technology education.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Bullying* / prevention & control
Citizenship
Cyberbullying*
Sex Offenses*

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Internet Safety for Kids - Teaching Kids About Internet Safety

Internet safety for kids -, teaching kids about internet safety, internet safety for kids teaching kids about internet safety.

Internet Safety for Kids: Teaching Kids About Internet Safety

Lesson 1: teaching kids about internet safety, teaching kids about internet safety.

Intro illustration for Internet Safety for Kids

The Internet can be a wonderful place to learn, shop, play games, and talk to your friends. Unfortunately, there are also predators, identity thieves, and others online who may try to harm you. In order to be safe online, it's important for you and your kids to be aware of the dangers.

Many kids are confident that they know how to be safe online. However, there are a few reasons kids are often more at risk. They may not always think about the consequences of their actions, which can cause them to share too much information about themselves. Kids also are sometimes specifically targeted by cyberbullies or predators.

If you're a parent or guardian, you can help to keep your kids safe by talking to them about their Internet use , teaching them about online dangers , and learning everything you can about the Internet so you can make informed decisions.

About this tutorial

This tutorial is designed for any parent or guardian who wants to learn how to keep their kids safe online. You may want to review our Internet Safety tutorial first so you'll have a basic understanding of online safety. Throughout this tutorial, we'll link to other resources you can use if you want more information. We'll also link to some activities, videos, and other resources that are geared toward kids and teens. You may want to show these resources to your kids or even work through them together.

If you want to learn the basics of using the Internet, you can also check out our Internet Basics , Email 101 , and Beyond Email tutorials.

Understanding online dangers

In order to keep your kids safe, you'll need to know about the different types of online dangers that exist. For example, kids and teens may find inappropriate content on the Internet, such as pornography or obscene language. There is also a possibility of cyberbullying or cyberharassment from others online. This does not mean your child will encounter all of these threats. However, knowing about the dangers can help you and your kids make smart decisions online.

Review the interactive below to learn about some of the dangers kids can encounter online.

Malware is malicious software that is designed to damage your computer or steal your personal information . It includes viruses, spyware, and other types of software.

Malware is often secretly bundled with other software, and it can also infect email attachments.

Cyber-stalking

Cyber-stalking is any kind of harassment or threatening behavior that occurs online. It can happen through instant messaging, text messaging, email, or social networks. If the perpetrator is a child or teen, it is often called cyberbullying .

In the online world, piracy refers to illegally sharing copyrighted materials . This can include music, movies, TV shows, and software. For many kids, sharing files may seem innocent, but it can result in stiff penalties.

Phishing is a type of scam where the scammer tries to trick you into revealing your personal information . Usually, it involves an email, instant message, or website that is designed to look like it's from a legitimate company.

The Internet contains a lot of content you probably don't want your kids to see, including pornography, violent content, and vulgar language .

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is bullying that occurs online , often through instant messaging, text messaging, email, and social networks.

Cyberbullies may be the same age as the victims, or they may be older. If the perpetrator is an adult, it is generally called cyber-stalking or cyberharassment .

Revealing too much

Many kids and teens like to post photos and share information about themselves. In some cases, this information can be used by online predators .

It's also possible for an embarrassing photo to damage a kid's or teen's reputation . This can affect their social life, and it may even come back to haunt them years later when they're applying for a job.

Other types of dangers

Whenever someone uses a computer, there is a risk of eye strain , wrist strain , and other injuries . You can help prevent this by limiting the amount of time your kids spend on computers and mobile devices. For tips on avoiding injury, read Creating a Safe Workspace in our Computer Basics tutorial.

There's also another reason to limit your kids' Internet use: Because people are spending more and more time online, Internet addiction is becoming a more significant problem. Internet use can be a good thing, but if it becomes an addiction it can affect a person's offline life.

Places where dangers can occur

It's important for kids to be careful whenever they're connected to the Internet because online dangers are not just limited to bad websites . Chat rooms, computer games, and even social networking sites can be risky. If your kids have mobile phones, they'll also need to be careful when texting or when accessing the Internet on their phones.

Review the slideshow below to learn about some of the places online where kids can be at risk.

Guidelines for keeping your kids safe

It can be difficult to keep your kids completely safe online. Even if you set up parental controls on your home computer, your kids will use many other computers that don't have parental controls. To keep your kids safe, you'll need to teach them to make good decisions online—even when you're not around.

Below are some general tips you can use when teaching your kids about online safety:

Learn everything you can about the Internet. Being familiar with the Internet will not only help you understand the risks, but it will also help you talk to your kids.
Set standards for what your kids can and cannot do online. It's important to make rules for your kids so they know what's expected of them. Don't wait until something bad happens to start creating guidelines.
Teach your kids to keep personal information private . It's usually a bad idea to post personal information online such as phone numbers, addresses, and credit cards. If criminals gain access to this information, they can use it to harm you or your family.
Teach your kids to use social networking sites safely. Sites like Facebook allow kids—and adults—to share photos and videos of themselves, as well as have conversations with friends and strangers. If your kids share something with friends, it's still possible for it to get into the wrong hands. Generally, they should only post something online if they're comfortable with everyone in the world seeing it.
Encourage your kids to come to you if they encounter a problem. If your child gets into trouble online, you'll want him or her to come to you instead of hiding it. Keep in mind that your kids could accidentally encounter a bad site, even if they're doing everything right.
Talk to your kids about Internet use. Talk to your kids regularly about how they use the Internet. If they're in the habit of talking to you about the Internet, they'll be more willing to come to you if there's a problem.

The Federal Trade Commission has videos and other resources you may find helpful. Watch the following video to learn more about talking to your kids about Internet safety.

Minimizing risks at home

If you have a home computer your kids use, there are some extra precautions you can take to make it safer. Remember that your kids will probably use many other computers, and these precautions won't keep them safe when they're not at home. Also, keep in mind that these are merely suggestions; depending on your parenting style and your kids' ages, you may choose not to use all of them.

Keep the computer in the living room or in another common area. By putting the computer in a common area of the house, you can reduce the chance that they'll talk to strangers or visit inappropriate websites. For teens, you may choose to give them more freedom about where they use the computer (especially if they have their own computers).
Install antivirus software. Viruses and other malware are a risk for any computer (although Macs are slightly safer). To protect your computer, you can install antivirus software such as BitDefender or Norton .
Use a kid-friendly search engine. Regular search engines may return results with inappropriate content you don't want your kids to see. However, there are some search engines that are designed to only return kid-friendly results (although there is still the possibility of inappropriate results getting through). Examples include KidTopia and KidRex.org .
Use parental controls. Windows and Mac OS X allow you to add parental controls to user accounts. These include time limits , website restrictions , and controlling which applications can be opened . You can also buy parental control software like Net Nanny , which has versions for Windows and Mac.

Creating an Internet safety contract

Once you've established Internet guidelines, you may want to put them in writing. You can create an Internet safety contract your kids can sign, and then you can keep a copy of it near the computer.

