WEBVTT

00:00:15.742 --> 00:00:19.761
Yes, I'm a teacher and a researcher
at the university as you heard,

00:00:19.761 --> 00:00:25.272
and I'm interested in 
online safety for children.

00:00:25.272 --> 00:00:28.752
When I started out this research,

00:00:28.752 --> 00:00:32.514
there wasn't very much 
written about this area,

00:00:32.514 --> 00:00:36.512
and the few things 
I could find

00:00:36.512 --> 00:00:40.258
were all from 
an adult perspective,

00:00:40.258 --> 00:00:42.284
and I was really interested in

00:00:42.284 --> 00:00:44.742
what the children themselves

00:00:44.742 --> 00:00:47.498
thought about online safety

00:00:47.498 --> 00:00:50.014
and the dark sides of the internet.

00:00:51.255 --> 00:00:53.252
So I didn't really 
know what to do,

00:00:53.252 --> 00:00:55.257
I wasn't funded
in any way,

00:00:55.257 --> 00:00:57.032
so I turned to
my four children

00:00:57.032 --> 00:01:00.277
and asked them
how they thought about this,

00:01:00.277 --> 00:01:02.520
so they became 
my first informants.

00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:05.266
And three years ago,

00:01:05.266 --> 00:01:10.502
I finally published my PhD thesis,

00:01:10.752 --> 00:01:12.278
so you can look closely

00:01:12.278 --> 00:01:14.250
because I am one
of the few women

00:01:14.250 --> 00:01:16.483
who had an academic career,

00:01:16.483 --> 00:01:19.780
not in spite to the fact
that she has many children

00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:22.369
but even thanks to that fact.

00:01:22.772 --> 00:01:25.287
In-your-face sexism.

00:01:25.287 --> 00:01:27.766
(Laughter)

00:01:27.766 --> 00:01:30.530
(Applause)

00:01:30.530 --> 00:01:34.538
So, online safety 
from a children's point of view.

00:01:35.258 --> 00:01:38.287
A lot of these issues,

00:01:38.487 --> 00:01:42.726
concern, so-called safe-view guides.

00:01:42.726 --> 00:01:45.246
This isn't a very good microphone.

00:01:45.246 --> 00:01:48.439
I hope you're not disturbed
by the sound, because I am.

00:01:49.763 --> 00:01:52.766
Safe-use guides are lists,

00:01:52.766 --> 00:01:55.761
where you compile tips and rules

00:01:55.761 --> 00:02:00.774
for how children should 
behave to keep safe online.

00:02:02.734 --> 00:02:05.764
I have looked through
a lot of these safe-use guides

00:02:05.764 --> 00:02:09.271
from a lot of countries
and they are very similar.

00:02:09.730 --> 00:02:11.759
They might be copied
from each other,

00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.030
or they might be copied
from the same first source.

00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:16.506
I am not sure.

00:02:16.506 --> 00:02:20.237
What I do know is that 
there are pretty old.

00:02:20.747 --> 00:02:23.753
In fact, I have traced
them back in time,

00:02:23.753 --> 00:02:28.782
and the oldest I found 
where I can be sure of the date


00:02:28.782 --> 00:02:31.519
is from 1997.

00:02:31.519 --> 00:02:33.783
Let's think for a few seconds 


00:02:33.783 --> 00:02:39.512
about how internet use
has changed since 1997.

00:02:39.512 --> 00:02:42.531
Quite a lot, wouldn't you say?.

00:02:42.531 --> 00:02:46.276
The kind of meeting
places we know today,

00:02:46.276 --> 00:02:48.511
that require a login procedure

00:02:48.511 --> 00:02:53.256
weren't there 
for the normal user at least.

00:02:54.486 --> 00:02:56.538
Instead we have 
these open chat rooms

00:02:56.538 --> 00:02:59.268
where you could choose
your random nickname

00:02:59.268 --> 00:03:01.277
and go on chatting with people

00:03:01.277 --> 00:03:04.268
and the thrill for most
people was in those days:

00:03:04.748 --> 00:03:08.517
being at the same website 
at the same time.

00:03:08.757 --> 00:03:10.770
That's not really a thrill today,

00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:13.263
It more like in the olden days

00:03:13.263 --> 00:03:14.529
when the telephone was new

00:03:14.529 --> 00:03:16.519
probably people would,

00:03:16.519 --> 00:03:19.770
you know call someone 
just dial the five and send,

00:03:19.770 --> 00:03:24.228
"Hello, I hear 
you have a phone too. Me too."

