A deep dive into the Safer Internet Day 2023 resources: 14-18 years edition

Each year in the UK, Safer Internet Day explores a new issue or theme which is impacting the lives of young people in the UK.

This year, the theme is all about putting children and young people’s voices at the forefront of the campaign, encouraging them to help shape the future of online safety support.

Education resources are there to help teachers and professionals – whether as part of a school, charity, youth group, police service, business, library or wider – to deliver engaging and interactive Safer Internet Day sessions.

Geared around starting conversations, these activities provide opportunities to hear from children and young people about the issues most affecting them online. By understanding their perspectives and experiences, we can provide the very best support and advice.

Last time, we spotlighted specific resources in our educational pack to use for 11-14 years ; in this final edition, we’re taking a look at what’s in store for 14-18 years when exploring this year’s theme:

The resources include activities that:

There is also an assembly which introduces the Safer Internet Day campaign and theme.

‘Would you rather’ is an interactive and fast paced activity found on page 9 which will get your learners voting on what they would pick if they could only choose one option between various online related choices. Slides have been provided if your learners would benefit from visual aids for this activity.

You can use Activity 1, 2 and 3 to form a whole lesson plan.

Begin with Activity 1, where learners will reflect on their own and their peer’s online experiences. Line learners up and ask them to take a step forward each time a statement relates to them.

Next, using Activity 2, ask learners to plot a series of online issues on a scale of level of harm for young people and how often they happen.

Finally, in Activity 3, learners should pick their top three issues from the graph they would like to focus on in more detail. In small groups learners should discuss a few questions which allows them to dig deeper into the risks and then present their discussions and thoughts back to the whole group.

‘Tech on display’ can be found on page 9 and encourages learners to use their devices, something often discouraged in educational settings. Using the list provided, invite learners to be the first to find things on their phone or online, such as: their screen time settings, a positive news story, a reporting page on social media etc.