The problems and issues are obvious (e.g. When the tech becomes unfriendly) but what to do about it isn't always so clear. The CEOP Safer Internet Day site has a number of good resources and ideas that will help. For example, there is a video competition which, apart from anything else, provides an example of the positive use of the Internet since the video competition entries will be posted on YouTube.
I suspect that online safety is an area that is worth revisiting and reminding myself about on a regular basis because, even though I like to think I am fairly knowledgeable about the pitfalls as well as the possibilities of online communication, I can still be caught out on occasion. For example, the theme of this year's day is Think Before You Post and an incident this morning shows I need to think more carefully about what I say online. I sent a tweet to a friend when he said he was at the shops. I asked why he wasn't at school and accused him of truanting... except I used a colloquialism for truanting which is in common use (or at least used to be) in the West Coast of Scotland. Unfortunately, this once innocent term has now acquired adult connotations and I received an unwelcome re-tweet as a result of this alternative interpretation. That'll learn me to Think Before I Post! What I mean to say isn't always what people read into it.
What do you think? Are regular reminders of Internet safety issues a good idea or can they be counter-productive? Are you doing anything for Safer Internet Day?
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