What your business can do to help - Keeping young people safe and healthy online: EVERFI
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Keeping young people
safe and healthy online:
What your business
can do to help
uk.everfi.com
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 2
Introduction
Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012,
15% are the first to have grown up with the
internet and social media from birth.
And yet, despite parental control Some 3 million children’s
of 11 to 14s say they know filters, age verification and more, identities were stolen online
where to go to find reliable many are frighteningly ill-equipped across the world in 2018.
information online about to negotiate their lives online. What’s more, we know that
sex and relationships. screen time can lead to sleep
Childnet, a UK internet safety deprivation, depression, loneliness,
charity, found that only 15% of addiction and much else.
11 to 14s say they know where
to go to find reliable information But at the same time, online
online about sex and relationships. communities can provide
enormous value, from helping
3 million A staggering 37% of 13-to 25-year-
olds told UK anti-bullying charity
young people discover interests
and opportunities to providing
Ditch the Label that they had much-needed support.
posted a naked photo of themselves
online at least once. Gen Z and those born just after
them - Gen Alpha - are coming
Online communities can feel and of age online.
children’s identities were function like a close-knit group
stolen online across the of friends, but of course it isn’t. They are creating digital footprints
world in 2018. while still maturing and learning.
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 3
Pictures or comments they tweet If you or your organisation are
or post in childhood may well interested in supporting the
haunt them as they grow older. teaching of digital literacy in
secondary schools across the
25 years We owe it to them to ensure they
make safe and healthy choices
UK, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us at jbarlow@
about how to engage with everfi.com and we’ll be in touch.
technology, especially in the
uncertain times that now lie ahead. For this report, we’ve spoken to
experts to provide you with the
Keeping young people safe and latest insights on young people’s
Our experience of healthy online is one of the most digital literacy in the UK.
driving social impact important things a business can do.
through education. We share some surprising - and
Corporate leaders and technology alarming - facts on online safety.
companies have an opportunity
to be pioneers in this area and Above all, we explain what your
to provide much-needed digital business can do to ensure young
literacy programmes in our schools. people stay safe and healthy online.
Corporate leaders This summer, EVERFI has At EVERFI, we believe education is
launched a free course for the key driver of change. We have
and technology 11- to 14-year-olds on how more than 25 years’ experience of
companies have an to safely and confidently navigate driving social impact through
the digital world. education.
opportunity to be
pioneers in digital The three hour course, Ignition We strongly believe that equipping
- Digital Wellbeing and Safety, young people with the skills to
literacy and to provide teaches students the practical steps safely and resiliently navigate
much-needed digital they need to take to protect their online is one of the most powerful
privacy and safety, as well as how and important ways any business
literacy programmes to step back and reflect on whether can invest in the future.
in our schools. what they see online is true.
References:
https://www.childnet.com/blog/childnet-launches-new-resources-to-support-young-
people-as-only-15-of-11-14s-say-they-know-where-to-go-to-find-reliable-information-
about-sex-and-relationships
https://www.ditchthelabel.org/what-is-cyberbullying/
https://www.tigermobiles.com/faq/identity-theft-statistics/
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 4 What is digital literacy? Digital literacy is a comprehensive understanding of how to engage in responsible online behaviours. It includes the ability to use critical thinking skills to spot false information on the internet, make decisions about online content and successfully research and evaluate content to determine what sources to trust and how to properly credit them. In the era of viral news, social media and a ubiquity of uncredited, free-floating posts and opinions, it is more important than ever that young people possess the necessary aptitude and acumen to assess, contextualise and use the media they consume online.
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 5
How digitally literate are
young people in the UK
and what difference has
Covid-19 made?
The UK Safer Internet Centre is creating a
resource - Project Evolve - which sets out
specific digital skills for every age group.
This way, schools can identify knowledge gaps
in their pupils and focus where the need is.
