Barry Sheerman

This year on 5th February, over 100 countries will be celebrating Safer Internet Day.

This year, Safer Internet Day will focus on uniting parents, children and their support networks to be ‘Together for a Better Internet’. Safer Internet Day aims to promote a national conversation on how the Internet can be used responsibly with respect towards others. In this modern age, our young people live out their lives on the Internet and recent studies have demonstrated how using it wrongly or irresponsibly can have huge impacts on adolescent mental health, futures and careers. Today, the campaign wants to help parents guide their children to use the Internet in a productive and safe way, and remind them that whatever they post is there forever, can be used maliciously, and may not be suitable for employers to view.

Safer Internet Day will educate children on how consent works in an online context – e.g when to ask permission, and when it’s unnecessary. If in doubt – ask! It will also educate the nation’s Internet users on when and how to report issues. At the centre of consent in an online context is the sharing of explicit pictures. It is imperative that children are educated that the sharing, possessing or taking of explicit pictures of underage persons is a criminal offence.

I would love for the local community to get involved with Safer Internet Day. You can register as a supporter using this link; https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2019/register-safer-internet-day-2019-supporter and if you want to help educate our children about using the Internet safely, use this link; https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2019/education-packs to find education packs.

#OurInternetOurChoice