There are also premade contracts you can download and print. One example is the Family Online Safety Contract , which you can download from the Family Online Safety Institute . In addition to a contract, it includes a contract for parents, which contains guidelines you may find helpful.

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Small child’s hand on a laptop computer keyboard.

Vulnerable children most at risk from online harm, report finds

Parents, schools and tech companies urged to find ways to protect children without removing their internet access

Britain’s two million most vulnerable children are seven times more likely to come to harm online than their peers, according to a study by Internet Matters, the online safety body.

Yet those children are also more likely to rely on the internet for support and entertainment, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, the not-for-profit group said.

It called for parents, schools and technology firms to find ways of protecting children, without removing their access.

The report, Refuge and Risk , by the consultancy Youthworks in partnership with Internet Matters, surveyed 14,449 children aged 11 to 17, of whom 6,500 self-identified as having one or more vulnerabilities, such as being in care, being autistic or having an eating disorder.

The study found that 40% of children with three or more vulnerabilities had experienced cyberbullying or racist or homophobic comments, compared with 11% of their peers.

They were also three times more likely to be the victim of a scam or come across harmful content involving topics such as pro-anorexia, self-harm or suicide.

Yet 86% of autistic teenagers in the survey and 82% with learning difficulties said that the internet opened up lots of possibilities for them, compared with 62% of other children.

Amber Aldridge, 15, is autistic and has high anxiety. Her mother Sarah, the co-director of the social enterprise Autism Apprentice , said that interacting using a screen helped her daughter feel safer and that her experience of school had improved during the pandemic.

“In everyday life, Amber finds making friends a challenge but through playing games such as Minecraft on her Xbox she has been able to connect with others and have those important social interactions, helping her develop friendships and the social skills that you need in everyday life,” she said.

Not having to travel to school had reduced her daughter’s anxiety, Aldridge said.

“During the pandemic, technology has been really great for Amber. Particularly with FaceTime, she can still feel connected to her grandparents. She’s actually doing a lot better through online learning as she’s able to focus a lot more.”

Claire Levens, policy director at Internet Matters, said: “The impulse of parents to protect [their children] by stopping them going online is not the answer, as this may lead to a double-whammy for the child, taking away an important part of their personal and social life that they deeply rely on.

“Instead, we need to create a culture where vulnerable young people are routinely asked about their online lives so they can carry on engaging, but safely, especially at a time when we know children are using the internet and gaming more to stay in contact with their friends throughout the pandemic and home schooling.”

Levens said online safety education did not work for vulnerable children: “We want to work together with parents, carers, educational professionals and tech companies to ensure training and resources are brought up to date.”

Adrienne Katz, director of Youthworks, who co-authored the report with Aiman El Asam at Kingston University, said vulnerable children depend on the internet, and escape into it, and are “deeply hurt” when things go wrong.

“It is of paramount importance that we look at meaningful ways we can make it a much safer experience for them,” she said.

“We should urgently review training and resources surrounding vulnerable young people and move away from a one-size-fits-all approach.”

The Observer
Internet safety
Online abuse

Sensitizing young children on internet addiction and online safety risks through storytelling in a mobile application

Published: 13 July 2019
Volume 25 , pages 163–174, ( 2020 )

Cite this article

Fotis Lazarinis 1 ,
Kyriaki Alexandri 2 ,
Chris Panagiotakopoulos 3 &
Vasileios S. Verykios 1

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A Correction to this article was published on 27 August 2020

This article has been updated

This study presents a novel application which through storytelling attempts to improve the understanding of students with respect to online risks. Each short story presents a situation that children face while surfing the Internet. Through the emotions of the virtual characters and the existence of specific visual clues the tool seeks to make students to deliberate on the online activities and alter their attitudes. The design goals of the application and specific visual stories are first presented in the paper and then the paper is evaluated with the participation of teachers and students who provided us with positive feedback and some ideas for future improvements. The main findings of our research are discussed and potential extensions are presented.

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“Who’s Texting?” – Playful Game Experiences for Learning to Cope with Online Risks

An Interactive Game for Changing Youth Behavior Regarding E-cigarettes

Cyber Chronix, Participatory Research Approach to Develop and Evaluate a Storytelling Game on Personal Data Protection Rights and Privacy Risks

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The original version of this article unfortunately contained a couple of mistakes.

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Lazarinis, F., Alexandri, K., Panagiotakopoulos, C. et al. Sensitizing young children on internet addiction and online safety risks through storytelling in a mobile application. Educ Inf Technol 25 , 163–174 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09952-w

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Received : 10 January 2019

Accepted : 19 June 2019

Published : 13 July 2019

Issue Date : January 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-019-09952-w

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Online Education: An introduction

1 Online Education: An introduction
2 Online Education: Bridging the gap—No learner left behind
3 Online Education: Learning for themselves—developing learner independence
4 Online Education: Befriending the anxious mind—mindfully
5 Online Education: Assessing students’ needs and lacks
6 Online Education: Evaluation and Assessment when Teaching Online
7 Online Education: Online Safety
8 Online Education: Engaging Teens? It’s Not All About Technology …
9 Online Education: Attending to Our Students’ Well-being
10 Online Education: Teaching Young Learners Online
11 Online Education: Moving Your School Online
12 Online Education: Parents as Temporary Teachers
13 Online Education: Online Lessons that Are Active and Interactive

Online Education: Online Safety

By Jo Budden

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Jo Budden explores the impact that increased use of online technology can have on children’s safety. Jo looks at issues of concern and provides clear, practical guidance on how to make sure children operate in a safe online environment.

There are lesson materials including a worksheet and teacher’s notes at the bottom of the article .

Introduction

During the Covid-19 pandemic, technology became a lifeline and enabled everyone to continue working, studying and socialising, despite being confined at home. Technology continues to be used even more creatively and helps us continue working, learning and ‘seeing’ our friends and family. We can thank technology for new ways of celebrating birthdays, taking regular exercise and supporting each other.

With more children than ever spending long periods of time online, often unsupervised, knowledge of online safety is more important than ever. As classrooms were moved online during the pandemic, how many children were given online safety advice? How many schools and teachers made sure that their learners would be able to stay as safe as possible? These questions came to mind as I saw my own two primary-aged children move into online learning, with zero advice given to them from their school about online safety, I can only imagine that millions of children globally were in the same boat.

Now, no one would send a young child outside on their own without having taught them how to cross a road and few would give a teenager a car without giving them driving lessons first. So, why are young people given access to technology without showing them how to use it safely? The myth that young people are ‘digital natives’ who are born knowing how to do everything online has long since been debunked. Children and teens need help to successfully navigate their way through their digital lives.

Conversations about online safety need to be ongoing as at different ages they will need different information and support. It’s not a topic to ‘do’ in class just once and then tick off as ‘job done’. Online safety should be brought into the classroom and discussed regularly at both home and school as children grow up. Every child will need someone to guide them and teachers can play a key role in this.

