Better Internet for Kids

In the final webinar in the inaugural round of the SIC+ pilot programme, global participants explored two topics: trends in child online protection and awareness raising for hotlines. The Insafe and INHOPE networks launched the SIC+ initiative with the aim of extending and replicating the successful Safer Internet Centre (SIC) model beyond Europe.

Between 2015 and 2019, Belgian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) Child Focus opened 144 files on (potential) victims of teenage procurers in Belgium, an increasingly pressing issue which has been facilitated by digital communications. Following the study on victims of teenage procurers in Flanders (2015), Child Focus was commissioned by equal.brussels to conduct a similar exploratory study in Brussels in 2019.

Social media is a great place to connect with others, share parts of our lives, see into other people’s worlds, and it is a fantastic platform to raise awareness about important issues. However, it can add pressure by portraying an idealised version of normal life. Our newsfeeds often contain images of people looking great, wearing nice clothes, and doing exciting things – living their best lives.

“When it comes to children’s digital competence, Estonian school teachers can be divided into two groups: one claiming that children are much more competent than adults when it comes to ICT; and the other – mostly composed of computing teachers – doubting the actual, self-taught ICT skills of students, namely rapid clicking skills, which only seem to be a sign of ICT competence."

The Full Picture is a short film exploring how young people use social media to connect and share. The film highlights the influences and pressures young people face online and encourages them to see the full picture.

On Friday, 6 November 2020, the Norwegian Safer Internet Centre (SIC) launched a new teaching programme on deepfakes. The programme was launched as a digital school lesson in a live broadcast produced by students in an upper secondary school in Oslo.

Online fraud, hate speech, discrimination and other divisive online risks are on the rise globally, according to results of a new Microsoft study. These findings were released in conjunction with World Kindness Day in an effort to turn that tide and encourage safer, more empathetic and tolerant online interactions among all people.

With a theme of “Digital (dis)advantage: creating an inclusive world for children and young people online”, Safer Internet Forum (SIF) 2020 will take place online, with the main sessions being held on Wednesday, 25 and Thursday, 26 November 2020 – with a range of additional sessions throughout the week.

Experts from all over Europe met online to discuss a broad spectrum of issues related to the safety of children and young people on the internet. The video materials from the 14th international conference "Keeping children and young people safe online", which took place on Tuesday, 29 and Wednesday, 30 September 2020 (online plenary sessions) and Thursday, 1 and Friday, 2 October 2020 (online workshops), are now available.

Findings from 110 studies published in 64 countries point to the fact that digital skills play a key role for children’s and young people’s learning, participation and other opportunities. International research also reveals that the benefits of digital skills apply online and offline, potentially affecting multiple dimensions of children’s lives. There is also evidence that better digital skills can protect children from online risk of harm as well, although this evidence needs to be strengthened.