Social media is a great way for students to keep in touch with their friends, build study groups, and share knowledge. In Australia alone, around one in two people use Facebook on a daily basis, and the average teenager spends over 1200 hours on social media platforms each year.
Keeping kids safe on the internet is more important now than ever before. Young people and students have the right to access information, connect with friends, and share information online just like everybody else, but the reality is, being online without adequate safety measures in place can put them in a vulnerable position. In other words, they can be unsuspecting victims of online criminal activities such as malware and cyber bullying.
Social media is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and even discover new ones, not to mention a great means of staying on top of all the latest news, music, movies, and trends. However, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram also have a darker side: cyber bullying.
All too often we see the aftermath of cyber bullying on the news—tragic accounts of young lives deeply affected by online harassment and bullying. A child you know may have already experienced cyber bullying in some form, or even taken part in it.