Main dangers for children online

Before we think about how we can best protect children online, let’s briefly look at some of the main dangers. Without an understanding of the potential risks it’s hard to fully justify the time invested in teaching and talking about online safety. There are links in the sources below that will expand on these topics, if more information is needed.

Inappropriate content If children are left unsupervised online on devices with open access to the internet they will, sooner or later, see things that are not appropriate for their age group or level of maturity. Online content, including exposure to violence, sexual imagery or hate speech can be extremely distressing for children. In addition, there are many cases of children having easy access to groups of people encouraging self-harm and suicide - the results of which can be tragic. No matter how ‘private’ a child’s own account is on social media, they are able to see the content of the accounts of millions of other users.
Cyberbullying Online bullying can be traumatic for children as it can follow them 24 hours a day. It can result in serious mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Children need to know how to block and report bullies online, and they need to seek support from a trusted adult as soon as problems arise.
Sexual exploitation ‘Stranger danger’ used to be something that children were warned about when they went to play in the local park. Online sexual predators befriend children online, often pretending to be the child’s age or offering presents or treats. Children need to be made aware that not everyone is who they present themselves to be online, and they must know how to act and react if they’re ever approached by someone they don’t know online.
Misleading information Fake news and misleading information is everywhere and children need to know that not everything they see or read online is true. Critical thinking skills are more important than ever. Many scams are directed deliberately at young people who may be more vulnerable and accepting of what they read online.
Tech addiction and screen time There are differing opinions on how addictive technology is, but common sense tells us that young people need to have balanced lives where they do a wide variety of activities. To grow up healthy, young people need to get enough physical exercise, outdoor time, face-to-face interactions and sleep. Screen time can often come at the expense of time spent on these activities.

Tips for safeguarding children online

These tips are deliberately general. They’ll need simplifying and adapting for the age, language level, maturity and context of your learners in order to get the messages across simply and easily. With lower level learners in monolingual classes, safety guidelines should be given in the children’s first language to ensure the messages were understood.

Think before you post It’s best to consider anything a person posts online to be permanent. As soon as a message is shared, someone can take a screenshot of it and it can be online forever. So, take care what messages are shared.
Keep passwords safe When learners are old enough to use their own passwords they need to know to keep them safe and private.
Don’t share personal information Children should never share their home addresses, email or phone number online.
Tell an adult if anything you see online upsets you This is key. Children must know who to talk to if they ever see anything that makes them feel upset.
Check security and privacy settings Take time to read about and explore the security information and ensure the account is as private as it can be. Use two-factor authentication if available and learn how to block and report unwanted messages.
Balance screen time Ensure a healthy balance of screen time and keep an eye on the clock. Most phones have screen time monitors so it’s good to check weekly and see how much time is actually being spent and try to reduce it if it’s getting out of control. Video games can easily become addictive and take time away from other activities so it’s a good idea to track time being spent on different online activities.

Digital well-being

The Royal College of Psychiatrists published a report in January this year entitled ‘Technology use and the mental health of children and young people’, which makes for uncomfortable reading. Overuse and misuse of digital technology can have very serious consequences. Digital addiction, lack of sleep, fear of missing out, and the need for seeking personal approval in the form of ‘likes’ can all contribute to increased levels of anxiety and depression amongst young people. The more adults are aware of this, the better placed they are to be able to encourage a healthy and positive relationship with technology.

Explore apps and games that children and teens use

Parents and teachers are better placed to discuss online behaviour and safety if they’re familiar with online environments that the children are spending time in. One way to do this is to spend some time exploring the space where children are (or want to be!). Play the games with them, have a look around the sites and apps with them and decide together if it’s a good way to be spending time.

A recent request from a 12 year-old to start using a new social media app required the parent and child to spend some time reading the Community guidelines (a real eye-opener!) and exploring the type of content she would gain access to. After less than an hour of investigation, the answer was a clear ‘no’. Apart from the fact that the age limit was 13, the app was addictive the content lacked empathy, and the videos contained suggestive or sexual content.

Open communication

To conclude, the main point that runs throughout is the importance of having open conversations with our children and our learners about online safety and their digital lives. All children need to have at least one trusted adult to turn to for advice or if things go wrong. It can be a teacher, a family member or an older friend. When online safety and digital well-being are talked about and discussed openly, only then can parents, teachers, and children begin to really make the most of the amazing opportunities that the digital world offers - for learning, for socialising, for having fun and for bringing the world closer together.

UNICEF Children in a digital world: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2017_ENG_WEB.pdf

Digital divide: https://cs.unu.edu/news/news/digital-divide-covid-19.html

Digital natives myth: https://www.danah.org/

Tech addiction: https://humanetech.com/problem/

Technology use and the mental health of young people: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/improving-care/better-mh-policy/college-reports/college-report-cr225.pdf

Inappropriate content: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/advice-and-info/online-pornography-keep-child-safe.pdf

Community guidelines example: https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines

Nicholas Kardaras, Glow Kids , Macmillan 2016

Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation , Penguin Press 2015

Susan Greenfield, Mind Change , Penguin Random House 2015

Online Education: Online Safety—Worksheet

Online education: online safety—teacher's notes.

Intermediate
Printable Worksheet
Up to 60 mins

Online Education: Bridging the gap—No learner left behind

Online Education: Learning for themselves—developing learner independence

Online Education: Befriending the anxious mind—mindfully

Online Education: Assessing students’ needs and lacks

Online Education: Evaluation and Assessment when Teaching Online

Online Education: Engaging Teens? It’s Not All About Technology …

Online Education: Attending to Our Students’ Well-being

Online Education: Teaching Young Learners Online

Online Education: Moving Your School Online

Online Education: Parents as Temporary Teachers

Online Education: Online Lessons that Are Active and Interactive

Advancing Teaching: Online Interactive Lessons

By Mike Hogan

Learn about how to create interactive online lessons in this Advancing Teaching article and video.

By Joanne Ramsden

Joanne Ramsden provides strategies to help young learners and teens bridge the knowledge gap resulting from the closure of schools due to the pandemic.

By Anna Hasper

Anna Hasper examines what learner independence means and gives practical suggestions to help young learners take more responsibility for their learning.

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Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?

Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University

Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania

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Brendon Hyndman is Senior Manager - Research, Innovation and Impact with Brisbane Catholic Education.

Vaughan Cruickshank does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone away.

What are online schools doing now? What does the research say? And how do you know if they might be a good fit for your child?

Online learning in Australia

Online learning for school students has been around in basic form since the 1990s with the School of the Air and other government-run distance education schools for students who are geographically isolated or can’t attend regular school.

But until the pandemic, online schooling was largely considered a special-case scenario. For example, for students who are in hospital or training as an elite athlete.

While learning in COVID lockdowns was extremely tough, it also showed schools, students and parents the potential benefits of online learning for a wider range of students. This can include greater accessibility (learning from any location) and flexibility (personalised, self-paced learning).

