Home
Tips for Socialising Online
Below is a checklist of important things to do when helping children to navigate social networking sites, search engines or online games safely.
- Look after each other online – talk with your family and friends about how to be cybersafe.
- Download the Government's Cybersafety Help Button. The Help Button provides internet users, particularly children, with easy online access to cybersafety information and assistance available in Australia.
- Think before you post! Posting personal information – including photos – may seem harmless but could put people at risk. Once it's online, it's really hard to take down.
- Keep your passwords secret. To make your password really hard to hack make sure it includes numbers and symbols, and change it often. Visit Stay Smart Online for more information.
- Smartphones can pinpoint your exact location and publish this online. Think carefully before you check in and tell the world where you are. Learn more at Cybersmart's Geolocaters page.
- Check if the site has an age limit or rating. Some have age limits to protect you from inappropriate content.
- Use the Cybersafety Help Button to report cyberbullying and inappropriate content directly to social media sites, the ACMA or the Australian Federal Police.
- Use the privacy settings to control who can see your personal information. You can also use a site's settings to block users who make you feel uncomfortable.
- There is no such thing as safe sexting. You could be breaking the law if you send, receive or forward these types of pictures. Learn more at Cybersmart's Sexting page.
- Tribute pages dedicated to the memory of a friend or loved one need to be carefully monitored – it can be very upsetting if people make disrespectful or offensive comments on these pages. Carefully manage your page permissions to control who can access and post to the page.
