WE USE THE INTERNET SAFELY

Educational materials for download

As part of cooperation with the Ministry of Administration and Digitization, the “Dzieci Niczyje” Foundation implemented the “Digital Competence Training” project, under which it prepared educational materials on Internet safety:

“How to Search” class on web search engines
“Adventures of Faceman” class on security in social networks
“My Internet Image” class on Internet image creation
“Take Care about Face” e-learning course

The materials will be successively made available on the website: www.dzieckowsieci.fdn.pl/trening-kompetencji

Dyżurnet.pl – Parent! Your child’s safety depends on you
The latest research by NASK Nastolatki 3.0 shows that almost 60% of young people have encountered the phenomenon of mockery and ridicule on the Internet. Many such situations could be avoided, if parents had warned their children in time about the consequences of engaging in risky behaviours on the Internet.

Let’s raise awareness around cyberbullying!
The aforementioned research shows that the most popular activity of teenagers on profiles in social networks is posting their own photos and videos. It is declared by as many as 79.3% of respondents. Some of these materials are later used by peers to humiliate and ridicule their colleagues. As many as 58.1% of teenagers declare that they have encountered such a phenomenon in relation to their friends. On the other hand, the dissemination of compromising materials about their colleagues has been noticed by 33.3% of respondents.
Thus, it seems even more important to warn teenagers against hastily creating and placing their own image on the Internet, especially in a context that may be perceived as sexual. Such materials can be used against them by their peers, but also downloaded and further distributed by pedophiles.
That is why it is worthwhile for the parents to teach their adolescent children how to safely publish their own photos and videos on the Internet. This awareness can be extremely valuable for young people and may protect them from cyberbullying.

Let’s talk, so that the children trust us!
Another very dangerous phenomenon is the risky behaviour of teenagers resulting from the online activities. NASK surveys show that 23.1% of the surveyed youth met an adult they met on the Internet in person! And 61.4% of them did not inform their parents about this fact. Some, admittedly, at least informed their friends about it, but as many as 28.9% did not let anyone know about this fact.
Following the above, it seems that not all teenagers are aware of the possible, dangerous consequences of such meetings, putting themselves in the position of a potential sexual assault victim, which may additionally be recorded and posted online.
In September 2016, the Dyżurnet.pl team launched the “You Can Help – react, report!” social campaign. Its purpose is to draw the attention of Internet users to the importance of adequately responding to materials appearing on the Internet presenting the sexual abuse of minors or presenting images of children shown in a sexual context.
More about the “You Can Help – react, report!” campaign http://reagujzglos.dyzurnet.pl/
Watch the campaign video

If you want to learn more about these and other threats that may be encountered on the Internet, learn about possible methods of preventing and responding to them, or take advantage of our educational offer. You can contact the NASK Academy at www.akademia.nask.pl.

THE CHILD’S SMARTPHONE MENACE

Parents find it increasingly difficult to supervise what their children are doing online. Middle- and high-school students are online almost all the time using their smartphones. This equipment is the most difficult for parents to control – such conclusions come from the “Children and adolescents vs. the Internet” study commissioned by the Ombudsman for Children and the Research Institute of the Scientific and Academic Computer Network. The survey among the second-grade students of middle- and high-schools was conducted this Spring by the Pedagogium College of Social Sciences. Smartphones limit the level of parental control, because “it is a personal device, so checking its content would break some taboos related to privacy. In addition, a significant proportion of parents lack the technical competence to control the way their child uses a smartphone” – proves the report. Almost 40 percent of the surveyed young people admitted that their parents’ digital competences are weak, very weak or none. The authors of the study point to the lack of parental control programmes available in Polish language versions, that can be installed on the phone, or they indicate the difficulties in checking the history in the telephone web browser. The study confirms that a large proportion of young people engage in risky behaviours online, with almost 40% students under 15 admit that they personally met an adult they met online. Every fourth respondent admitted having received intimate photos via the Internet (sexting). Almost 6 percent admitted that they sent these types of photos to strangers. It seems particularly important that 31 percent of the respondents stated that such photos were sent by someone they know. Almost 2 percent young people say they exposed themselves during video chats. Of this group, more than a third explained that they did it for fun and a little less that they did it for profit. Children’s Ombudsman, Marek Michalak, notes that due to the new technical opportunities available to young people, the maturation process has gained enormous pace. – This is why the phenomena characteristic of this process, such as taking risky behaviours, are now much more frequent – he explains. NASK’s director, Michał Chrzanowski, points out that young people, although they move very well in the virtual world, are often unaware of the accompanying risks. Lack of proper preparation not only exposes children to the harmful effects of access to content that is dangerous for their emotional development, such as pornography, violence or sexting, but also increases the risk of becoming a victim of a pedophile or criminal organisations, such as organisations phishing sensitive data. Prof. Marek Konopczyński, the President at Pedagogium, points out that the results of the survey indicate that the parents of a large proportion of young people are unable to participate in the digital life of their children because they cannot efficiently use digital equipment and the programmes installed on it. The problem can also be found in the lack of full communication in the family. The key is to define clear rules for using the Internet. You need to explain to the child what they result from. Otherwise, teenagers do not feel restricted in any way, and when it comes to confrontation, their parents withdraw. (excerpt from the article in “ŻW”pt. 26.09/2014)

Quizzes for children and adults on Internet safety

In October 2013, as part of the European Cyberspace Security Month, the “Internet Safety Requires your Commitment” campaign was carried out by NASK to increase the awareness of the topic. “Internet safety requires your commitment.”

The campaign included, among others, two quizzes on Internet safety: “Safe Internet World with File and Folder” for children aged 7-10, prepared by the NASK Academy team, and “Become a Cyberguard”, prepared by the CERT Polska team for adult Internet users.

Test your knowledge about Internet safety. Both quizzes are available at www.bezpiecznymiesiac.pl

Digital Competence Training

As part of cooperation with the Ministry of Administration and Digitization, the “Dzieci Niczyje” Foundation implemented the “Digital Competence Training” project aimed at drawing young people’s attention to the issues of their Internet image, privacy in social networking sites and the principles of effective use of search engines. As part of the project, educational materials on the Internet safety of children and adolescents were prepared:

– “How to Search” class on web search engines;

– “Adventures of Faceman” class on security in social networks;

– “My Internet Image” class on Internet image creation;

– “Take Care about Face” e-learning course.

We encourage you (not only teachers) to read the developed materials at: www.dzieckowsieci.fdn.pl/trening-kompetencji.