Students who have mental health challenges or who are neurodiverse particularly found learning from home suited them better. There is also less hassle with transport and uniforms.

This has prompted an expansion of online learning options in Australia.

Primary and high school options

Some schools have been developing online subjects and options to sit alongside in-person classes. For example, in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, some Catholic schools are using online classes to widen subject choices.

Some private schools have also begun fully online or blended online/in-person programs in the recognition some students prefer to learn largely from home.

There are also specialist courses. For example, Monash University has a free virtual school with revision sessions for Year 12 students.

A boy sits at a desk with a computer and notepad.

Read more: Australia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn't suit your child?

What about academic outcomes?

Research on the academic outcomes of distance education students is inconclusive.

For example, a 2019 US study of around 200,000 full-time online primary and secondary students showed they had less learning growth in maths and reading compared to their face-to-face peers.

A 2017 study of primary and high school students in Ohio found reduced academic progress in reading, maths, history and science. Another 2017 US study also found online students had lower graduation rates than their in-person peers.

Research has also found it is difficult to authentically teach practical subjects online such as visual arts, design and technology and physical education.

But a lot of research has been limited to a specific context or has not captured whether online learning principles have been followed. Online teaching approaches need to be different from traditional face-to-face methods.

These include ensuring there is an adequate number of teachers allocated and personalised attention for students, and ways to ensure collaboration between students and parental engagement with the school.

What about wellbeing?

Online schooling approaches are still catching up with the support services provided by in-person schools. This includes access to specialists such as psychologists, nurses and social workers.

Some research has noted concerns about online student engagement , social isolation , sense of belonging and social and emotional development .

But COVID showed schools could address these by starting the school day with wellbeing check-ins or supporting mental health through meditation, deep listening journals and taking nature photos.

Online approaches now also include having mentor teachers or summer programs to meet in-person as well as online clubs for students to socialise with each other.

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Read more: As homeschooling numbers keep rising in Australia, is more regulation a good idea?

Is online learning a good fit for your child?

Traditional schooling might still be the best option for families who do not have good internet access, or the flexibility or financial freedom to work from home and support your child.

However, if certain subjects are unavailable, or health, elite sport and distance to school make in-person learning difficult, learning online could be a viable option to consider.

Because online learning tends to be a mix of live lessons and self-paced learning, online students need to be independent, motivated and organised to succeed.

The best online learning programs to look out for are those that provide a lot of opportunities for students to learn from each other.

Online learning should also include an active teacher presence, wellbeing support, and quality, interactive digital resources. There should also be flexible approaches to learning and assessment.

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The Online Safety Act: what it means for children and professionals

An adult and a young person use a laptop together

The online world plays a huge role in the lives of children and young people. Social media, online gaming, instant messaging platforms and image-sharing services enable children to interact with their peers, develop and pursue interests, and connect with new communities. However, these platforms and services also come with risks, including online abuse, grooming , and exposure to content that is illegal or harmful.

The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out to minimise these risks, placing new legal duties and responsibilities on online service providers to keep children and young people safe online.

How will the Online Safety Act help keep children safe?

The Act means that tech companies running social networking sites or search engines must promote online safety by tackling illegal material and content that is harmful to children, conducting regular risk assessments, and properly enforcing age limits.

To make sure companies meet these requirements, the government has placed the independent regulator Ofcom in charge of enforcing the regulatory framework and raising awareness around online safety.

Tackling illegal and harmful content

Companies will now need to prevent, detect and remove illegal content. This includes content depicting, promoting or facilitating:

child sexual abuse
controlling or coercive behaviour

Companies must prevent children from accessing content that is harmful or age-inappropriate. This includes content depicting, promoting or facilitating:

pornography
serious violence
eating disorders.

Regular risk assessments

Companies must assess the risks and dangers that their platforms pose to the safety of children. If risks are identified, companies are required to act by putting mitigations in place.

Larger companies will also need to publish a summary of their risk assessments, promoting increased transparency around the risks that online platforms and services pose to children.

Enforcing age limits

If harmful or age-inappropriate content is present on a platform, companies must use age verification or age estimation tools to prevent children from encountering this type of content.

Companies will have to declare which age assurance tools they are using, if any, and show that they are enforcing their age limits.

How will the Online Safety Act be enforced?

Ofcom will be working with tech companies to make sure they are protecting their users and following the requirements set out in the Act. Their draft guidance and codes of practice are currently under consultation and will come into force once approved by parliament.

If companies fail to comply with the new rules, Ofcom have powers to enforce:

fines of up to £18 million, or 10% of the company’s annual global turnover, whichever is greater
criminal action against companies and/or senior managers who fail to comply with requirements or fail to follow requests from Ofcom
business disruption measures, including preventing companies from being accessed or generating income in the UK.

How will the Online Safety Act affect professionals working with children?

The Act places the onus on tech companies to keep children safe on their services and platforms. Although the Act won’t affect your duties as a professional, it’s important to be aware of changes that may impact your professional practice.

Social media companies will have to provide adults and children with clear, accessible and easy-to-use ways to report problems and make complaints online if harms arise. So if you think a site is falling short of the required standards, it should be easy to raise your concerns with the platform.

If you have ongoing concerns about a platform, you can make a complaint to Ofcom. While Ofcom cannot respond to individual complaints, this information can help them to assess which services are complying with the regulation. 1

The Act also introduces new criminal offences, including:

an intimate image abuse offence, which makes it a crime to share an intimate image of someone without their consent
a ‘cyberflashing’ offence, which criminalises sending an explicit image for the purpose of sexual gratification or to cause the recipient humiliation, alarm or distress.

It’s important that you are aware of these new offences, and that you know what steps to take if you need to support a young person who has had an image shared without their consent, or who has received or sent an explicit image.

> Find out more about responding to instances of nude image sharing

More online safety information for professionals

> Find out more about social media and online safety

> Read about the 4 Cs of online safety in this blog

> Take our CPD-certified Online safety elearning course

> See online safety guidance and resources for schools

About the author

Rani Govender is a Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer for Child Safety Online at the NSPCC, influencing change in legislation and policy to tackle the preventable abuse and harm children experience online.

Online safety training

Reduce the risks children encounter online by getting up to date on how they use the internet and other digital platforms. Buy our online safety training for £30.

E-safety for schools

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Online safety policy statement and agreement

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Smart learning: AI resources every educator should know

April 18, 2024.

By Microsoft Education Team

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On April 19 in the United States, we celebrate National AI Literacy Day , a nationwide initiative aimed at fostering understanding and engagement with AI. With developments in AI happening so quickly and new products and features launching all the time, it can be difficult to keep up. We want to equip you with the knowledge needed to navigate the world of AI. We’ve gathered some resources, activities, and training to help you get up to speed on all things AI, and how it can be useful in education. In addition to the items below, you’ll find a collection of AI for education resources and learning opportunities on the Microsoft Learn Educator Center .

