What Do We Do On Safer Internet Day?
By Agastya W.
Published on February 07, 2023
The 7th of February is not a typical day. The day of safety and responsible use of online technology is celebrated in almost 200 nations across all continents. The aim of International Safe Internet Day is to raise awareness of this issue among young people and encourage everyone to use the internet safely.
What happened, actually?
The fact that Safer Internet Day has become an annual event shows the great concern for digital transformation. The digital era is a time when young people rely more on the latest technology. Since technology never stops developing and offering us new things.
The internet is a perfect place for us to find the latest information and explore what is new. Some social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and others have had a big impact on young people. However, there are dangers along the way as well. Such as cyberbullying and cybercrimes.
Incidents or Accidents?
In fact, cyberbullying has increased between 2019 and 2021. Research shows that nearly 37% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 in the United States have experienced cyberbullying. It impacts their life and causes unstable mental health: depression, anxiety, and worries.
On the other hand, cybercrimes such as malware attacks, phishing, and theft are hit unexpectedly. In 2013 – 2016, yahoo reported two major data breaches affecting over 1.5 billion accounts, and 500 million data were stolen. It drastically undermines the trust of customers, whether it’s young people or adults.
Due to the two situations mentioned above, adults have the potential to control internet use and raise awareness among children. So what can we do to stop inappropriate online behavior?
Some Tips For Prevention
To prevent cyberbullying and cybercrimes, adults should take several actions, here are some tips.
- Encourage your children to always be polite. When young people dislike a photo or video, they often leave harsh comments. You can ask your children to filter their words.
- Be careful with attachments. It is possible that our children are unaware of the unidentified source of random links. They have a tendency to click without thinking which can lead to phishing or data theft.
- Use secure passwords. Assist your children to create unusual passwords and usernames to protect them from cybercriminals.
- Avoid public Wi-Fi networks. Not only children but everyone uses public Wi-Fi since it is free and easy to connect. But doing so carries a high risk of mistakenly exposing sensitive or secret information, which can have serious consequences.
- Use parental control system. To prevent your children from the unwanted website or unfriendly content, you must choose an application that has good parental control.
Be Safer Now
Hopefully, today’s event creates more self-awareness of using the internet safely. As adults, assisting young people is a need.