Life Online is what YOU make of IT

Another Safer Internet Day is marked worldwide today, which is organised by Insafe, a network of 23 organizations in 21 countries and is aimed at children and younger internet users. This year’s theme is “Life online is what YOU make of IT”. Its goal is to help young people better understand the impact that the internet can have on their lives, both positively and negatively.

I think it’s important to stress that Internet hat both sides – positive as well as negative and that all depends on me, you … the way I use it. As the Internet can not have the negative or positive connotation per se. It derives only from the use of it

As the years before also this year children and young people were invited to participate in the competition with projects answering questions like: Is the internet a positive or negative element in today’s world? Are mobile phones only about “connecting people”? Can we believe everything we see on the internet? Do we behave differently online than in the “physical” world? How does our behaviour impact on the online environment?

Each year a series of events are run to promote safer use of the internet and one of them is the worldwide “blogathon” where postings and comments are encouraged from visitors, children, schools, parents... This year takes place another blogathon, based on this year’s theme “Life online is what YOU make of IT”.

We can see blogathon an example of incidental citizen practise, public that has been formed temporarily with one objective: to reflect on the same topic that is important for them and the society.