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Safer Internet Day (SID), which falls on February 10th this year, helps promote safe and more responsible use of technology and mobile phones, especially for young children and teenagers.
This day of awareness and education gets more important every year because, for better or worse, the Internet is a part of our everyday lives; it’s become commonplace to upload selfies to Instagram, tweet our every thought, and check-in at our local coffee shop everyday.
But what exactly can be done to really ensure our online privacy and security? That is where Safer Internet Day comes in. Created in Europe 11 years ago, this is SID’s second year with a U.S.-based organization at the helm. Nonprofit ConnectSafely.org was appointed as the first U.S. host last year and is holding a livestreamed event in Menlo Park this year.
What’s In Store for SID 2015
Larry Magid, the co-director of Connect Safely, says the event is a reminder for people to be safer in a positive way. “Safety isn’t just the absence of danger but the presence of positive action and experiences,” explains Magid.
The tagline for this year’s Safer Internet Day is “Actions & Activism Toward a Better Net & World.” The event will be celebrated in over 100 countries around the world.
Many well-known speakers will give talks at SID 2015, including California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and National PTA President Otha Thornton.
The event will also include three panels discussing the following topics: “Beyond Bullying: Dealing with Trolling and Social Cruelty”, “Using Technology to Effect Social Change,” and “Wrapping It All Up: A Conversation with Industry Leaders.”
Safer Internet Day is a great chance for all of us to think about things we already do — and things we could start doing — to safeguard our digital world.
You can watch the livestream of the event in Menlo Park, and keep up by using hashtag #SIDUS2015 and connect with the organizers directly by following @connectsafely and @larrymagid.