AI literacy is crucial in today's digital age, where AI technologies are increasingly integrated into our daily lives. Our latest insights from the AI in Education: Microsoft Special Report demonstrate a disconnect—use of AI in education is outpacing the understanding of the technology. There’s an urgent need to increase AI literacy and AI integration in strategic priorities, standards, policies, and professional development.

For educators, it's about preparing your students for a future where AI will be a fundamental part of many professions. It’s also about guiding learners to use AI tools safely and responsibly, ensuring they understand the implications of AI on privacy and data security. By fostering AI literacy, we can shape a future where everyone can navigate and benefit from AI advancements confidently and responsibly. Whether you’re a teacher, parent/guardian, or curious learner, here are some valuable resources to enhance your AI literacy from Microsoft Education .

11 resources for educators to amp up your AI literacy

A teacher sitting at a desk in a classroom and working on a laptop with a group of students working at table in the background.

For National AI Literacy Day 2024, explore the AI in education professional development opportunities available from Microsoft.

AI in education professional development

AI for Educators training : Spend a few hours on your professional development and learn about the history of AI, large language models (LLMs), generative AI, how to create a prompt, and uses of AI in education. The AI for Educators Learning Path on Microsoft Learn is made up of three modules: “Empower educators to explore the potential of artificial intelligence,” “Enhance teaching and learning with Microsoft Copilot,” and “Equip and support learners with AI tools from Microsoft.” From now until April 30, 2024, participate in the AI skills challenge for educators and benchmark your progress against fellow educators and friends.
Flip AI for educators series : Flip offers free professional development training sessions that provide easy-to-follow instructions, best practices, and inspiration on various topics, including AI! You can catch up on the great AI for educators series events that have already happened, and be sure to register for upcoming professional development events as well.
Microsoft Education AI Toolkit : The Microsoft Education AI Toolkit provides education leaders with relevant background knowledge, strategies, and recommendations for launching AI initiatives in K-20 settings. It also includes customer stories and technical profiles that showcase how institutions around the globe are already using AI for teaching, learning, and administration. What’s inside of the toolkit provides those in charge with the necessary information that they need to jumpstart their own AI journey. Learn more about the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit and how to use this resource in this article: Kickstart your school’s AI journey with the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit .

Get started using Microsoft Copilot in education

Introduction to Microsoft Copilot : Learn all about Microsoft Copilot, your AI-powered assistant for education. Get an overview of how to use Copilot, as well as ideas and inspiration for how you can use Copilot to save time, differentiate instruction, and enhance student learning. You can save or print this quick guide to Microsoft Copilot to refer back to as needed.
Copilot resources for education : Dive deeper into what Copilot can do with resources for education. Whether you’re an educator, IT professional, or parent/guardian, you’ll find helpful resources to get started using Copilot.
Copilot lab : While it’s not specific to education, the Copilot lab is a great resource to help you learn more about Copilot, how to write a prompt, and ideas of how to get started using Copilot.

Improve your students’ AI literacy, too!

By fostering AI literacy, together we can shape a future where everyone can navigate and benefit from AI advancements.

Classroom toolkit: Unlocking generative AI safely and responsibly is a creative resource that blends engaging narrative stories with instructional information to create an immersive and effective learning experience for educators and students aged 13-15 years. The toolkit is designed to assist educators in initiating important conversations about responsible AI practices in the classroom, such as the critical topics of content fabrications, privacy considerations, bias awareness, and mental wellbeing.
Minecraft AI Prompt Lab : Embracing the ever-changing world of education calls for innovation and tech-savvy teaching methods. The Minecraft AI Prompt Lab is a new series of resources that demonstrates how to use Microsoft Copilot with Minecraft Education to design amazing learning experiences. Crafted for educators like you, this game-changing guide is here to revolutionize the way you deliver educational content with Minecraft. In Prompt Lab: Module 1 , learn how to write prompts, develop learning content and assessments, and generate creative ideas for lesson plans will help you unlock the power of game-based learning with Minecraft Education. In Prompt Lab: Module 2 , learn the basics of Code Builder, the in-game coding feature of Minecraft Education.

Minecraft Hour of Code: Generation AI : All students deserve opportunities to explore AI technology to understand its implications, access career pathways, and be empowered to safely, confidently navigate an AI-powered world. Designed for anyone ages 7 and up, Minecraft Hour of Code: Generation AI is a fun, accessible way to explore the fundamentals of coding and responsible AI. Students will venture through time to create helpful AI-powered inventions to solve problems and make daily life easier. Learn coding basics and essential principles of computer science, all while encouraging thoughtful discussions around responsible coding and AI development. With free downloadable educator resources exploring the amazing potential of AI has never been more exiting or immersive!

Online safety and information literacy are the foundation of AI literacy

Microsoft Family Safety Toolkit : To help young people, educators, and families navigate the digital world, Microsoft has also released an online safety resource, the Microsoft Family Safety Toolkit . This toolkit provides guidance on how to leverage Microsoft’s safety features and family safety settings to support and enhance digital parenting, plus guidance for families looking to navigate the world of generative AI together. Bonus resource for young children: PBS Kids launched an educational series on AI supported by Microsoft.
Search Progress and Coach : Empowering learners to seek, evaluate, and use online sources responsibly is a critical step in helping them to navigate AI-generated content and the wider information ecosystem with confidence. This short course on our newest Learning Accelerators, Search Progress and Search Coach , showcases how educators can help foster information literacy skills through any research-based assignment in Microsoft Teams for Education.

Let’s celebrate knowledge, curiosity, and the transformative power of AI. Join us this National AI Literacy Day to explore these resources and take a step towards a more informed and inclusive future with AI. Whether you're an educator looking to bring AI into the classroom or a parent guiding your child in the digital world, these resources will equip you with the knowledge to embrace AI's potential responsibly. Let's celebrate the day by committing to lifelong learning and curiosity in the ever-evolving field of AI.

How to celebrate Earth Day 2024 with your students

Spark your students' curiosity with Earth Day activities and more from Microsoft. From video games to projects, try these fun Earth Day activities for your class.

Stay ahead with 8 new updates from Microsoft Education

We recognize that teachers often look for new and effective ways to engage their students and support their learning goals. That's why we're constantly working to improve Microsoft Education solutions, features, and training, so you can have access to powerful classroom tools for teaching.

Gearing up for Computer Science Education Week

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Computer Science Education Week! All year round, but especially December 4–10, 2023, we aim to inspire students to engage in computer science with opportunities to learn about AI, advocate for equity in digital careers, and become responsible coders.

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Columbia to hold classes virtually as Jewish leaders warn about safety amid tensions over pro-Palestinian protests

A growing number of leaders and organizations have called on Columbia University and its president to protect students amid reports of antisemitic and offensive statements and actions on and near its campus, which has been the site this week of a pro-Palestinian encampment and protest .

The protest and encampment on campus have drawn attention to the right of free speech and the rights of students to feel safe from violence, with a campus rabbi recommending Jewish students return home for their own safety.