00:03:24.228 --> 00:03:26.748
Today we require something else,

00:03:26.748 --> 00:03:30.264
we need something 
to bind us together.

00:03:30.734 --> 00:03:33.510
But the rules are the same.

00:03:33.510 --> 00:03:36.248
So how good can that be?

00:03:36.248 --> 00:03:39.236
One of the first rules
that always appears is:

00:03:39.236 --> 00:03:41.250
don't share.

00:03:41.250 --> 00:03:45.505
Don't share personal 
information on the internet.

00:03:45.505 --> 00:03:48.251
Don't tell people
your real name.

00:03:48.251 --> 00:03:49.982
Don't give out 
your phone number.

00:03:49.982 --> 00:03:51.980
Don't tell them
what city you live in.

00:03:51.980 --> 00:03:54.503
Don't tell them
what school you go to.

00:03:54.503 --> 00:03:59.514
Don't publish a photo
where you can actually see it's you.

00:03:59.514 --> 00:04:01.495
How does that apply

00:04:01.495 --> 00:04:05.506
to today's meeting
places on the internet?

00:04:05.506 --> 00:04:07.938
Would you accept me 
as your friend on Facebook

00:04:07.938 --> 00:04:10.754
if I said, "Sorry,
I can't tell you who I am.

00:04:10.754 --> 00:04:13.777
I have to be anonymous
to protect my safety.

00:04:14.487 --> 00:04:19.762
Trust me, I want to be your friend
and you ought to be my friend."

00:04:19.762 --> 00:04:21.503
You would probably decline.

00:04:21.503 --> 00:04:23.504
Well, you could do that
for other reasons as well,

00:04:23.504 --> 00:04:25.985
but if we take this as an example.

00:04:27.749 --> 00:04:30.765
Rule number 2 is often:

00:04:30.765 --> 00:04:34.495
remember that a lot of
people on the internet

00:04:34.495 --> 00:04:37.758
are lying about 
their true identity.

00:04:38.018 --> 00:04:40.490
Well, duh!
They've listened to rule number 1

00:04:40.490 --> 00:04:43.765
wouldn't you say?
(Laughter)

00:04:43.765 --> 00:04:45.725
But these are actual rules,

00:04:45.725 --> 00:04:50.754
that are disseminated among 
children, parents and teachers.

00:04:50.754 --> 00:04:52.768
2010!

00:04:55.498 --> 00:04:59.744
There's also a fact that has
emerged the last couple of years.

00:04:59.744 --> 00:05:02.772
We don't know for sure,

00:05:02.772 --> 00:05:04.250
but there is a connection

00:05:04.250 --> 00:05:06.761
between giving out 
personal information

00:05:06.761 --> 00:05:09.131
and online risks.

00:05:10.234 --> 00:05:15.504
And among the online risks 
that we are afraid of are harassment,

00:05:15.504 --> 00:05:20.746
and sexual predators
seeking their victims online.

00:05:20.746 --> 00:05:22.764
So there's no simple connection

00:05:22.764 --> 00:05:27.499
between divulging
your personal information

00:05:27.499 --> 00:05:29.680
and these risks.

00:05:31.744 --> 00:05:33.771
We do however know,

00:05:33.771 --> 00:05:37.751
that the greatest danger 
you face if you're young today,

00:05:37.751 --> 00:05:41.789
is having a troubled
life away from keyboard.

00:05:41.789 --> 00:05:46.526
That's the most common
common denominator,

00:05:46.526 --> 00:05:51.268
among the victims 
that have been studied.

00:05:52.488 --> 00:05:57.771
And that's not really a problem
we can solve with compiling lists.

00:05:57.771 --> 00:06:00.475
That's more even 
adult responsibility

00:06:00.475 --> 00:06:04.060
to see to that every child 
has the same chance

00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:06.261
to feel good 
about themselves.

00:06:08.481 --> 00:06:10.514
Another thing 
we have to remember,

00:06:10.514 --> 00:06:16.288
is that most sexual 
assaults against children

00:06:18.728 --> 00:06:23.793
are happening in an environment 
where the child should feel protected.

00:06:25.243 --> 00:06:27.763
And the abuser is most often 


00:06:27.763 --> 00:06:30.780
someone the child 
should be able to trust.

00:06:30.780 --> 00:06:35.771
Parent, a step-parent, 
a football coach, a teacher, etc.