Online safety became part of the David says the UK needs to teach
PSHE national curriculum in young people about digital literacy
September 2020. David says that much earlier - as soon as they pick
We have no idea while there are some very positive up a device. The focus, he says,
examples of online safety teaching should not just be on how the
what digital skills in the UK, some others are merely internet can harm us, it should
young people have “just a sticking plaster”. also be on the skills young people
need to navigate their lives online.
or don’t have. “Many schools have a manufacturing
approach to online safety,” David says. “A lot of the resources out there for
“A year group is wheeled in to see schools are in response to particular
David Wright, Director of a video on online safety and then incidences, like online grooming,”
the UK Safer Internet Centre. wheeled out again. Often the video David says. “What about the
is about extreme harm shown online competencies young people need
with the pretext that if we show to acquire to research a topic and
young people what harm looks to question what they see online?”
like, they will be able to recognise
it when they see it online. Alice Grattan, a Year 5 teacher at
Eltham Church of England Primary
“But when we learn to drive a car, School in south-east London,
we don’t just watch clips of car crashes agrees that there are gaps in
to learn how to do it. The current the teaching of digital literacy.
approach to teaching digital literacy
is just a sticking plaster. It makes She says that while schools teach
massive assumptions that children are children what they should do if
able to contextualise what they see.” they come across material online
that makes them feel uncomfortable,
they are less likely to teach them
to have an awareness of image
manipulation and fake news.
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 6
“As you get older in primary school, found last year that three in 10
you are taught to question whether eight to 15-year-olds think that
what you see online is true,” she says. “if a website is listed by a search
“But the idea of teaching about fake engine it can be trusted”.
news and images not being what
they seem - especially on social Dr Becky Parry is a lecturer in
media and in a gaming environment education at the University of
- is still in its infancy. There’s room Sheffield, which is launching
for improvement here,” she says. an MA in Digital Literacies,
Culture and Education. She says
A report by the National Literacy there is a gap in how digital
Trust from 2018 found that only literacy is understood in schools
2% of primary and secondary and in the wider world.
school pupils were able to identify
false information online when Some children, who may be
taking a misinformation quiz. expert readers and players of
films, images or video games,
And Ofcom, the UK’s can feel excluded from the
communications regulator, curriculum, she argues.
For example, if what they know about narrative
comes from games or cartoons, these are less
valued and this makes it harder for them to
access the curriculum and progress. A more plural
understanding of literacies in curriculum would
be a more socially just curriculum.
Dr Becky Parry, Lecturer in education
at the University of Sheffield
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 7
For David, much of the messages those who have had access to
we tell young people about online devices and those who haven’t.
Nonetheless, Covid-19 safety are both out-of-date and
too blunt. Research from the Sutton
has introduced a digital Trust charity shows that pupils
migration in schools. “The only constant with technology is at independent schools have
that it is changing,” he says. “Most of been twice as likely as state
Many young people the online safety messages we teach school pupils to take part
have moved online young people are 10 to 15 years old. in online lessons every day.
to communicate, to “We tell them not to post personal Access to technology and
learn and to socialise. information and yet that is one of connectivity has certainly
the main reasons social media exists. not been universal.
All this means that the We tell them not to meet anyone
importance of teaching they don’t know who they’ve spoken Alice Grattan says that while
to online, but online dating accounts remote learning has accelerated
digital literacy has for one in three marriages now. her students’ digital literacy,
never been greater. It’s perfectly possible that young she fears that not all schools
people are seeing a parent go for have had the use of online
dates with people they’ve met online platforms that her pupils have.
and those children are very likely to “While some students have gained
David Wright, Director of merely model the behaviour they see.” digital confidence during lockdown,
the UK Safer Internet Centre. others have fallen behind,” she says.
Covid-19 has of course meant
many more young people have “We are going to see a widening gap
had to navigate their lives online. between those who have access to
But research has shown that there the internet and those who don’t,”
is also an increasing gap between says David.
