Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day is an annual celebration observed on February 6th of every year. The internet has become a vital tool in everyday life of anyone. It is unquestionably an amazing invention in the field of technology. The Internet has changed the way we gather information, communicate with others and more of technology things. A coin has its two sides, and similarly, the internet has its positives and negatives. The boon of the internet has a very big list as most of our private lives and information are transferred over the internet are not often safe. It is much right when it comes to the children. Safer Internet Day reminds us to promote the safe and positive use of the digital technology for the children and young people and protect them from the dangers as to provide a safer internet.

“Turn off your email; turn off your phone; disconnect from the Internet; figure out a way to set limits so you can concentrate when you need to, and disengage when you need to. Technology is a good servant but a bad master.” – Gretchen Rubin

History of Safer Internet Day

The Safer Internet Day (SID) has been in celebration since the year 2004. The EU SafeBorders project has initiated such a celebration Day and was taken up by the Insafe network in 2005 as one of its earliest actions. SID was coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre which has expanded beyond its traditional geographic zone. It is an awareness Day created to promote the safe, responsible, and positive use of the digital technology for the children and the young people and to inspire a national conversation. SID offers the chance to highlight the positive uses of technology and thereby exploring the role played by all of us in helping to create a better and safer online community.

SID in each year aims to raise awareness about the emerging online issues by choosing a topic that reflects the current concerns from the cyberbullying to social networking. The 2018 theme of SID is, “Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you.” The theme is a call to action for every stakeholder to play their active part in creating a better internet for everyone, particularly among the youngest users in the world. More than all, SID is an invitation for all the people to join in and respectfully engage with others to ensure a better digital and internet experience.

The concept of SID Committees was introduced in 2009 to strengthen the bonds with the countries outside the network and has now been celebrated in almost 130 countries worldwide coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network along with the support of the European Commission, and the national Safer Internet Centres across Europe. SID calls upon the young people, parents, teachers, social workers, carers, law enforcement, companies, policymakers, and wider, to join hands in helping to create a better internet. SID initiatives include conferences, competitions, awareness-raising campaigns focusing on cyberbullying, paedophilia including the online paedophilia, sexting, loss of privacy, video game addiction, lifestyle overly sedentary or lonely, among the younger users.

How to Celebrate Safer Internet Day

The best way to celebrate the Safer Internet Day is to make sure your children are safe over the internet. It is your sole duty to know whether you are carrying only the necessary information on the internet. Ensure all your private details you shared over the web is safe and secured. Get to know how to deal when there occurs a situation like cyberbullying. Expand your online safety portfolio as is the best Day to start. Keep an eye on your children’s internet activity and make them share their internet usage with you. You can share your views and thoughts on SID on the social media using the hashtags #SaferInternetDay or #SID.