Kildare TD urging people to be mindful of internet safety

Fiona O’Loughlin, TD for South Kildare has today urged all internet users to be mindful of internet safety and conscious of young and vulnerable people.

These calls follow a survey released by the charity Cyber Safe Ireland shows that 40 per cent of children aged between eight and 10 years were actively talking to strangers online in some capacity, 15 per cent of them on a daily basis.

O’Loughlin said, “As today is Internet Safety Day and a report into children on the internet has been released, I am appealing to Families, Parents, Teachers, and Educators to take time to empower and educate themselves on internet safety.

“We all want a world in which children are using technology in a safe and positive way and no person is subjected to bullying or online grooming. No one wants to think of the internet in these ways however, the statistics are there and people must be conscious of what young people are seeing online.

“Today is a reminder of our joint responsibility to empower children to protect themselves and, therefore, to prevent online crime in the first place. Online safety is not just for our young people, we hear daily of cases where older people and vulnerable people are scammed online so learning more about ways to be safe while online will not only benefit people with children”.

“The internet is a fantastic resource and allows us to learn about any subject at the touch of a few buttons. Cyber Safe Ireland has some fantastic resources on their website and provide positive steps to ensure safety online and I would encourage victims of cyberbullying to report the bullies to ensure other people will not become victims of this terrible behaviour”, Deputy O’Loughlin concluded.