{"id":7417,"date":"2023-02-07T12:26:41","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T12:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatlabs.com\/education\/?p=7417"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:04:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:04:46","slug":"safer-internet-day-2023-making-your-k12-school-safer-admin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatlabs.com\/education\/blog\/safer-internet-day-2023-making-your-k12-school-safer-admin\/","title":{"rendered":"Safer Internet Day 2023. Admin, Make your K12 School Safer"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been 20 years since the first Safer Internet Day was celebrated. \u201cTogether for a better internet\u201d – with this slogan, thousands of schools, organizations, and the IT industry worldwide take various actions on 7 February 2023 for a safer online experience for children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Important note for our European customers – this year, Safer Internet Day particularly highlights the <\/span>new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+)<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the organizers explain, <\/span>\u201cthis new strategy aims to ensure that children are protected, respected and empowered online in the new Digital Decade, in line with the European Digital Principles. The vision is for age-appropriate digital services, with every child in Europe protected, empowered and respected online, and no one left behind\u201d.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

How Serious is the Situation?<\/h2>\n

According to<\/span> 2021 statistics,<\/span><\/a> 4- to 18-year-old children in the US spend a huge amount of time on leading social media platforms. They devote statistically 99 minutes per day to TikTok. The time spent on Snapchat is 84 minutes, and on Instagram, 39 minutes a day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2021 in Ireland<\/span><\/a>, 70% of children aged 9-17 used mobile devices or smartphones daily and spent 2.1 average hours online on weekdays. This increases to 3.4 hours on the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

We would like to join Safer Internet Day 2023 by highlighting the most important areas of children\u2019s online safety that you can audit and improve at your school, Google Workspace Admin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u26d4\ufe0f<\/b> Self-harm & Suicide<\/h2>\n

This problem must be first on our checklist. Let\u2019s look at <\/span>the 2021 statistics.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

In the US, 43% of tweens (ages 8-12) and\u00a0 74.6% of teens (ages 13-19) have been exposed to self-harm and suicide situations on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other statistics are even more frightening. Suicide is the second most common cause of death for children aged 10-14. 14-18-year-old young people make more than 3,700 suicide attempts. Every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

The better way to help is prevention. As a K-12 Admin, you can also contribute a grain of sand to avoid worsening a student\u2019s mental state.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because a quick reaction is critical when life is at stake.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Control and limit students\u2019 harmful behavior, such as searching for suicide content or other self-harm keywords in the Chrome browser. With <\/span>GAT Shield<\/span><\/a>, you can set an alert for searched keywords or block access to all of them. And yes, you can select your own keywords that trigger an alarm as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u26d4\ufe0f Cyberbullying<\/h2>\n

We keep the second position on our list for another very sad online phenomenon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you know that <\/span>only 66% of children in Ireland <\/span><\/a>believe that other people are kind and helpful online? On the other hand, 24% of children have experienced people being nasty to each other at least once.<\/span><\/p>\n

We understand cyberbullying as aggressive and persistent behavior that repeats over time. The aggressors use social media and mobile phones, which often allows them to remain anonymous. A US study shows that <\/span>85% of teenagers have experienced<\/span><\/a> this as a victim, witness, or aggressor.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can start monitoring cyberbullying content using <\/span>GAT Shield for Education<\/span><\/a>. You will receive real-time notifications for inappropriate language the students use in the Chrome browser, on Chromebooks, and in Google Chat in your school domain.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Learn more about other ways to stop cyberbullying at your school <\/span>on our blog<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u26d4\ufe0f Cyber Scams<\/h2>\n

Phishing emails, fake online accounts and personalities, theft of personal information, viruses, malware\u2026 We would list Internet crimes endlessly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cybercrimes can affect not only large companies but also individuals, including young people and children. They are even more vulnerable to believing scammers due to their ignorance and lack of experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teachers and parents should make them aware of online scams directly; meanwhile, you can protect them in your tech way – by enforcing your domain email security. <\/span>GAT+<\/span><\/a> allows Google Workspace Admin to easily<\/span> find and remove phishing emails from all accounts at once.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Why not share <\/span>our blog post<\/span><\/a> on the signs of a phishing email with your school staff? If they prefer more visual language, here is an infographic on this topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t forget to protect your school system, which contains much sensitive personal data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u26d4\ufe0f Sexting<\/h2>\n

Nearly 69% of American children ages 8-12 years, and 91% of teens (13-19) found nudity or sexual content online <\/span>in 2021.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

It can happen unintentionally, but sexting – sharing intimate photos and messages with other people – also happens, with much worse consequences. Children need to be conscious that there are also bad people in the world who want to abuse or sexually harass them to achieve their goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Again, you can prevent that by trusting <\/span>the GAT Shield solution<\/span><\/a> while the students are using the Chrome browser at school.<\/span><\/p>\n

We leave here an educational video that shows how sexting works and what the consequences can be.<\/span><\/p>\n