References:
https://projectevolve.co.uk/
https://cdn.literacytrust.org.uk/media/documents/Fake_news_and_critical_literacy_-_final_
report.pdf
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/134907/children-and-parents-
media-use-and-attitudes-2018.pdf
https://www.suttontrust.com/news-opinion/all-news-opinion/independent-school-pupils-
twice-as-likely-to-get-online-lessons-every-day
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 8
Four surprising realities
about online safety
In today’s digital world, it may be almost inevitable
that young people will encounter malicious
behaviour or inappropriate material online.
Below are four surprising realities about
keeping young people safe and healthy online.
1 Young people are often targeted by cybercriminals
Some 3 million children’s identities were stolen online
across the world in 2018. What’s more, 20% of underage
children have been exposed to unwanted sexual images
online and 11% to unwanted sexual communications,
according to a 2018 Journal of Adolescent Health study.
Identity thieves, scammers, and other predators often target
young people, who are more likely to trust them than adults.
Cybercriminals target sites that are popular with young people,
20% of underage such as gaming apps and social media platforms.
children have been Very often they manage to coerce young people into sharing
exposed to unwanted private information, such as their location, email address,
photos or parent’s credit card number.
sexual images online
and 11% to unwanted They also send email/text phishing scams that attempt
to trick recipients into clicking on a link that will infect their
sexual communications, devices with malware, compromising their private data.
according to a 2018
Adults can take steps to protect themselves and their family by
Journal of Adolescent installing anti-virus and filtering software and learning how to
Health study. recognise signs of criminal activity or inappropriate content online.
Keeping young people safe and healthy online 9
2 Connecting to public wi-fi is a huge risk
Connecting to free public wi-fi can make young people
an easy target because it can reveal their passwords
and other confidential information to hackers.
Some savvy cybercriminals even create an impersonator
wi-fi name that is similar and easily confused with one
provided by a local coffee shop for example.
If young people need to log into public wi-fi, they should
do so using a virtual private network (VPN) and anti-malware
software. They should be told that on no account should
they buy anything online using public wi-fi.
3 Legal data collection poses a threat too
Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s harmless.
Many companies use our data to personalise the ads we
see and ostensibly to improve the customer experience.
In some cases, data brokers can access our data and
sell it for a profit, potentially putting our privacy at
risk if the buyer has nefarious intentions.
Many children and Many children and teenagers do not realise the risks of
online commercial data collection and how it could compromise
teenagers do not their privacy and therefore feel a false sense of security.
realise the risks of
A study in the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media
online commercial found that because tweens typically have a partial grasp of
data collection and this concept, they tend to “overestimate their understanding
and invulnerability to engage in risky behaviours” online.
how it could compromise
their privacy and This false sense of security means young people often
don’t take as seriously as they should privacy settings
therefore feel a false on their social media accounts and end up divulging
sense of security. sensitive information online.Keeping young people safe and healthy online 10
4 Young people and their parents play
a role in the digital footprint problem
Connecting to free public wi-fi can make young people Young
adults are starting to experience first-hand the consequences
that can come from the digital dossier they have amassed
through adolescence.
Pictures or comments they might have tweeted or posted on
Pictures or comments Facebook in their childhood can affect opportunities later on.
they might have The abundance of readily-accessible information online
tweeted or posted allows data brokers and cybercriminals to piece together
robust profiles on young people.
on Facebook in
their childhood can Children of the digital age are particularly at risk of exploitation,
as their online presence often starts at the very beginning of their
affect opportunities lives—with the help of their parents. The vast majority - 66-98% -
later on. of parents on social media platforms post pictures of their children.
Researchers have found that many of these parent accounts
can be mined for the children’s names, birthdays, parents’ political
affiliations, and even the family’s address.
