Better Internet for Kids

It is important for adults to find time to understand how to recognize cyberbullying and how to react appropriately to the situation and age of the child involved. The issues addressed were
a. Who are the children most likely to become victims of cyberbullying and how can this be prevented or reduced?
b. What new forms of cyberbullying have emerged in recent years and which ones are illegal?
c. What are the consequences of cyberbullying on a child's psychological development and how do we encourage them to seek the help of trusted adults?

Today's children live in a world completely different from previous generations. Relationships between them are mediated by chats, social applications and virtual channels that parents almost never enter. The purpose of the webinar is to discover the role of parents and teachers in the lives of digital natives, who apparently need adult less, than previous generations. The topics discussed were:
a. The needs of digital natives, as well as their rights and obligations, at school and in the family
b. The role of parents and different ways of managing situations in the family

The video aims to help parents become more aware and confident when dealing preventively with more sensitive topics with their children using technology. We focus on unavoidable issues such as accidentally finding traumatic content, or interacting with people who are extremely adept at enticing minors for illegal purposes.
The topics addressed:

1. False profiles and online child safety. Contrary to the real-life friends we see and with whom we can communicate, on the internet, behind a profile, there may be people with negative intentions.

The video presents the case of a teen girls whose boyfriend sent their friends nude pictures of her and because of that she had to close all her accounts in social media, or the case of another girl who was cyberbullied and had to create new accounts on all social platforms to escape the situation she was in, but also other topics related to technical difficulties or different forms of online abuse. They can all be sorted out if teens seek help and guidance from specialists.

This material is intended for teachers, regardless of specialization or prior knowledge on the use of the Internet and digital devices. The information it contains will be useful for supporting instructive-educational activities about children's online rights and teenagers, part of the topic of using the internet in a safe, useful and creative way.

In 2021, the Dutch Media Literacy Network launched Leukeronline.nl: the online guide for professionals working in mental health care (in Dutch).

Many care counselors of people with a (mild) intellectual disability need tools to properly guide their clients in the use of online media. For example, how can they help clients prevent unpleasant situations, such as grooming or phishing? But also: how can they help them with safe and desirable applications of online media, such as dating, gaming and social media like TikTok?

The war in Ukraine is worrying people around the world and dominating the news.
Children and young people in particular need support in dealing with war reporting. What should educators pay more attention to at the moment? Where can they find age-appropriate information for children and young people? How can they correctly assess the news? And where can they get advice and help to deal with concerns about war? Our new klicksafe info sheet provides help for parents on these and other questions.

Almost seven out of ten Dutch people are concerned about the influence of fake news. This is apparent from research by NoTies, commissioned by the Dutch Media Literacy Network ('Netwerk Mediawijsheid'). Dutch people expected fake news to have an influence on early 2021 elections for the House of Representatives. 60 percent of those surveyed are concerned about the influence of fake news on voting behaviour. More than three quarters of the Dutch think that fake news has a major influence on information about the coronavirus and vaccinations. Disinformation is a growing problem.

Throughout the school year, the key messages of the campaign were disseminated among the target groups with the help of an ambassador. This positive influencer is the grandmother, a personality who often plays the role of a confidant and is supposed to embody the good conscience in the stories.
The messages were declined on four videos (duration: 60 seconds) which were shared on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.

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.