February 11^th 2014 marks the annual ‘Safer Internet Day’, dedicated to increasing awareness on the dangers of the Internet and the education of Internet users, with particular focus on youngsters. The day is marked worldwide, with this year’s theme centring on creating a better Internet together.

The initiative stemmed from an EU SafeBorders project in 2004. A spokesperson for the initiative claims that it covers matters from cyberbullying to social networking. The initiative’s website, Saferinternetday.org provides a platform for countries and international organisations to showcase events and actions conducted locally, nationally and internationally, for Safer Internet Day.

One charity fully backing the initiative is Childline Gibraltar. Speaking to YGTV on the biggest Internet threats facing local youngsters, a spokesperson for the charity insisted that as there are many issues, it is difficult to pinpoint one specifically, as it also depends on the person and how they use the Internet. They added, ‘for some it would be cyberbullying (which is on the increase here), for others it would be online grooming by paedophiles, for others sexting, internet addiction, then there is identity theft and also the threat of unrestricted access to inappropriate images and websites (such as sites which promote self-harming).’

Steps can be taken by parents to protect their children from such threats. Jo Abergel, of Childline noted that children should use the Internet in a family room, where parents can keep an eye on what they are doing. Childline also advised parents to set up appropriate filter and parental controls on all of their internet-enabled devices.

Finally, it is suggested that parents set firm rules regarding internet usage; ‘creating a family agreement is a useful step, which might include time spent online, sites that can be visited, behaviour expected. Set boundaries as you would for any of their other activities’.