6 Being safe and responsible online
If you’re going online, you need to be SMART. But what does SMART stand for?
Safe
Meeting
Accepting
Reliable
Tell
- Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information to people you are chatting with online. Personal information would be things like your full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or the name of your school.
- Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. You should only do this with your parents’ or carers’ permission, and even then only when they can be present.
- Accepting emails or IM messages, or following hyperlinks or opening files or texts from people you don’t know or trust can lead to problems – they may contain viruses or nasty messages!
- Information you find on the Internet may not be true (reliable), or someone online may be lying about who they are. Make sure you check information before you believe it.
- Tell your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried, or if you or someone you know is being bullied online.
Online safety
To learn more, here are some videos about online safety:
- ‘Facebook safety for kids’ (Norton Healthcare) [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
- ‘Little Red Riding Mood’ (Funmoods)
- ‘Lee and Kim’ (CEOP)
Activity: Being safe on the Internet
Answer the scenarios below about what to do when using a computer or smartphone.
What do you do if …
a.
Say no.
b.
Ignore or delete.
c.
Tell someone.
The correct answer is a.
a.
Say no.
b.
Ignore or delete.
c.
Tell someone.
The correct answer is b.
a.
Say no.
b.
Ignore or delete.
c.
Tell someone.
The correct answer is c.
a.
Say no.
b.
Ignore or delete.
c.
Tell someone.
The correct answer is a.
a.
Say no.
b.
Ignore or delete.
c.
Tell someone.
The correct answer is c.
a.
Say no.
b.
Ignore or delete.
c.
Tell someone.
The correct answer is c.
Activity: The Adventures of Smartie the Penguin
Now read a story produced by Kidsmart about Internet safety called The Adventures of Smartie the Penguin.
5 Getting the right web page