The Cyber-safety hat… for our kids!

I wear many hats, in my various ‘jobs*’ living out here in the sticks…

I wear a battered felt Akubra of a beef producer.

I wear the wash-worn hat of a mother (and long-distance driver to boarding school!).

I wear a misshapen straw faux-cowgirl hat as chief lawn-mower of our hola-enormous houseyard, and pool-girl.

I wear a ridiculous party-girl ensemble of plastic flowers-and-fruit to make my mates smile on their Big Birthdays.

I wear a writers-and-photographer’s back-to-front peaked cap as a blogger (and part-time journo-for-hire).

And I wear a thinking cap as admin for a group called Better Internet for Rural, Regional and Remote Australia. Or BIRRR as it’s often known.

At BIRRR, I am one of an amazing team of five ‘admins’ – all busy, bush women who put aside precious personal time to advocate, lobby (and troubleshoot) for people from all across this great nation of ours.  Improving connections. Fighting for better options.  And sharing information, allowing internet-users to help themselves.

A few weeks ago, I decided to add a very special resource to that page recently – something that perhaps I should have done months or years ago… a page to help people (especially families with school-age children) to navigate the internet, and particularly social media, safely.

It was, in part, prompted by the terrible loss of a young Northern Territory girl called Dolly.  Dolly had been bullied via social media, and tragically took her own life in January this year – she was just 14.  Her story shook Australia, and prompted her family to begin the #DoItForDolly campaign and Dolly’s Dream Charity, which in turn inspired all kinds of fundraising including an amazing rodeo (which Dash and Violet both attended).  The tsunami of grief and support was incredible, and will hopefully help save young lives into the future.  Sometimes you feel a little helpless in the surge of such emotion…

And then it HIT me… what I needed to do. What I should have done AGES ago…

Show people the tools we have at hand, the actions we have available to us, to begin to really filter the bullying out of the lives of our kids.

So I put on my BIRRR cap and got busy.

And (with some assistance from my BIRRR crew and a gazillion online resources) we created… the BIRRR CYBER SAFETY PAGES.

Because it’s such a vast area to cover, and no-one wants to trawl unnecessarily, I divided the info into sections:

• TIPS and TOOLS for STUDENTS (and really for everyone online!)
•  TIPS and TOOLS FOR PARENTS (helping you see what kids are doing, and how to keep on top of it), and
• TIPS FOR SCHOOLS (a good checklist, for schools and families to start conversations around the protection their school does/should offer).

I have tried not to make it a ‘preachy’ area, simply showing readers what is out there to help them (and their families) have safer online experiences.  A way to ‘take back the power’ of the internet, if you will.

I wanted remind those whose behavior is hurting others, to understand that their digital footprints will be with them into the future, and that ABOVE ALL, being bullied is something they CAN SURVIVE and that it is NOT THEIR FAULT…

I hope that it is a resource that is used widely… I’d love you to:

• CHECK it out
• give me some FEEDBACK, and
• SHARE IT ON in your networks!

Let’s help families have safer cyber experiences.

🙂

*And when I say jobs, I don’t necessarily mean the ‘paid’ variety! 😉