by Georgina Smith
Safer Internet Day 2017 #SID2017
On the 7th of February, the Safer Internet Day aims to promote a safer and better use of the internet for the youth of the world. A number of people from around the world were asked whether they think we need a safer internet. In recent years, with increasing political and regulatory pressures on traditional brick-and-mortar retailers (banks, insurers, retailers, supermarkets, drugstore-onlinecatalog.com insurance companies, etc. This is a question down to interpretation and the answers vary but the majority points out that more could be done.
Clotilde Dufriche, France
“I think we need a safe internet because we’re using it in our everyday life during our job, studies, hobbies. So, our data need to be protected. I also consider internet as a “area of freedom” where I can shop, express myself and keep in touch with friends/family. I think it’s important to have a “private/personal space” in this world-wide web
Burhan Köse, Turkey
“We don’t need ‘safer internet’ because ‘safe internet’ is a concept that is very open to exploitation by the government, like in Turkey, there is a committee that regulates the internet connection in Turkey, however, the actions that are taken are always in favour of current government, such as banning of social medias after a leaked information.”
Tula Necker, Germany
“We need more data safety because different institutions can read everything and use it for the market which makes it harder and harder to escape being analysed by the business interested companies… We need a safer internet to control bad news connections like fascists and racists because they have a lot of space to grow in the internet and some things should be banned directly which are against human rights.”
Lauren Da, Greece
“About the social media: I can feel there are some dangers for example anyone can copy [and] paste your pictures and easily use them for any purpose. This creates unsafety. The photos of each user shouldn`t be downloadable. It would be helpful if an application was created and if it was easy to use to keep the photos of the users secure.”
Marco Valerio Battaglia, Italy
“Because we have to save all the people that use it… But safer internet doesn’t mean more control on privacy world.”
A safer internet is something many people want for their security and their family’s safety. Social media makes an individual’s life very public and at the same time makes it easier for others to duplicate photos and poses more threats for the youth of today. It causes issues such as hurtful messages, hidden identity and in some cases police intervention is needed. But that does not mean the internet is a scary place, the advancement of technology may bring some negative points but is outnumbered by the positive. Action days like the Safer Internet Day allows us to exploit and tackle the issues that still make the youth of today vulnerable in the modern era.
