Well, you can't have failed to notice that it's Safer Internet Day today. As a mum but also a teacher of teens, I'm very concerned about the issue of cyber-bullying because I've seen how fast it can get out of hand and how upset kids can get over it. I won't allow 10-year-old Sophie to have her own Facebook account but most of her friends have already got one (despite being below the legal age of 13) and many have already been subjected to nasty comments or even threats. I allow her to chat with her best friend using my Facebook account while I'm with her but that's all I'm prepared to accept for the moment because I just think she's too young to be internet-savvy. I therefore think this 'How to be Web Safe’ competition is a fabulous idea and I'll definitely be encouraging Sophie to get involved.
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What’s Your Story? Now’s your time to share!
Trend Micro launches new competition for Safer Internet Day
Have you ever had a bad experience on the internet, or know someone who has? Or perhaps you have some tips for staying safe online that you would like to share?
Launching on Safer Internet Day, 7th February 2012, the ‘What’s your Story?’ competition, organised by internet security expert Trend Micro in partnership with Get Safe Online, invites schools, families, and individuals aged 7+, to create and submit a short video, song, story, poem or drawing to share their advice to other young people about ‘How to be Web Safe’ – and offers £5,000 to the Grand Prize winner.
Now in its third year, the competition aims to help teachers, parents, and young people to become more aware of internet safety, in a fun and engaging way, whilst encouraging them to act safely and responsibly online. The internet is a powerful tool and using it is an important life skill.
“Following the success of last year’s global competition, we wanted to expand the ways in which young people in the UK could take part in the contest. There are now plenty of ways for them to express their creativity and show others how to best take responsibility for their actions online and raise awareness of the issues they may face. Keeping children safe online is paramount; from cyberbullying to viruses and the more publicised risks, it’s all about striking the right balance between allowing them to maintain a sense of independence and feeling able to ask for advice – and this competition allows them to do just that, while sharing their own experiences too.” said Rik Ferguson, Director Security Research & Communication EMEA at Trend Micro
As part of the campaign, Trend Micro Internet Safety for Kids and Families has teamed up with some of the world’s leading organisations, to create a judging panel which includes: Get Safe Online, Childnet International, Yahoo! and Diana Award.
Tony Neate, Managing Director 'Get Safe Online', said: “The ‘What's Your Story?’ competition is a brilliant opportunity for young people and schools to get creative and learn from their peers about using technology safely, in a fun and engaging way, whilst encouraging everyone to act responsibly online. With recent research from Trend Micro showing that a third of children aged 11-15 admit to taking more risks online than in real life, there’s never been a better time to remind them that the internet is a powerful tool and using it is an important life skill.”
Research by Trend Micro reveals that:
• 12% of children accept any friend request they receive on Facebook
· Nearly half of children (44%) have friends on Facebook that they have never met in real life
• Half of children also use the internet mostly on their own, unsupervised, and admit to not telling the truth about bad experiences online
· 41% of parents feel that their children hide some of their online activity... but 57% of children admit to hiding online activity from Mum and Dad
What’s Your Story will award a grand prize of £5,000 to the winning entry, as well as three runner-up prizes of £500 each, and one school runner-up prize of £1,000. The last day to submit video entries is 3 April 2012. To learn more about the competition and submit your entry, visit www.trendmicro.co.uk/whatsyourstory or email trend@octopuscomms.net.
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
Safer Internet Day : advice on ‘Connecting generations’ from Club Penguin's Lucy Woodward
7th February is Safer Internet Day - NETGEAR advises Parental Control
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
Safer Internet Day : advice on ‘Connecting generations’ from Club Penguin's Lucy Woodward
7th February is Safer Internet Day - NETGEAR advises Parental Control
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