Topic Tuesday // Let's Chat: Safer Internet Day // Tues 8th February, 7:00-8:30PM AEDT

[Daisydreamer]

Hi SANE Lived Experience Forum, 

The 8th of February is Safer Internet Day; a national awareness day to promote safety online. We are online more now than ever in history, accessing the internet for work, education, social connection, support, information, gaming.... the list goes on!

Part of using the internet is knowing how to do so safely so our experience is free from cyber crime, cyber bullying, and allows us to get the most out of technology.

As an online community, we rely on the internet to connect with each other, share experiences and seek help. Let's chat together about safety online, and how we can look after ourselves and others when using the internet. 

Safer Internet Day 2022

This year's theme for Safer Internet Day is Play it Fair Online which is all about the actions we can take online to ensure safety for ourselves and others.

Join the SANE Forums Community as we talk about things we can do to improve internet safety, and share your online experiences. By the end of this discussion, we hope to create a resource for our community for safer internet day based on your contributions!

Tips from the e-safety commission

Please join the discussion here on Tuesday the 8th of February 2022 from 7:00pm-8:30pm AEDT to follow this conversation. 

Want to know what time this event starts in your time zone? Check out the picture below:

Want to receive a reminder on the night? Hit the 'Support' button below and we will tag you 30 minutes before the event starts. 

New to the forums or want to get involved in this discussion? Check out the How To Guide for Topic Tuesdays.

[Daisydreamer]

Hi everyone, we will be kicking off this discussion in 25 minutes for safer internet day 🙂 

This discussion will talk about the role of cyber safety, and also how we look for and find safety online as a community. We may open this discussion tonight, and turn it into a week long event to give more members a chance to talk about safer internet day and how it can support our community 🙂  

Tagging those who supported this post @Zoe7 @StuF @Former-Member 

[Daisydreamer]

Hi there SANE Community Members, 

We are started off tagging members online to invite you to join in our discussion for Safer Internet Day! We will be talking about safety online, cyber bullying, and where to seek help if you are concerned about interactions you have had in online spaces. 

We will share a question or two tonight, and then will switch this discussion to instead be a week long discussion to ensure more members have the opportunity to join in 🙂

@BlueBay @CrazyChick @Daff @MDT @HenryX @LookingHopeful @RedHorse @TAB @Turtle82 @wellwellwellnez 

We are joined tonight by peer support worker @Former-Member 🙂 welcome everyone!

[Former-Member]

Hey everyone following along tonight, and a big hello to @Mum8!

@Mum8 wondering whether there was a particular area of interest for you tonight that you would like to discuss, or any questions you'd be keen to ask?

Looking forward to supporting the chat tonight, and possibly through the week 😊

[Daisydreamer]

Welcome @Mum8 and to those reading along 🙂 

We want to start by hearing from you:

What are you most interested in when it comes to Safer Internet Day? Is there anything you hope to explore in this discussion?

[RandleMcMurphy]

Hi, are you looking to discuss the technical means of internet security, or more to promote awareness from a content, or emotional standpoint?

[Mum8]

Thank you Rhye. Sorry this concern I have is very complicated so I don't think there will be a clear answer. I have a daughter who has been unwell with agoraphobia for about 18 mths and has recently been diagnosed with OCD. I mentioned to her first psychologist 2 years ago that I was concerned about what I termed as her "internet Addiction". She was suicidal at the time. The psychologist told me that it was keeping her calm so I should just allow her to use the internet. Unfortunately now whenever she isn't sleeping she is on the internet in her room with her window, curtain and door closed which is keeping her very isolated. I feel that I have completely lost my parental rights and given my responsibilities away as a parent as this has now got completely out of my hands. I think she is looking at unhelpful material and I'm trying to work out how to get some control back while still keeping her calm and safe.

[Daisydreamer]

You may be wondering, What is safer internet day?

Safer Internet Day is a national awareness day for us to reflect on and learn more about how we stay safe online. With more and more people across Australia relying on the internet for work, social connection, study, down time, finances, etc, there is an increase need for spaces to talk about how we stay safe and protect our information online. 

In an anonymous space like the SANE Forums, safety and protecting your privacy is really important.

This year, the Safer Internet Theme is Play it Safe and Play it Fair online which is about ensuring that we are staying safe, and being respectful in the spaces we use online. Ultimately, the internet is a big part of many of our lives, so let's chat more about what this year's theme means to us, and how we can improve the Forums space to keep is safe and respectful

[Daisydreamer]

Hi @Mum8, thank you for being here tonight. Navigating the online space with our kids can be really challenging, especially when it seems that more and more of their lives are online. Feeling concerned about the level of internet use is understandable, and know you are not alone in this feeling. 

When your daughter is online, how is she using the internet? What kinds of spaces is she connected with?

I can imagine it must be challenging to get that response from your daughter's supports as well, and makes setting boundaries around technology use more challenging when it is a core part of her coping strategies I hear your concerns around her dependence on it. If you don't mind me asking, how old is your daughter?

[Former-Member]

Hey there @RandleMcMurphy, and welcome to the forums and so great to see you here this evening!

Safer Internet Day 2022 is all about "Playing it Fair Online" – and the three tenets this year are "Safe, Respectful & Kind". So to your question, I think it's about creating safe spaces online for the whole of community, and part of that is making sure we are all emotionally safe online. This could absolutely be from a content perspective and what we share with others, as well as how we communicate and ensuring that our online spaces embody these three key elements – safety, respect and kindness. 

Was there anything you'd be keen to chat about this evening? Would love to hear your thoughts about what safety online means to you 🙂