Early Monday, Columbia President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik said that classes would be held virtually Monday and that school leaders would be coming together to discuss a way to bring an end to “this crisis.”

For live coverage of the student protests, follow here.

In a statement to the university community, Shafik said she was “saddened” by the events on campus, and denounced antisemitic language, and intimidating and harassing behavior.

“The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days. These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia who have come to campus to pursue their own agendas,” she said. “We need a reset.”

Shafik's announcement followed mounting calls for action.

In a letter shared on social media Sunday, Chabad at Columbia University said students have had offensive rhetoric hurled at them, including being told to “go back to Poland” and “stop killing children.”

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement Sunday that protesters in and around Columbia cross the line if they say violence should befall Jewish students.

“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous — they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America,” he said.

“Echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable,” Bates continued, referring to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, where 1,200 were killed.

Pro-Palestinian Protests Continue At Columbia University In New York City

Protesters have decried Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip , which has displaced over 75% of the estimated 2.3 million people in the enclave and killed over 34,000 people there, according to Gaza health officials. They have also called on Columbia to divest from companies connected to Israel.

One of the groups at the center of campus protests, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, released a statement Sunday night on X seeking to distance its participants from unlawful agitators and imagery that would cast the movement to end attacks on civilians in Gaza as one of violence.

The group called some of those getting attention for threats and aggression “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us” and said its members “have been misidentified by a politically motivated mob.”

“We firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry,” the statement said.

Safety concerns

In a letter to Jewish students earlier Sunday, Rabbi Elie Buechler, of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel and Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life, recommended they return home and stay there, saying it was clear the university and city police “cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy.” Buechler declined requests for an interview.

The Columbia Jewish Alumni Association on Sunday sent a letter to Shafik noting the rabbi’s concerns and claiming that the environment on campus has been hostile for Jewish students, including those it said have been “openly threatened and harassed.”

Alleging lax enforcement, the group urged Columbia to “enforce the university rules with regard to protests and harassment and restore order and safety on campus.”

Nicholas Baum, a freshman at Columbia, said he’s weighing the rabbi's invitation to leave.

“I feel disturbed but I feel it is completely indicative of the horrible disturbances that Jews on campus have been feeling,” he said. “As a Jew, I no longer feel welcome on campus. I no longer feel safe on campus.”

At the same time, he joined a counterargument gaining volume: Staying put is a statement of strength. “It would only appease campus protesters who call supporters of Israel Zionists who are not welcome at Columbia,” Baum said.

Columbia senior Sonya Pozansky said protests on campus have been transformed from political statements to “incitement to violence and Jew hatred.”

NY: Pro Palestinian Protest at Columbia University.

Columbia/Barnard Hillel said in a post on X that it doesn’t believe Jewish students should have to leave, but that the university and city should do more to protect students.

In a letter Sunday night , it said Columbia “must put an end to the on-campus protests that violate the University’s events policies. Off-campus protests need to be moved if the protestors will not end their harassment of students.”

Columbia on Sunday responded to concerns with a plan to beef up security. It includes hiring 111 additional security personnel; improved ID checks; extra security during Passover, which begins Monday; and heightened security around the perimeter of campus, the university’s office of the chief operating officer said in a letter to the campus community.

Columbia said through a spokesperson earlier Sunday that students have a right to protest “but they are not allowed to disrupt campus life or harass and intimidate fellow students and members of our community.”

“We are acting on concerns we are hearing from our Jewish students and are providing additional support and resources to ensure that our community remains safe,” the spokesperson said.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Columbia alum whose name is on the Jewish student center he helped to fund, said in a statement Monday that he no longer supports the university.

"I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken," Kraft posted to social media .

Arrests on campus

On Thursday, 113 people were arrested after Shafik sent a letter to New York police requesting its help to break up the encampment that had been set up on campus in support of Gaza.

Shafik said in the letter to police that the group was violating university rules and that the encampment "and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University." In a news conference about the arrests, police described those arrested as peaceful and said they offered no resistance.

Pro-Palestinian students' protests in Columbia University continue despite arrests

Columbia student Maryam Alwan, who helped organize the pro-Palestinian protest and was suspended and arrested, told MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin , “It feels like it’s part of a repressive campaign against pro-Palestine advocacy that has been going on for months now.”

She added, “We are being criminalized on our own campus.”

Also arrested was Isra Hirsi, daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who said she was suspended from Barnard College. Hirsi said the encampment has been community-centered, with students taking meals and praying together.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who grilled Shafik at a congressional hearing last week over antisemitism on campus, said Sunday that Shafik's response to the rhetoric has been ineffective and called on her to resign.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has been unwaveringly pro-Israel, slammed the protests on Columbia’s campus and said he agreed with the White House, calling the protests “antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous.” He also called on Shafik to “do your job or resign.”

Video shared on social media captured a protester Saturday holding a sign that said “Al-Qasam’s next targets,” referring to Hamas’ military wing. An arrow on the sign pointed up to counterprotesters waving Israeli flags. New York Mayor Eric Adams described the sign in a statement Sunday and said the display, which he characterized as antisemitic, had him “horrified and disgusted.” He also described chants of “We don’t want no Zionists here” as “hate speech.”

Adams said police would enforce the law where it could, but in many cases law enforcement is limited because Columbia is on private property.

“Hate has no place in our city, and I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any violation of law that is reported,” Adams said in the statement. “Rest assured, the NYPD will not hesitate to arrest anyone who is found to be breaking the law.”

In a news conference Monday morning, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber said “any sort of criminality is not going to be tolerated” and “that includes harassment, or threats or menacing or stalking or anything like that. That is not protected by the First Amendment.”

But “absent some ongoing crime, we cannot just go on into Columbia as we see fit,” as Columbia University is private property, he said.

Gerber said there have been a “small number of instances with some protests on campus where there was a request for police presence” by the university.

Police went onto campus Thursday because the university contacted the NYPD and asked for assistance as students had trespassed, but when it comes to university rules, such as those about setting up tents on campus, “we are not the enforcers of those rules.”

The NYPD has received reports of instances such as flags’ being snatched away from Israeli students walking on campus and “hateful things” said to some Israeli students, but “we haven't received any reports of any physical harm against any student,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said.

Universities protest in solidarity

Columbia is one of a growing number of American universities to erupt in discord amid the Israel-Hamas war.

A protest encampment has cropped up at the New School in Manhattan in solidarity with pro-Palestinian voices at Columbia. The institution on Sunday called the encampment “unauthorized,” but said it was planning on meeting with students to “resolve the situation.”

Following a week of protests at Yale University, some of its students established a 24-tent encampment in New Haven, Connecticut, in solidarity with Columbia’s protesters over the weekend.

The Yale protesters want the private university to divest from criminal defense contractors as a way of reducing warfare against people in Gaza.

Boston-area institutions Tufts University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Emerson College hosted protest encampments over the weekend in solidarity with Columbia protesters, organizers said.

