06 February 2012 | General, ISCH, ICT
Safer Internet Day
Safer Internet Day 2012 take places on Tuesday 7 February 2012 and focuses on the theme "Connecting generations and educating each other", by encouraging users young and old to "discover the digital world together...safely"! Helping science and research provide a safer Internet for young media users, COST actively supports the fight against cyberbullying.
A safer web
26 % of children report having a public social networking profile. 12 % of European 9-16 year olds say they have been bothered or upset by something on the Internet; yet 56 % of parents whose child has received nasty or hurtful messages online are not aware of this. One in eight parents don’t seem to mediate their children’s online activities, while 56 per cent of parents take positive steps such as suggesting to their children how to behave towards others online.
Safer Internet Day is organised by Insafe (European network of Awareness Centres), and co-funded by the European Union, in February each year to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.
Cyberbullying
One of the threats to safe use of the Internet and new technologies is cyberbullying. It refers to the harassment of others by means of new electronic technologies, primarily mobile phones and the Internet. Traditional forms of bullying in schools are more commonly known, and a great deal of research has been carried out into these phenomena. Cyberbullying has arisen and increased dramatically in the past few years, hand-in-hand with the technological development of new communications tools.
Mobile phone companies and Internet service providers, researchers, students, teachers, parents, unions - as well as local, regional and national authorities - are all starting to engage in various ways with the issues involved in cyberbullying. Despite the topic being widely discussed, research is relatively scarce. There are, of course, many positive uses of new communications technologies for relationships in schools, such as using a school intranet for peer support services. The development and uptake of these tools must however emphasise their constructive roles, and this is exactly why it is so important to promote cyberbullying research.
With this in mind COST Action IS0801 'Cyberbullying: Coping with Negative and Enhancing Positive Uses of New Technologies, in Relationships in Educational Settings' focuses on both coping with the negative aspects and enhancing the positive uses of new, relationship-building technologies within educational settings. This COST Action brings researchers together beyond Europe’s borders - helping make information and communication technologies safer for everyone.