And it’s not just parents —aunts, uncles, siblings, babysitters
and other adults may be inadvertently putting the children
in their lives at risk. Everyone—kids and adults—should be using
strict privacy settings and need to be mindful of what information
they choose to share online. When adults model good social
media and technology practices, young people benefit, too.Keeping young people safe and healthy online 11
The benefits of a digitally
literate workforce
90%
New research shows that within the next
five years, basic computer skills will be required by
90% of the workforce, and in the next few years,
of data breach incidents
over half of workers will need to be able to not
in cyberattacks are due just use, but build and configure digital systems.
to employees unwittingly
giving access and
credentials to hackers. This means the stakes are high employees’ digital literacy
when it comes to creating a are making an investment that
digitally literate workforce. will pay off in terms of employee
productivity and mitigating
“The inability to discern fake against data breaches.
or inaccurate information is a
significant problem, especially Digitally literate employees can
A 2018 report among students and recent conduct efficient and responsible
graduates,” says Frank Connolly, research and know how to safeguard
found that time a digital communications and confidential information. A 2018
lost while finding research expert. report found that time lost while
finding and managing information
and managing “As our workplaces embrace digital on the job results in a 21%
information on the transformation, it’s increasingly productivity decrease.
important to bridge this skills gap
job results in a 21% to mitigate its effect on career According to the Identity
productivity decrease. growth and the accuracy of Management Institute, over
our collective knowledge.” 90% of data breach incidents in
http://info.everfi.com/rs/410- cyberattacks are due to employees
YCZ-984/images/424918094_ Companies that throw their unwittingly giving access and
GP_DWN-Blogazine-Final2.pdf weight behind present and future credentials to hackers.
References:
https://www.tigermobiles.com/faq/identity-theft-statistics/
https://theconversation.com/one-in-five-youth-see-unwanted-sexual-content-online-says-
new-research-96097
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272572773_Tweens’_Online_Privacy_Risks_and_
the_Role_of_Parental_Mediation
https://everfi.com/white-papers/community-engagement/digital-wellness-health-
consumer-landscape/Keeping young people safe and healthy online 12
What your business can
do to help keep young people
safe and healthy online
Corporate leaders and technology companies
have an opportunity to be pioneers in digital
literacy and to provide much-needed digital
For more than literacy programmes in our schools.
seven years,
teachers across EVERFI has launched a free course For more than seven years,
for 11- to 14-year-olds on how teachers across North America
North America to safely and confidently navigate have used Ignition to teach
have used Ignition the digital world. students about online safety. Over
3 million students have completed
to teach students The three hour course, Ignition - the course.
about online Digital Wellbeing and Safety,
teaches students the practical Recognising the need to update
safety. Over 3 steps they need to take to protect the course with relevant content
million students their privacy and safety, as well and helpful tips that apply to
as how to step back and reflect modern technology and platforms,
have completed on whether what they see EVERFI relaunched the course in
the course. online is true. 2019 with a focus on data privacy,
screen time, online communities
and evaluating content.Keeping young people safe and healthy online 13
Young people who have taken the
Ignition course are more likely to:
Take steps to safeguard their Ask for help if and/or when
privacy and safety online they feel unsafe online
Treat people in online Take steps to verify content
communities with the same and perspective before
respect as they would in person using online material
Participate confidently with
Take time offline to maintain
others to create, co-create,
positive mental health
or use online material
Ignition is free for schools in the UK. We offer a fully white-labelled
If you or your organisation are digital platform with robust,
interested in supporting the teaching detailed data reports to show
of digital literacy in secondary your impact and we can also add
schools across the UK by sponsoring bespoke elements, such as employee
Ignition, we’d love to hear from you. volunteering opportunities.
Please contact us at jbarlow@everfi.
com and we’ll be in touch.Keeping young people safe and healthy online 14
About EVERFI
EVERFI has more than 25 years
of experience in driving social impact
through education.
With our scalable learning Our resources provide critical
solutions, we empower businesses support to young people,
and organisations everywhere teachers and parents.
to connect learning to the real
world and help people of all ages Find out how our unique education
Our resources gain new insight, perspectives programmes can be part of your
and opportunities. corporate social purpose strategy.
provide critical
support to young We bring together an evidence
-based, software-as-a-service
people, teachers platform with flexible
and parents. learning opportunities.uk.everfi.com
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