Better Internet for Kids

On February 9, Safer Internet Day was celebrated in Lithuania, as in many other countries of the world. On this day and throughout the week, various events took place in educational institutions to draw public attention to current digital challenges, promoting safer use of the internet and digital technologies, especially for children and young people. Prienai "Revuona" school on February 12 held a debate on the topic "Should compulsory media literacy classes be provided in Lithuanian schools?"

Children and young people like to play. Play is a fun thing to do.
It also has a social aspect, as it can foster team spirit and develop certain skills. Parents often feel that their children spend too much time playing, but in some situations it can be the time that children and young people have to have fun, in addition to school and extracurricular activities.

Increasing the need for the internet use increases the spread of prohibited content: in 2020 Lithuanian Hotline received 1373 notifications of prohibited or harmful content

The Internet, social media, and sharing or messaging are how young people communicate. It will always be difficult, if not impossible, for adolescents not to use these platforms. Since adolescence is a period of validation and personality formation where sharing and belonging to a group are so important, using technological devices and social networking is something natural for teenagers. Through the Internet, communication can be easier, there is greater acceptance in the group, and it is possible to create a larger network of contacts.

February 9 is Safer Internet (SI) Day. On this day, the 1st class students of Alytus Vidzgiris pro-gymnasium together with teacher Diana Marculeviče discussed what the internet is, what children do online, what games they play and whether all games are good, why you need to protect personal data, how to behave online, and how much time you can spend at your computer. After the conversation, the students drew the drawings "Safe Internet".

Growing interest for the Safer Internet Week campaign highlights the growing public need to know about threats and learn the most important rules of conduct in the digital space. According to the participants of the campaign, no matter how old you are, safe behavior on the internet is important for everyone - from kindergarteners, school children, young people and seniors. So it is not surprising that although all the events of the campaign took place remotely, the number of participants was even higher than in previous years.

"Should criminal liability for online piracy be strengthened?" The students of Vilnius Balsiai pro-gymnasium chose this topic for the debate during Safer internet week 2021. Piracy is an issue in Lithuania, because many people do it, sometimes without even knowing that their online activities are illegal. The authors suffer really great losses, which are difficult to calculate accurately. Unfortunately, only few cases are prosecuted in the courts each year for criminal liability purposes. So the public should ask questions about how to change the current situation.

This school year, the community of Kėdainiai kindergarten Pasaka participated in the eTwinning project “Computer and Health. How did I do at home? ” During the implementation of the project activities, we invited the teachers working in the institution to actively participate, creatively organize SID activities, involve parents, try out various IT tools, and share the implemented moments. We share here photo gallery.

Video platforms are very popular, even among the youngest.
They are often used from a young age to watch videos of children's songs or cartoons, and at a later age to watch videos of video games, toys, music videos, and humour, by children and teenage Youtubers.

What does climate have to do with digital media and young people?
PT SIC provides in Portuguese a didactic resource with the theme: Digitalization and Climate. Environmental awareness in the digital world.