The University of Southern California in Los Angeles was criticized last week after it canceled the speech of a valedictorian whose social media account had a link to a document expressing support for Palestinians in Gaza. USC said it decided based on concerns over security and possible disruption .

George Solis is a national correspondent with NBC News.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Education | Columbia University shifts to online classes as…

Education | Columbia University shifts to online classes as safety fears, pro-Palestinian protests continue

Pro-Palestinian protesters are pictured outside Columbia University on Broadway and W. 115th St. on Monday, April 22, 2024. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News)

Columbia University, on edge amid growing concern about safety and antisemitic rhetoric on a campus rocked by protests and encampments, made all classes remote Monday, the first night of Passover.

University President Minouche Shafik said the goal is to “deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps,” before meeting with Gov. Hochul and developing new safety plans for students during the Jewish holiday. Cops said there were no credible threats from the protests.

“Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy,” Shafik said in a statement. “Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus.”

Pictures from inside the pro-Palestine encampment on the southwest lawn at Columbia University campus. (Roni Jacobson for New York Daily News)

Columbia previously said remote learning would be an option for students who requested accommodations, before changing course and going all-remote for Monday.

“Let’s sit down and talk and argue and find ways to compromise on solutions,” Shafik said, announcing a new working group of deans, administrators and faculty to “try to bring this crisis to a resolution” and meet with student protesters.

“I know that there is much debate about whether or not we should use the police on campus, and I am happy to engage in those discussions,” said the president, who added that better adherence to university policies would make a NYPD presence unnecessary.

The announcement came four days after the NYPD, at the university’s request, cleared the encampments on the south lawn and took more than 100 students into custody. All but a handful were issued summonses for trespassing.

After protesters slept on the grass for three nights without any sort of shelter, the encampment returned on Sunday , just yards away from the site of the original tents.

While most of campus was deserted Monday with the shift to remote, more than 100 students remained on the lawn in over two dozen tents as protests continued around the perimeter of campus, outside its gates. By the afternoon, hundreds of Columbia faculty and staff “walked out” of their virtual classes to protest police involvement, they told the Daily News.

“It was incredibly inspiring to see so many faculty with such diverse politics come together around common causes of protecting our students from the police and a vindictive politicized university administration,” said Joseph Howley, an associate professor of classics and a Jewish member of faculty,

On Sunday, Mayor Adams said he was “horrified and disgusted” by reports of a protester on campus, who held a sign pointed toward pro-Israel students saying they were Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qasam’s “next targets.”

Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of more than 100 student groups that organized the tent demonstration, slammed characterizations of their protest as antisemitic or menacing.

“We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us,” the group said in statement.

“We have been peaceful,” it continued. “We will remain until moved by force or Columbia concedes to our demands” including to divest from Israel and reverse all student and faculty discipline measures related to pro-Palestinian activism.

Hochul: Many students not feeling safe

Hochul met Monday with city and university officials and Columbia students to discuss balancing public safety with people’s right to peacefully assemble and have freedom of speech.

“My No. 1 job is to keep people in this state safe,” she said after the meetings. “And right now, there are many students not feeling safe on campus.

“I was once a student protester. I protested institutions, I protested governments, I protested against apartheid. But I’ve never seen a level of protest that is so person-to-person, and is so visceral, and I’m now calling on everyone: People need to find their humanity. Have the conversations, talk to each other, understand different points of view — because that’s what college students should be doing.”

While much of Columbia’s response to events on campus is up to administrators, Adams said the NYPD will go on private property if there is an imminent threat of danger.

“What we are seeing playing out on many of our college campuses, and particularly Columbia University, is hate,” he said Monday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.” “We’re seeing vile language being used, and at no time should we call for the destruction of anyone, should we call for violence toward anyone.”

University officials condemned the return of the campus encampment and warned additional students could face discipline after some who faced suspensions last week lost university housing.

“Students do not have permission to set up tents on the lawn,” a university spokesman said in a statement. “Those who do are in violation of longstanding university policy and will be identified and subjected to disciplinary action.”

Columbia has more than doubled the number of guards and supervisors per shift and added private security personnel along the perimeter of campus, university officials announced.

Passover escorts

For students who choose to remain on campus, Columbia is providing escorts to walk students to and from Passover seder and services, according to a memo from the campus Hillel. NYPD will be at the Jewish student life center throughout the eight-day holiday, it said.

“It is unacceptable that I need to send this email in 2024,” Brian Cohen, the Lavine Family executive director of Hillel, wrote to students. “The university continues to fail to enforce its rules, despite escalating antisemitic harassment and around-the-clock protest activity on and around campus.”

While no students have reported incidents of physical harm to the NYPD, there have been reports of flags being taken and hateful rhetoric, cops said at a Monday press conference outside the campus gates.

“We have received reports that Israeli students were walking on campus, had their flags taken away from them, snatched out of their hands,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry. “We also received reports that the [pro-]Israel students, there was some hateful things that was said toward them.”

A Jewish freshman who left campus a day early for Passover because of the protests told The News that a pro-Palestinian protester had seized his classmate’s Israeli flag.

“One of my friends, it was his flag,” said E.A., who declined to share his full name. “He took it away before they could burn it. Someone had a lighter out. They had taken it and were about to light it on fire when he took it back.”

Columbia in crisis?

The latest chapter in the ongoing tension over Gaza at Columbia began last week as Shafik readied for a congressional hearing on the university’s response to antisemitism , dubbed “Columbia in Crisis.” On campus Wednesday, students began occupying a lawn with dozens of tents, which they called the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.”

University administrators warned students to leave and began notifying them Thursday of suspensions. By the afternoon, Shafik called in the NYPD, which wore riot gear, to clear the lawn.

But the sweep appeared only to embolden the demonstrators who continued to camp out on the lawn while they chanted, hosted lectures, danced and held screenings throughout the weekend. Four progressive City Council members joined students while protesters along the perimeter of campus continued to show support for their cause.

“Like the student leaders of the encampment, we condemn the horrific, antisemitic calls that occurred over the weekend from adjacent protestors seemingly unassociated with the student protest,” read a statement Monday from the Council’s Progressive Caucus.

“It is vital that, in the same breadth, we condemn Shafik and [Barnard College Laura] Rosenbury’s asymmetric crackdown on a coalition of … students advocating for Palestinian rights.”

While some Jewish students participated in the demonstration, others reported feeling uneasy in and around campus. One university rabbi warned Jewish students to stay home , and more than 100 students signed onto an open letter asking to attend classes online “until the situation has entirely deescalated.”

“The only time I don’t feel safe is when the NYPD enters our campus to arrest us,” said a Jewish sophomore at the encampment, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In recent days, student protesters on other local college campuses, including New York University and The New School, have erected anti-war encampments of their own to back the Columbia students and call for divestment from Israel. In New Haven, Conn., cops arrested close to 50 protesters for trespassing after a student-led tent demonstration.

