Officially, Safer Internet Day was Tuesday, February 9th, recognized in more than 100 countries around the world. But, in the U.S., the official Safer Internet Day celebration was online and asynchronous, which means all of the resources, videos and activities remain available.
This year’s global theme is “Together for a Better Internet,” but ConnectSafely took it one step further with “The internet starts with ‘I’ and ends with ‘T.” The “I” reminds us that we all have a role to play — kids, parents, educators, companies, organizations and governments. And the “T,” which stands for “Together” takes us back to that global theme.
In normal years, ConnectSafely, the U.S. coordinator of Safer Internet Day, sponsors in-person events for schools and families. But, because of the pandemic, this year’s “event” consisted of videos, lesson plans and home conversation starters. And, because we know how busy everyone is, we’ve broken these down into bite-sized pieces so you don’t have to sit through an entire day’s worth of presentations, teach an extended lesson or spend a lot of time at home focusing on internet safety.
The goal this year was to keep it simple and quick. Learning how to use the internet in a safe, secure and kind manner doesn’t require a huge time investment and it should not be a one-shot approach. The most important tool, especially for families, is an occasional conversation — perhaps over dinner, where every member of the family talks about how they protect themselves and others online, never a lecture or an inquisition.
Lesson plans, conversation starters & videos
At ConnectSafely, we believe that every day should be Safer Internet Day and, to that end, here are resources that you can use today with our Lesson Plans and Conversation Starters for Families, along with video interviews (below) with leaders from the worlds of education, technology, nonprofits and law enforcement about a range of urgent issues, including online toxicity, racial justice, free speech, misinformation, how to manage screen time while staying connected during the pandemic and the very real pressure to be “perfect” online.
You can watch them anytime here.