Tips from Katie Thistleton - Staying safe online

Transcript

Hello, Katie Thistleton here from BBC Radio One and these are my top tips for staying safe and happy on the internet.

Tip number one.

Keep your settings private and be really careful what personal information you put out there.

It's amazing how easy it is to be an online detective these days.

People can easily figure out a lot about you from very little information, so be careful about what you're putting on social media.

That includes photos of you in your school uniform or photos of you in your local area.

Tip number two.

Be careful what you put in a photo or put in writing and send to your friends.

Once that's out there and in somebody else's hands, it's very hard to erase it.

In fact, it's impossible to erase it. Once someone else has got hold of that, they've got it.

Tip number three.

Report anything you don't like.

If you see anything that's making you unhappy or you feel uneasy, then you have the power to report someone, to block someone, to speak to a trusted adult and to take yourself away from that situation. So, trust your instincts on that.

Tip number four.

Don't believe everything you see online.

There's a lot of stuff that's simply isn't true and I mean a lot of stuff.

So, do your research, have a little think about where that piece of information might have come from and, perhaps, speak to a trusted adult about it, to see if you can get a little bit more clarification.

And finally, tip number five.

Don't spend too much time online.

Don't get me wrong, I love the internet and I'm on it a lot, but if you find yourself feeling a little bit unhappy about it, then think about what you're looking at and only look at the stuff that makes you feel good.

You have the power to unfollow people and only follow what really enriches your life.