Better Internet for Kids

From movies to series, to games, to stories, we have grown accustomed to seeing hostility. Whilst being assertive is beneficial, being aggressive is not!

Show kindness, you can make a difference! When experiencing cyberbullying, be kind to yourself by reaching out for help and support; be kind to the bully, for it could be a cry for help without them realising; and be kind to one another by stepping in to show that you do not support the harmful behaviour. 

Being kind is showing strength. Let’s be strong together.

More and more often we hear the terms disinformation, propaganda, manipulative interpretation of facts, conspiracy myths.
This material focuses on conspiracy myths, providing an understanding of why they exist, why some people believe in them and how they influence individual and societal beliefs.

Increasingly, people find themselves in situations where their social media account is “hacked” because their password got into the hands of strangers. 

Most often, this happens because the password has been "spoofed" fraudulently or because the user is careless when using the Internet and smart devices. Unfortunately, passwords are not enough today; additional protection is needed to protect your account and ensure that it cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons.

In the age of the internet and screens, one of the biggest challenges for parents is to find a balance between screen time and their child's other daily activities. When letting your child explore the internet and develop their digital skills, it is important to be there for them and help them develop a positive digital mindset and experience. Drossinternets.lv invites parents to take a look at tips to help their family establish rules for internet use and limiting screen time.

To raise awareness among schoolchildren about the use of copyright-protected content - films and music, Drossinternets.lv in cooperation with the association "For Legal Content" have created an easy-to-understand informative material - a poster for schoolchildren "Don't be a pirate!", explaining who the author and copyright are, how to distinguish pirate sites and where to legally watch films and listen to music.

Latvian Safer Internet Centre has developed a training material, lesson plan for educators working with 5th-12th grade students "What does copyright mean?" to raise awareness about why it is important to respect copyright and to encourage them to choose legal content.

Is it enough to know the Latvian or English alphabet? No, because nowadays everyone needs to know the Internet alphabet! What's special about it? Find out by watching the short films "Vaifijs Internet Alphabet", in which a mascot boy Vaifijs who lives on the Internet, teaches children the most important words that every Internet user should know.
The short videos can be used in primary school to teach topics such as safety and good behaviour on the Internet, meaningful use of technology, critical thinking and working with information.

Latvian SIC is increasingly receiving reports and complaints about various unpleasant incidents involving WhatsApp users. Unfortunately, in many of these cases, the ignorance or carelessness of the users themselves has led to unpleasant consequences. We encourage WhatsApp users to be careful and to read the tips that will help them to protect themselves and their children from the dangers in their daily lives.

One of the biggest challenges for parents today is to teach their children to find a balance between real and virtual life, so that they do not become overly dependent on digital devices and the internet. Latvian Safer Internet Center offers a 30-day challenge called "Virtual Restart", which includes 30 practical tips (tasks) that your child can do every day to learn to control the time he spends on his smartphone and in front of screens and to protect himself from the various online risks.

A short informative material with advices for parents to set ap a child’s computers or smart device for use during remote learning. 

Firstly, it is recommended that the child creates a separate user account to help limit access to information that is inappropriate for their age.