Keeping young people safe online

This year Safer Internet Day is Tuesday 11 February and Horsham District Council is supporting the campaign by sharing tips and advice on how to keep young people safe online.

The global theme of the campaign is ‘together for a better internet’, with a focus on how young people explore and express their identity online.

Tricia Youtan, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Matters and Wellbeing commented, “We all read about how young people can be targeted or bullied online, or perhaps have access to inappropriate material, so it’s important for us to know how to talk to them to keep them safe.”

There are things that you can do as a family to ensure young people stay safe while still having an online presence. The following are some suggestions on how to help you and your family stay safe and positive online.

• Talk regularly with your child about how they use technology, how they like to express themselves online and how being online makes them feel. Listening to your child will give you the best possible idea of how you can support them.

• The internet allows lots of different people to communicate and come together. It might be the first place your child encounters people who are different to them, or it may be the one place where they can find people similar to them. Discuss diversity and inclusivity with your child, and talk to them about being respectful to everyone online. And make sure they understand how important it is to let you know if they are being abused or bullied online.
• Tools like parental controls can help you manage the devices used by your family and protect your child from seeing inappropriate content.
• It is natural to worry about the risks posed by your child being online, but the internet is now a part of everyone’s lives. Get involved by spending time with your child interacting with the things they do online. Talk to them about safe choices they can make, rather than overwhelming them with restrictions.
• It can sometimes feel like young people are the experts in all things digital but remember – you are the life experts. The steps you can take to support your child online include using privacy settings on social media. You don’t need to know all the answers straightaway but reassure your child that you can figure it out together.

For more support and tips, visit www.saferinternetday.org.uk.

For media queries please email press@horsham.gov.uk .