Misuse of Technology and the excessive use/abuse of Social Media by children pose increasing risks to their physical, mental, and psychological health and well-being. Protect children from the dangers lurking on the internet.

Dear Friends, dear Parents,
Safer Internet Day is an opportunity to become informed and to promote online safety. Let us take action to protect ourselves from the risks of the internet, but above all, let us protect our children. Let us stay informed, remain vigilant, and encourage the balanced use of the internet.

Useful advice for parents:

• Processing the data of minors under the age of 16 is prohibited without prior consent or approval from their parents. The data controller must verify this consent using all available technological means (EU 2016/679).

• Place the computer in a common area of the house to allow supervision of its use.

• Set rules for your children regarding the use and time spent on computers, especially internet browsing.

• Encourage children to enjoy creative activities such as sports, art, etc.

• Talk regularly with children so they are aware of the risks that the internet may hide.

• Build trust with your children so that if they encounter something dangerous or suspicious, they feel comfortable sharing it with you immediately.

• Install “protection filters” on the computer, designed to detect websites with inappropriate content (pornography, violence, illegal files, etc.) and prevent access to them.

• In case of need, seek medical help to address possible addiction to digital technologies.

Advice for the use of social media:

• Read carefully the terms of use and privacy policy of each network you wish to join. If something is not clear, do not consent and ask for further clarification.

• Avoid sharing content that could be maliciously exploited by ill-intentioned users.

• When creating your profile, make sure to adjust the accessibility settings so you control who can visit your profile and what information they can access.

• Avoid sharing your profile passwords.

• Do not spend excessive hours on social media at the expense of your personal and social life.

• Report offensive conversations and illegal proposals to the competent Authorities, and also inform the administrators of the network.

• Always remember that addiction to social media is now a common phenomenon in today’s society.

• Avoid disclosing unnecessary personal information on platforms.

• Look for websites with secure access (https://) and check the website name.

• Verify the source of information before sharing or using it, and never provide personal data without confirming its reliability.

• Review the data protection policy of each website and carefully read the terms.

• For any problem, contact the Data Protection Authority, which is the competent Independent Authority.