Better Internet for Kids

In this issue, young people share their perspectives on mental health and social media, chat room safety, media literacy, digital footprints, and online fraud. Through their articles, Youth Panel members analyze various online risks and provide tips on how users can stay safe online.

Annual report 2023 details educational initiatives, awareness campaigns, and collaborations aimed at creating a safer digital environment for children and adolescents. The report highlights key projects, such as the development of resources for parents and educators, the implementation of training programs, and the operation of helpline and hotline services. It also presents statistical data on internet usage trends and the types of online risks encountered, emphasizing the Centre's efforts to address these challenges through community engagement and policy advocacy.

In today’s interconnected world, young people are increasingly exposed to digital marketing practices. Social media platforms, mobile apps, and video games are saturated with advertisements and persuasive tactics. The AdWiseOnline campaign, now available in Greek, aims to equip youth with the knowledge they need to outsmart online ads and avoid traps while understanding their rights.

This presentation delves into the world of digital marketing, exploring how modern strategies target consumers in the digital age. It covers the various platforms and techniques used by marketers, including social media, search engines, and influencer partnerships. Attendees will gain insights into how digital marketing tactics are designed to capture attention, influence behavior, and drive engagement.

This guide provides essential information and strategies for addressing and preventing cyberbullying.

This guidebook offers practical advice for recognising the signs of cyberbullying, understanding its impact on individuals, and taking effective action to combat it. The guide includes resources for both victims and bystanders, detailing steps to report incidents, seek support, and promote a positive online environment. 

DigiStories: Alex is an educational video game that opens up the topic of healthy habits in the online environment. This game was published in October 2023 by One World in Schools, a division of the Czech organization People in Need. One World in Schools is also a part of Czech Safer Internet Centre.
Through an interactive conversation on the fictional social network DigiStories, students can learn about the signs and consequences of problematic behaviors related to the excessive use of digital technologies, in this case in the form of playing an online game.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an increasing part of our everyday lives in recent years. It generates text, images and videos, writes books, drives autonomous vehicles, diagnoses diseases or runs our homes. But how does AI actually think? Does it understand the information that we present to it and that it generates for us through so-called text models such as GPT or Gemini? A new video from the What the Fact? series answers this question.

Each film is followed by a discussion and reflection segment, where students can reflect on the content and discuss it with their classmates. Through discussions, students have the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions, and develop a deeper understanding of copyright. The guide also includes a practical exercise where students apply their new knowledge in a specific context.

The interview guide covers four overarching themes regarding news, social media, influencers, and computer gaming. The results show both differences and similarities in the informants' statements about news, social media, influencers, and gaming alone and together.

During International Safe Internet Day 2024, Linka bezpečí launched an online campaign for responsible behaviour of young people on social networks, which was also supposed to help them prevent misuse of their content.

From the data of the Linka bezpečí, three essential topics from the online environment that most negatively affect children were selected - sexual innuendo, stalking and hateful comments. The campaign with three spots during February reached almost 789,000 hits and recorded 124,000 video views.