Let's talk about being safe online

'Let's talk about being safe online' written by me, Jayneen Sanders,

in consultation with the E-Safety Commissioner and illustrated by Jess Racklyeft.

Hi, I'm Charlie and these are my friends online and offline.
I'm Lee, I'm Kira, I'm Darcy and I'm Nour.
We can do some amazing things online.

Every day my friends and I use phones and devices
to talk to our families and each other.
We play fun games, watch cool videos together, learn new stuff 
and even stay strong and healthy.

Being online can help me feel close to my family, friends and community, 

find important information, share my ideas and what matters to me.

Devices and apps should be built to protect you from messages, pitches or

people online that may hurt you.

They should also be fun, perfect for your age
and keep your information private.
Private means just for you.

We have private spaces in our homes like the
bathroom and your bedroom.
In the online space, private information means information about you
that you don't share with others.
For example, where you live.

A lot of the time we feel happy
and safe to explore what's online.
But being online can be tricky sometimes too
and not everyone online is friendly and kind.

In this book you will learn how to keep yourself
safer online and know how to
get help if something worries you.

Using technology safely.
Okay, on the next pages we will look at things
you can do to have fun online and stay safe.
Before you start, choose a safety network.

Your safety network is three to five safe and
trusted adults who you can talk to whenever you
feel worried or unsafe, online or offline.

These adults will listen to you and believe you.
They will do their best to help you.
Make sure that at least one of these adults is
someone who is not in your family.

They could be a teacher,
a coach or a kids helpline counsellor.
Your safety network might change
over time as well and that's okay.

So up here we have the kids helpline number.
So who will be on your safety network? 
Remember it is always your choice.

Who is in your safety network?

And this is Charlie's safety network.

Here are some important online safety skills you
need before you get started. 
Set up your games or apps for safety.
When you set up a new app or game with one of 
your trusted adults, make sure 
you set your profile to private.

This means the information you share is safe and
that people you don't know will
not be able to contact you online.

Talk with your trusted adults about what picture
is appropriate to use for your profile.

You can check the location settings on your
device and apps with a trusted adult.
Sometimes sharing your location can show people
where you live or where you go,
so it's important to be careful.

Expect respect and be respectful.
Respect means being friendly, kind and taking
care with other people's feelings.
It also means respecting other people's rights to
keep things about themselves private.

For example, no one has to post things about
themselves or have their pictures or
video shared without their consent.

Consent means asking if 
something is okay or not okay.
It means one person asks for permission and the
other person gives permission or not.

If someone wants to share a photo or video of you
and you don't want them to, you have the right to
say no and then tell a trusted adult on your
safety network what happened.

Even if you gave permission before,
you can always change your mind.

Safer and unsafe situations online.
After you have set up your device, apps and games
with your trusted adult, there are some more
important things for you to know.

Early warning signs.
Sometimes your body might give you a clue that something online isn't quite right.
Like feeling sick in your
tummy or feeling shaky all over.

These kinds of feelings are
called your early warning signs.
When you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, you might
get just one of your early
warning signs or you might get many.

Here are some of the early warning
signs you may get if you feel unsafe.
A sweaty brow, goose bumps, shaky all over,
sweaty palms, needing to go to the toilet, hair feeling like it's standing on end, 
starting to cry, heart beating fast,
feeling sick in the tummy, wobbly legs.

Talk to an adult in your safety network.
Sometimes you might feel excited at first or
confused about what is happening.
If you ever feel any of your early warning signs,
you should get help from a trusted adult in your
safety network as soon as you can.

For example, if you feel unsure,
uncomfortable or unsafe online,
you receive messages that
make you feel uncomfortable.

Someone you are chatting to
online seems gross, weird or sus,
or doesn't seem to be telling the truth.

Someone asks you to send
pictures or videos of yourself.
Someone contacts you
online and you don't know them.

Here are some more important things you need to
know about being safer and unsafe online.

Safer online.
Play games, watch videos or have video calls
without headphones on in shared spaces, such as
the kitchen or the lounge room.

Talk to your trusted adults about
who you chat, game or message with.
Only play games that are
designed for kids your age.
These are made especially for you.

Tell a trusted adult if you see a video or photo
or hear a message that makes you feel
uncomfortable or unsafe, or if anyone invites you
to a place online you haven't been before.

Unsafe online.
Someone asking you to keep a secret about things
that happen online, or asking you
to keep a chat or gift a secret.
Staying in a game chat where other players are
saying rude, mean or
inappropriate things to you or others.

Going into a private chat or sharing your
personal information with
someone you first met online.
Someone sending private
pictures or asking you to do the same.
Being made to feel scared, embarrassed or pressured to do things
online that don't feel okay.

