Digital safety

If you open yourself to the benefits and opportunities of the internet, you expose yourself to its risks and dangers at the same time. While many mainstream media as well as social media discussions of internet dangers for young people are exaggerated and ill-informed, it’s true that there are some safety issues. It is therefore important to put into place well-considered educational strategies which offer young people guidance on possible risks. There are a number of areas to consider, as outlined below.

Traditionally, the greatest risks have been seen as:

• • cyberbullying, which, depending on how it is defined, is regularly found by researchers to affect large numbers of young people
  • cyberpredation, which, although a serious crime, affects a very small proportion of youth
  • exposure to inappropriate material, which, depending on what is considered to be inappropriate, is found to affect varying numbers of young people

The greatest risks are found where conversations are not publicly viewable, such as in interactive social media channels and apps (notably through chat & messaging). Other risks are found in verbal bullying or in the dissemination of embarrassing or hurtful multimedia material on social networking or social sharing platforms.

It has become clear that it’s equally important to educate youth to safeguard their privacy online and to be aware that material they post to social networking or social sharing sites may leave a permanent data trail or digital footprint (sometimes also called a digital shadow). In particular, it’s important to advise young people – and indeed, adults – to tighten up their privacy settings on social networking sites, and not to give out personal data unnecessarily. This will help safeguard them from identity theft, as well as offering some protection from cyberbullying and cyberpredation.

As more and more companies and colleges conduct internet searches on potential candidates, and as more and more people check out online data about individuals they’re doing business with or interacting with on a social or personal level, it’s becoming increasingly important for all of us to manage our digital reputations. It’s vital to remind young people that inappropriate status updates or photos may negatively impact job and life opportunities far into the future while, conversely, evidence of engaged use of web 2.0 or social media tools, including rich PLNs, creative PLEs, or polished e-portfolios, can help create a positive impression of their skills and abilities.

Traditionally, education about digital safety has focused on protecting individuals from online dangers and risks, but recent discussions have begun to focus on how students might be encouraged to proactively develop a positive presence or influence online, as seen notably in the Singaporean Ministry of Education’s Cyber Wellness principles and the Australian eSafety Commissioner’s Respect principles.

There is an increasing level of concern about the mental and physical health effects of continuous connectivity, ranging from the rise of attention disorders through physical ailments like blurred vision or back and neck pain to disturbed sleep cycles. Considering when, where and why to switch off digital devices is important for everyone, young or old.

Fortunately, a number of governments and other organisations are producing valuable educational materials for a variety of age groups and contexts. Most of these deal primarily with issues of digital safety and digital privacy. The following list contains some useful resources:

• • 23 Great Lesson Plans for Internet Safety (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Australia’s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines (Dept of Health, Australia)
  • Be Internet Awesome (Google, USA)
  • Better Internet for Kids (European Schoolnet, EU)
  • Bullying. No Way! (SSSC, Australia)
  • Choose Privacy Week Video (20K)
  • Clean Up Your Digital Footprint (A Platform for Good)
  • The Comprehensive Guide to Managing Social Profiles in College (Accredited Online Schools, USA)
  • COVID: Tips for staying safe online during the COVID-19 pandemic (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • Cyberbullying Research Center (USA)
  • Dealing with Digital Distraction in the Classroom (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Digital Citizenship (Edmodo, USA)
  • Digital Citizenship Curriculum (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Digital Compass (Common Sense, USA)
  • Digital Passport (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Digital Tattoo (University of British Columbia, Canada)
  • eSafety Office [Twitter] (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • eSafety Office [Vimeo] (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • eSafety Parents and Carers (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • eSafety Toolkit for Schools (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • Follow the Digital Trail (K-2) (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Get Safe Online (UK)
  • Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep for Children under 5 Years of Age (WHO)
  • Hector’s World (NetSafe, New Zealand)
  • How to Handle the Violent Videos at Your Kid’s Fingertips (Common Sense Media, USA)
  • Kids’ Pledge (SafeKids.com, USA)
  • NetSmartzKids (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, USA)
  • News & Media Literacy Resource Center (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • NSTeens (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, USA)
  • Office of the eSafety Commissioner (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • Office of the eSafety Commissioner [Facebook] (Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • Practising Cyber Wellness (Ministry of Education, Singapore)
  • Privacy and Internet Safety (Common Sense Media, USA)
  • Protect Your Students’ Data and Privacy (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Social & Emotional Learning (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Stay Smart Online (Australian Govt)
  • Take Control of Your Personal Data (European Commission)
  • Talking about ‘Sexting’ (Common Sense Media, USA)
  • Teachers’ Essential Guide to Cyberbullying Prevention (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • That’s Not Cool (FVPF, Ad Council & OVW, USA)
  • ThinkUKnow (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, UK)
  • ThinkUKnowAUS (ThinkUKnow.org.au, Australia)
  • Turning Students’ Empathy into Action with Digital Tools (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • What is Digital Harassment? (Common Sense Media, USA)
  • What is Doxxing (Comparitech, UK)
  • Where We Stand: Screen Time (AAP, USA)
  • Which Me Should I Be? (6-8) (Common Sense Education, USA)
  • Young and eSafe (eSafety Commissioner, Australia)
  • Your Rings of Responsibility (Common Sense Education, USA)

More information about digital safety is available on the Publications on Mobile Learning page under ‘health’ and ‘safety’.