The digital world offers many opportunities for children to learn and to connect with friends, family, community and support groups. Most online experiences are positive however the online environment also poses risks such as unwanted contact, cyberbullying, trolling, image-based abuse and exposure to inappropriate, offensive or illegal content.
Here are just some of the ways that we can make the internet a safer place for our children:
- Show support for your peers by sending positive messages, a smiley face or a high-five
- Share the videos below to spread the word about being safe online
- Check your privacy settings and your passwords. For example is your password as easy as 12345? Have you shared it with a friend?
- Think about who can see what you post online
- Don’t share hurtful or embarrassing stories or photos, what may seem like a harmless joke to one person can be deeply hurtful to others
- Always be kind online
These videos created by Unicef provide some great tips on e-safety for parents and children.
friend request?
online
The eSafety Commissioner is responsible for promoting online safety for all Australians and is committed to helping all of us to have safer, more positive experiences online. They offer support including:
- a complaints service for young Australians who experience serious cyberbullying
- identifying and removing illegal online content
- tackling image-based abuse
Further Information: https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-the-office/role-of-the-office
What to do if you, your child or someone you know is cyberbullied?
If you, your child or someone you know is experiencing cyberbullying or abuse online there is support available. The eSafety Commissioner can provide and help you to report cyberbullying.
The eSafety Commissioner provides an easy online form to report offensive or illegal content such as:
- child sexual abuse
- inappropriate contact with a child/suspected grooming
- fraud or scams
- racism
- defamation
- cyberbullying
- harassment
iParent is an online resource provided by the eSafety Commissioner. It is designed to help parents to support their children so that they have safe and positive experiences online. iParents provides plenty of useful information and resources about:
- social media
- screen time
- personal information
- inappropriate content
- cyberbullying
- contact with strangers