Safer Internet Day (SID) is a key date in the cyber safety annual calendar. As readers will know, we’re all about cyber safety here at ISKF — that’s why we’re PROUD supporters of Safer Internet Day. On Tuesday, February 6th, millions of people will join together to celebrate and reflect upon the theme of “Together for a Better Internet”. SID was founded in 2004 by the EU SafeBorders project with the initiative being taken up by the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres (SICs). The need for better internet safety ensured the continued growth and popularity of Safer Internet Day, now celebrated in approximately 180 countries and territories around the world!
Protect, Empower, Respect
Safer Internet Day 2024 will again reflect on the three key values from the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) strategy: Protection, Empowerment, and Respect. In the words of the SID organization:
“Creating an environment where children are protected from potential online risks and empowered with the necessary tools and knowledge to navigate the digital landscape responsibly and encouraging an online space where each child is treated with respect and dignity is essential to our vision. In essence, we aim to build a digital ecosystem that leaves no child behind, fostering a sense of inclusivity and safeguarding the rights and experiences of every young individual.”
Safer Internet Day has a primary focus on children and teenagers as they are the most vulnerable internet users, with issues ranging from media literacy, screen time challenges, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, to personal image and online predation. Our Cyber Academy for kids is a fun educational series for teachers and parents. You’ll find fun interactive lessons on topics ranging from Camera Safety to Privacy, and Healthy Habits to Kindness.
At the same time, Safer Internet Day is also for everyone. We can all relate to the three values above; and a safe internet, a positive, healthy space for communication and cooperation, is a right of everyone. Together, we can work to make that happen.
Want to Get Involved with Safer Internet Day?
If you want to get involved with Safer Internet Day, there are many ways to do so. Visit the resources page to find out more, at www.saferinternetday.org/join. There’s also a great tool (see above) for finding a Safer Internet Centre in your country. At the same time, the SID folks also encourage you to get in contact directly if you have any questions or are looking for advice — send an email to saferinternetday@betterinternetforkids.eu.
Trend Micro has been hosting FREE internet safety talks around the world since 2008, which is when it was founded by Lynette Owens. To date our educational outreach program has reached more than 4.6 million parents, educators, students, and older adults around the world. Our goal for each of these talks is to empower parents and educators online, offering practical advice, top tips, as well as useful online resources. We have two great webinars lined up for Safer Internet Day (Tuesday 6th) in the US and Ireland, hosted by our ISKF stars, Kimberly Keys (US) and Avril Ronan (Ireland). Parents and educators are welcome to join these free online events
Visit our Events page to register for an event or discover more great webinars and resources. We also have a great archive of recorded webinars with leading cyber safety experts, FREE to view and EASY to access, right here. Topics include:
- Helping Kids Stay Safe While Gaming Online
- Selfie Safety: Helping Kids Prevent Risks with Cameras
- Let’s Talk TikTok
- How to Handle Bullying When We Are Always Online
- Kids and Autism: Supporting Safe and Healthy Technology Use
More Ways to Get Involved
We’ve put together the following list of ideas for more ways to get involved and celebrate Safer Internet Day.
- Educate yourself:
Stay informed on cyber safety best practices and keep up to date with the latest online risks. The Trend Micro News Blog will be a great resource for this, with topics ranging from data breach alerts to digital wellness, and tech how-tos to the latest scams. - Communicate, collaborate, and spread awareness:
Talk to your children, family members, friends, and colleagues about internet safety. Knowledge and cooperation are the first line of defense. If you want to follow and share materials, you can follow SID on X/Twitter, #SaferInternetDay and on Facebook. - More resources:
The SID team have put together a handy resource document containing activity ideas such as awareness campaigns, school visits, competitions, and more! Better Internet for Kids (BIK) also has various lines of communication:
Thank you to all who have joined us over the years in the effort to improve children’s safety and awareness online in a fun, interactive and engaging way. As we’ve said before, the need for this type of education is great. Every child in the world deserves to learn how to use the internet in safe, positive, and productive ways. We remain committed to our mission and look forward to working alongside others who share the same goals.
- Practice cybersecurity and protection:
Trend Micro has a range of simple FREE tools to help secure your internet safety. We would also encourage readers to learn more about identity theft by visiting ID Protection, which has been designed to meet the security and privacy threats we now all face. With ID Protection, you will safeguard your identity, personal information, accounts, and browsing experience. The FREE version will be more than enough to get you going!
Happy Safer Internet Day 2024!
We hope you are excited as we are about SID 2024! As cyber threats continue to grow year after year, and more children enter the new reality of internet connectivity, it’s of crucial value to have days like Safer Internet Day: a chance for all to reflect, educate, improve — and celebrate!
Lynette Owens is Vice President of Global Consumer Education & Marketing at Trend Micro and Founder of the Internet Safety for Kids and Families program. With 25+ years in the tech industry, Lynette speaks and blogs regularly on how to help kids become great digital citizens. She works with communities and 1:1 school districts across the U.S. and around the world to support online safety, digital and media literacy and digital citizenship education. She is a board member of the National Association for Media Literacy Education, an advisory committee member of the Digital Wellness Lab, and serves on the advisory boards of INHOPE and U.S. Safer Internet Day.
Follow her on Twitter @lynettetowens.