With Roni Jacobson and Michael Gartland

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Protestors gather at Columbia University on April 24, 2024 in Manhattan. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

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Research paper Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education: Results from a rapid review of the international literature, expert review, and stakeholder consultation
Resilience and risk. Online safety education positively frames the use of technology, while also building awareness of factors that decrease and increase risk of harm. 3. Effective whole-school approaches. Online safety education is underpinned by effective whole-school approaches for promoting student wellbeing and preventing student harm. 4.
Getting Kids to Take Online Safety Seriously
The top-line statistics about online safety for kids are troubling: According to a 2019 study by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, 40 percent of kids in grades 4-8 reported that they connected or chatted online with a stranger. Meanwhile, the Journal of Adolescent Health reports that approximately one in five youth experience unwanted ...
Here's How to Actually Keep Kids and Teens Safe Online
Controversial policy proposals such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) are making headway across the country, but there are other ways to help protect young people in the digital world
Trends in Internet Safety Education by Healthcare Providers
Future Research. This study examined the trends in internet safety counseling by a small cohort of healthcare providers, practicing in the midwestern part of the United States. The results of the study found that provider training, comfort, and provision of internet safety counseling below optimum.
Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives
Internet use is nearly ubiquitous among US youth; risks to internet use include cyberbullying, privacy violations and unwanted solicitation. Internet safety education may prevent these negative consequences; however, it is unclear at what age this education should begin and what group is responsible for teaching this topic. Surveys were distributed to key stakeholders in youth safety education ...
Youth Internet Safety Education: Aligning Programs With the Evidence
Using terms "internet safety education" and "digital citizenship," a Google search identified 12 multi-topic safety programs. Review articles were identified via Google Scholar for six forms of online harm to youth that have been targeted by many of these programs: cyberbullying (19 articles); online sexual exploitation (23 articles); sexting (19 articles); online fraud, hacking, and ...
Keeping children safe online: A literature review
long-term impacts of existing cyber-safety program s and approaches. Purpose. The purpose of this literature review is to better understand h ow children and young people engage with the. digital ...
Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives
Stakeholders felt the optimal mean age to begin teaching internet safety was 7.2 years (SD = 2.5), range 2-15. Internet safety was regularly taught by some teachers (20.8%), few clinicians (2.6%) and many parents (40.3%). The majority of teachers, clinicians and parents were willing to teach internet safety, but all groups surveyed identified ...
Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education: : Results from a
In a world first, Australia's eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) was charged with developing a national framework for online safety education. The Framework was developed in a two-stage sequential mixed-methods study involving collaboration between researchers, eSafety, experts and stakeholders. Stage 1, a rapid review of eight evidence sources ...
PDF Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education
online safety issues, risks and harms. 5.1 Schools and teachers share good practice and learning to improve online safety education. 5.2 Engage in professional learning to build capacity and support the implementation of online safety education. 5.3 Review online safety education annually to identify strengths and weaknesses and
Youth Internet Safety Education: Aligning Programs With the ...
Methods: Using terms "internet safety education" and "digital citizenship," a Google search identified 12 multi-topic safety programs. Review articles were identified via Google Scholar for six forms of online harm to youth that have been targeted by many of these programs: cyberbullying (19 articles); online sexual exploitation (23 articles ...
Social media and online safety practices of young parents
The concept of online safety is sometimes divided into the 3Cs: concerns regarding content (illegal or inappropriate images, text or video), contact (by unknown or unsafe parties, particularly regarding children) and conduct (such as grooming, bullying or revenge porn) [].This schema focuses on threats by 'outsiders' to vulnerable users such as children who are framed as potential victims.
23 Great Lesson Plans for Internet Safety
The best internet safety lessons recognize the complexity of these topics and help students build the critical-thinking skills and habits of mind to navigate the dilemmas they encounter. Below are the best internet safety lesson plans for students in grades K-12. See the full Common Sense K-12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum for lesson plans ...
Online Safety (for Teens)
People don't always make good decisions or think straight when they're stressed out or upset. If you have to, call someone or go for a run instead before you start venting online. Second rule: When you're on a website, try to remain as anonymous as possible. That means keeping all private information private.
Online safety (e-safety) and schools
Online safety should form a fundamental part of schools' and colleges' safeguarding and child protection measures. By taking a whole school approach to online safety, you can help make sure all staff, governors, volunteers and parents know how they can help keep children safe online. Government guidance for schools across the UK highlights ...
Internet Safety for Kids: Teaching Kids About Internet Safety
Teach your kids to keep personal information private. It's usually a bad idea to post personal information online such as phone numbers, addresses, and credit cards. If criminals gain access to this information, they can use it to harm you or your family. Teach your kids to use social networking sites safely.
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The 4 Cs of online safety
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Online Education: Online Safety
Online Education: Online Safety. Jo Budden explores the impact that increased use of online technology can have on children's safety. Jo looks at issues of concern and provides clear, practical guidance on how to make sure children operate in a safe online environment. There are lesson materials including a worksheet and teacher's notes at ...
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The Importance of Employee Education and Training
Product Showcase. SlateSafety BAND V2. SlateSafety's BAND V2 is the most rugged, easy-to-use connected safety wearable to help keep your workforce safe and help prevent heat stress.

Getting Kids to Take Online Safety Seriously

Here’s How to Actually Keep Kids and Teens Safe Online

On supporting science journalism

Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives

Conclusions

Setting and subjects

Data collection and recruitment

Survey design

Data sources and variables

Age to begin teaching internet safety

Candidates to teach internet safety

Experiences teaching internet safety

Adolescents’ experiences learning about internet safety

Willingness to teach internet safety

Participants

Experiences learning internet safety

Authors’ information

Pre-publication history

Acknowledgments

Author information

Corresponding author

Additional information

Authors’ contributions

Electronic supplementary material

Authors’ original file for figure 1

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BMC Public Health

Internet safety education for youth: stakeholder perspectives

Katie G Egan

Kaitlyn Bare

Elizabeth D Cox

Conclusions

Setting and subjects

Data collection and recruitment

Survey design

Data sources and variables

Age to begin teaching internet safety

Candidates to teach internet safety

Experiences teaching internet safety

Adolescents’ experiences learning about internet safety

Willingness to teach internet safety

Participants

Experiences learning internet safety

Competing interest

Authors’ contributions

Authors’ information

Pre-publication history

Supplementary Material

Acknowledgments

Youth Internet Safety Education: Aligning Programs With the Evidence Base

Publication types

Internet Safety for Kids - Teaching Kids About Internet Safety

Internet Safety for Kids: Teaching Kids About Internet Safety

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Understanding online dangers

Cyber-stalking

Cyberbullying

Revealing too much

Other types of dangers

Places where dangers can occur

Guidelines for keeping your kids safe

Minimizing risks at home

Creating an Internet safety contract

Vulnerable children most at risk from online harm, report finds

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Sensitizing young children on internet addiction and online safety risks through storytelling in a mobile application

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Cyber Chronix, Participatory Research Approach to Develop and Evaluate a Storytelling Game on Personal Data Protection Rights and Privacy Risks

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