Throughout the last few years the number of children regularly using the internet has risen with 2/3 children ages 5-16 being online every day. Although the use of tablets and mobile phones can be monitored there are still risks and dangers online, however there are ways as educators and adults to safeguard children using the internet.

Working in a school means you may also actively use the internet, to get information for classes, using videos in lessons or using apps to interact with students sharing lesson plans or homework tasks.

What Is the Importance of Staying Safe Online?

Some people may wonder why it is so crucial that we protect our data online but, it is much more important than people can imagine.

• Keeping your personal data is very essential while online, the more public information you post can make it easier for people to steal your data and make it easier for hackers. Hacking means when someone can log into your account and access your information, although you can amend your privacy settings if somebody was to get into your account, they can view data such as mobile numbers and email addresses. However, you can choose a good password for social media by looking at these tips.

• Once posted, always posted. As social media channels gain popularity the more likely people are to post, friends and family may also post or share images or posts of you. But this can have a bad effect on you, by posting personal views or perhaps certain images can cause many issues. Whilst looking for jobs your potential employer may look on your social media and not like your activity online, and it is known that this has caused people to not get job roles. Therefore, it is important to remember who may be looking at your profiles.

How to Stay Safe on Social Media

Some teaching staff may be unaware of how to protect students and themselves online, however it is an easy process. Here are some ways to ensure safety on social media platforms.

Facebook: Facebook is known to be a popular social media channel to use, but many people don’t protect themselves and their information properly online. Take a look at the list of privacy and security settings you can change directly through your Facebook account.

Instagram: Instagram is a very popular social media platform with Primary and Secondary students; therefore, it is very important that we make sure they are aware of how to protect themselves via this platform. Changing privacy settings on Instagram is also very easy, but here are some answersto frequently asked questions.

Other popular social media channels include Snapchat, Twitterand WhatsApp. These channels are also vital to be secure, there are some other issues that may arise from these such as cyberbully, which is something to be aware of as an educator.

Why Stay Online?

Although the internet can have some downfalls and it is important to know how to be protected, there are also many ways we can benefit by spending time online. The internet makes it easy to stay connected with family and friends, educate yourself or maybe share your own knowledge with others.

At Aspire People we use social media channels such as, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitterand Instagram to stay connected and inform the people we work with. Not only can we offer internet safety tips we have many more blogs on how we can help you.