Want to Talk About it? Making Space for Conversations About Life Online

Age range: 12 years and upwards
Category: Schools
Published: 1999
Last revised: 2023
Pages: 73

Safer Internet Day 2023 support certificate

Safer Internet Day will take place on the 7th of February 2023, and once again it is coordinated by the UK Safer Internet Centre. The theme for 2023 is: ‘Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online’.

The aim of Safer Internet Day is to encourage organisations to promote safety around all types of digital technology including the internet.

This year’s theme encourages technology users to think about how they communicate online. It asks questions around how we live our lives both online and offline and examines ways to ensure all people, especially children and young people, feel safe and secure in the digital world. This is extremely important when we consider social media.

Studies have found that excessive social media usage can lead to loneliness and depression. Young people today have grown up in a world of instant information, where they are forever checking up on their peers, who are also checking up on them. They regularly feel compelled to update their online status throughout the day for fear of missing out.

People often exaggerate their social lives online, and when youngsters compare their lives with the lives of others on social media, they can feel sad and demoralised. Parents, teachers and carers need to support young people and ensure they know how to maintain a balanced view of social media.

Over the past two decades, All Resources has strived to promote safe and responsible internet usage. We have a number of publications that provide advice and guidance on how to stay safe online and how to develop a healthy understanding of social media.