Well, I’ve taken the plunge. It is an initiative I have been thinking about for a while. Having worked within this area for a number of years, spoken to countless people, visited and spoken to hundreds of schools, met software developers and companies, the question still remains – what is esafety?
Esafety is a big area, but people tend to make it more complicated than it actually is. The word “technology” frightens some people, but realistically the principles are no different than real life. The problem with technology is that it makes it easier for adults and children to take risks worldwide, 24 x 7. In some cases it allows anonymity of perpetrators to prey on the vulnerabilities of others 24 x 7.
Who is this blog for ? Anyone – parents, educators, other professionals that work with children or vulnerable adults, children and young people – esafety is applicable to everyone!
Over the course of the following weeks, months, and who knows even years I’m hopefully going to answer that question. There are many areas of esafety, within each area there are different audiences with slightly different advice and guidance, e.g. advice in an assembly is not the same but is similar to a parental audience.
What are some of these areas?
- Child abuse using the internet as a medium: Facebook; role playing games; internet chat, amongst others.
- Cyber-bullying – via mobile phone (texting, BBM etc.), social networking (i.e. Facebook, Twitter).
- Personal data theft – phishing scams.
- Copyright data theft.
- Inappropriate use of the internet or risk taking behaviour using the internet.
There is software available that can help in some circumstances and I’ll be taking a look at some, but this is a reactive measure. Nothing beats education and awareness raising.
There’s lots to do, including sprucing this site up a little, but in the meantime let me know if there are topics or areas you would like to be included.