Watching things online that make you feel 
confused, sad, worried or scared.
What should you do if someone
asks you to keep a secret online?
How to keep safe in tricky situations.

Let's help Lee manage a
tricky online safety situation.
Lee has made some new friends in a game.
He feels good because they all enjoy playing the
game together and they sometimes
cheer him up if he's having a bad day.

Then one of his new friends asks him to chat privately so he can share a special thing from the game. This friend asks him to keep the private chat a secret.

How might Lee feel? What can Lee do?

When someone online asks you to keep a secret, tell a trusted adult in your safety network as soon as you can.
You can say, "something happened online that made me feel scared, excited, angry, nervous, unsure."

Sometimes when you are online something worrying might happen, but you might feel afraid that you will get into trouble if you tell your parent or carer.

For example, you may have been using your device at a time when you weren't supposed to be and you are worried your device will be taken away.
Even if you think you may get into trouble, the safest thing to do is to go to a trusted adult straight away. They will help you manage the tricky situation.

If an adult in your safety network can't or won't help you, it's important to keep talking to one of the other trusted adults in your safety network for help.

Some things that can help you deal with the tricky situation are: Ignore the person or block their account. Tell the person to stop contacting you. 
Ask your safety network for help. Shut down the device and go offline.

Kids deserve to be safe. It's never your fault when bad things happen online.

Consent and sharing safely online. Remember, even if you're chatting online in your living room or bedroom, the online world is not private and things can be shared more than you expect.

Sometimes when you're playing games or chatting online, sharing with a friend can be fun. Before you share or post things online, it's always a good idea to think about the grandma or teacher test.

This means asking yourself, "Would I be happy if my grandma or teacher saw this text, photo or video?" If the answer is no, then don't share.
Talk with your trusted adults about what is okay to share about yourself online. For example, you might agree that you can share
posts and videos of yourself privately with your family, but you can't post these online.

Personal information like your address and school should always be kept private. Personal information like your birthday, 
phone number, where you live and where you go to school is private.

This means being careful when sharing photos that show where you live or your school uniform.
When you're gaming or having a video chat, you can add or blur your background to prevent anyone seeing your location.

Asking before taking photos and videos of others. People should ask for your consent before sharing anything about you.
Even family members. This can include people sharing personal information or pictures of you online. 
You have the right to say yes or no to people sharing photos or videos of you online. When someone takes a picture without asking,
it can feel like they have invaded your personal space.

So, it's okay to say no. 

Keeping safe around photos and videos. No one should ever ask you for private photos or share their private photos with you.

They also shouldn't pressure you to do things you don't want to do in a video call or chat, or ask you to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
Your body is private and it belongs to you. Your private parts are the parts of your body under your bathing suit. Other parts of your body
might be private as well.

For example, for some people, their head or their legs might be a private part of their body.

These might feel private because of your culture or maybe you prefer these parts of your body to be private.

What if something gets shared about you? Sometimes when we share things online, these things can be shared more
widely than you might expect. For example, if you post a picture in a private chat with your best friend, they might share it
with their family and friends. Or they could even repost it on a website without asking for your consent.

Also, your picture could be changed around to look really different from the one you shared with them.

Do you think it is okay for people to share things without your consent? If something does happen without your consent, the most important thing is to
get help from your trusted adult.

Tricky content.
Don't forget, the internet can be a fun place, but not everything online is safe for kids. When you are online, you might see photos or
videos that make you feel anxious, unsafe or uncomfortable. 

Sometimes friends, siblings or even adults can share things that kids shouldn't see. This might be done accidentally or on purpose.

Maybe someone sent you pictures of people's private parts on purpose. Or maybe an unsafe ad popped up on your screen by accident.
Remember, if you see pictures or videos that aren't safe for kids, you don't have to deal with it on your own. As soon as you can, go to one of your trusted
adults and talk to them about what you saw. Even if you feel embarrassed, remember it's not your fault and you didn't do anything wrong.

Remember, you don't have to look at or do anything that upsets you or makes you feel unsure, uncomfortable or unsafe. 
Even if someone tries to show you something you don't want to see, you do not have to look at it. Remember, your trusted adults are there for you.
You can talk to them about anything and they will listen to you and help you.

You don't have to carryall your worries by yourself. Remember, if a mistake has been made or something unsafe has happened,
please tell your trusted adult.

Speaking up is brave and the best thing to do. Remember, your online adventures should be fun and feel comfortable.

If something happens online that worries you, you should talk to your trusted adult. 

Have fun online and explore safely.