This Safer Internet Day we explore reliability in an online world.

What is Safer Internet Day?

Safer Internet Day inspires a national conversation about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically, and creatively. Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, the celebration sees thousands of organisations get involved to promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

This year in the United Kingdom, Safer Internet Day explores the concept of reliability online. The internet has an amazing range of information and opportunities, but how do we separate fact from fiction?

The campaign focuses on how we can decide what to trust online, supporting young people to question, challenge and change the online world for the better. It will explore how influence, persuasion and manipulation can impact young people’s decisions, opinions and what they share online.

The day will also look at the emotional impact navigating a misleading online world can have on young people and why it is important to create a supportive, critical and questioning culture online that encourages debate and discussion. The aim is to give young people the skills to support one another, and the strategies to spot and speak out against harmful and misleading content online. Whilst we know that the issues of misinformation and ‘fake news’ do not solely affect young people, these issues do have a great impact on how young people feel about their time online.

How is the Collaborative supporting a safer Internet?

With the pandemic moving a lot of key services online, now more than ever it is vitally important that we work to educate young people on the dangers of online misinformation, particularly in relation to COVID-19. Article 17 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to reliable access to information from a variety of sources and that children should be protected from materials that could harm them. 

Combatting the infodemic is a priority for UNICEF. With new rumours appearing about COVID-19 and vaccinations daily, it is important that children are able to confidently access trustworthy and reliable information about the pandemic in order to protect their health and their lives.

We are currently working on a project which will develop a chatbot that will respond to rumour submissions about COVID-19 and vaccinations. It will be able to classify these rumours and direct children and young people to reliable sources of information. You can read more about the project here.

In addition, we recently launched a Challenge Question all about the impact of technology on young people’s mental health. The aim of the project is to leverage data and data science techniques to explore ways online content (including associated platforms and applications) can be used for adolescent mental health prevention-related services. We’re very excited about the fantastic collaborative team engaged on the project, and hope to be able to update you soon with more details!

Resources:

You can find further resources including top tips, educational activities and online quizzes via the UK Safer Internet Centre website.