Official Google Australia Blog: Safer Internet Day

Technology plays a huge part in our daily lives, so now more than ever it’s critical that we all have the tools and knowledge we need to be safe, smart and responsible online.

Today is Safer Internet Day, a collaborative effort between government, industry and child safety organisations to put front and centre the safe and responsible use of technology, especially amongst children and young people.

This year’s theme of connecting generations and educating each other is about encouraging all members of your family and the school community to talk about online safety. Research on intergenerational attitudes to social networking and cybersafety suggests that young people themselves are the most valuable resource for adults concerned about the online safety of their children and it encourages parents to sit down and talk with their kids about what they do online.

Safer Internet Day is the perfect time to sit down with your kids, nieces and nephews or grandkids, and find out more about the sites they visit and the ways they manage their information online. Why not ask them to take you on a tour of their favourite sites, show you how they use the privacy settings and teach you tips and tricks to get the most out of each one?

If you want to learn more about staying safe online, visit our safety centre. You’ll find information on Google safety tools, tips from Google parents and advice from our partners.

You might also like to download the cybersafety help button, a government initiative that gives you access to help and information on cybersafety issues. Once downloaded, the button sits on the computer desktop or within the taskbar, and takes you directly to a web page where you can talk, report or learn more about cybersafety issues.

Over the coming year, we will continue to work with Australian child safety organisations: Kids Helpline, NAPCAN, Inspire Foundation, Bravehearts, The Alannah & Madeline Foundation and the Youth and Wellbeing Cooperative Research Centre.

We look forward to continuing to help all Australians to be smart, safe and responsible online. Just like in real life where we need street smarts; on the web we need cyber smarts.

Posted by Ishtar Vij, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google Australia