The eSafety Commisoner has a lot of tips to help you and your kids stay safe online. This is especially important relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic with more of us online. Getting online to stay connected with family, friends and works has never been more important, now that so many of us remain isolated from our support networks.
The internet is a great way to socialise, learn, work, play and be entertained. There are also risks, so do your research to find out how you can keep you and your family safe.
Cyberbullying behaviour might include:
- abusive texts and emails
- hurtful messages, images or videos
- imitating others online
- excluding others online
- humiliating others online
- spreading nasty online gossip and chat
- creating fake accounts to trick someone or humiliate them
Did you know:
1 in 5 Australian young people reported being socially excluded, threatened or abused online.
55% sought help from their parents, 28% from their friends; 38% blocked the offending social media account; 12% reported it to the website or platform.
1 in 5 Australian young people (15% of kids, 24% of teens) admitted behaving in a negative way to a peer online — such as calling them names, deliberately excluding them, or spreading lies or rumours.
Of these, more than 90% had had a negative online experience themselves.
There are a lot of resources on the eSafety COVID-19 website for parents, educators and seniors including:
How to protect your children from online abuse
Professional Learning programs for teachers
Online safety tips for older Australians
eSafety is adding new content every day to help you stay safe online.