00:06:35.771 --> 00:06:38.068
That fact hasn't changed.

00:06:38.068 --> 00:06:41.136
The internet has not
changed that fact.

00:06:45.228 --> 00:06:48.763
Another common way
of trying to protect children

00:06:48.763 --> 00:06:52.489
is creating black lists
and white lists

00:06:52.489 --> 00:06:56.262
of websites that are good or bad.

00:06:56.752 --> 00:06:59.501
This comes from
a tradition of media studies

00:06:59.501 --> 00:07:03.777
where you are trying
to find out how media

00:07:04.737 --> 00:07:06.753
changes people,

00:07:06.753 --> 00:07:10.249
what happens when 
they consume media?

00:07:10.249 --> 00:07:13.236
But how about today's media,

00:07:13.236 --> 00:07:17.775
when the content of the media 
is user-generated?

00:07:17.775 --> 00:07:21.763
How can we black list
or white list these places?

00:07:21.763 --> 00:07:26.745
What happens if someone 
writes something bad

00:07:26.745 --> 00:07:29.257
in a white-listed website.

00:07:29.257 --> 00:07:33.249
What happens
to that website and those tips?

00:07:35.499 --> 00:07:39.516
It is a good thing
to think before you post.

00:07:39.516 --> 00:07:43.481
Not only for young people, 
that goes for any of us.

00:07:43.481 --> 00:07:46.516
Because we have
to think about the fact

00:07:46.516 --> 00:07:49.274
that what goes online stays online.

00:07:49.274 --> 00:07:52.758
As far as we know today, that's a fact.

00:07:52.758 --> 00:07:55.721
Most probably, 
the things we post online,

00:07:55.721 --> 00:07:58.262
will stay there forever.

00:07:58.262 --> 00:08:00.750
So that could be a good tip.

00:08:00.750 --> 00:08:02.769
But what more
important I think,

00:08:03.229 --> 00:08:06.772
is to think about

00:08:07.492 --> 00:08:10.525
how to react upon this fact.

00:08:10.735 --> 00:08:14.728
We have to have 
a relationship to eternity,

00:08:14.728 --> 00:08:16.557
and we are not 
very good at that.

00:08:16.557 --> 00:08:18.748
We often try 
to skip those questions.

00:08:18.748 --> 00:08:20.781
If children ask us,

00:08:20.781 --> 00:08:23.512
"When does the universe end?"

00:08:23.512 --> 00:08:26.074
we are not very keen 
on answering that question.

00:08:26.074 --> 00:08:30.275
But we have to have a relationship
to eternity today.

00:08:31.765 --> 00:08:33.790
As I remember it,

00:08:33.790 --> 00:08:36.250
adults use to comfort
young people.

00:08:36.250 --> 00:08:38.492
We use to say to teenagers,

00:08:38.492 --> 00:08:41.520
"Don't worry, 
not everyone is laughing at you.

00:08:41.520 --> 00:08:43.256
Oh, you will fall 
in love again,

00:08:43.256 --> 00:08:45.513
your life isn't over."

00:08:45.513 --> 00:08:48.734
But as soon as 
the internet is involved,

00:08:48.734 --> 00:08:51.285
we're the ones panicking.

00:08:51.285 --> 00:08:54.516
"Oh but the future employer
will Google you!

00:08:54.516 --> 00:08:57.297
Your life is over."

00:08:57.297 --> 00:08:59.759
And that doesn't 
make sense to me.

00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.779
What we not need now,

00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:05.778
is adults who feel like experts.

00:09:05.778 --> 00:09:08.779
And most people who are adults

00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:13.769
are actually experts
on problems that occur online.

00:09:16.249 --> 00:09:19.825
We need to be experienced from life.

00:09:19.825 --> 00:09:21.645
Well, everyone is.

00:09:23.242 --> 00:09:25.254
We need to have 
young people around us.

00:09:25.254 --> 00:09:27.245
We need to look them
into the eyes

00:09:27.245 --> 00:09:28.772
and see how they feel

00:09:28.772 --> 00:09:31.242
and act upon that information.

00:09:32.226 --> 00:09:35.765
And also, 
we need to have a critical mind,

00:09:35.765 --> 00:09:40.523
so that we don't swallow 
everything that is presented to us.

00:09:41.230 --> 00:09:46.279
As I see it, it's as simple 
and as complicated as that.

00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.270
Thanks for your attention.

00:09:49.270 --> 00:09:53.513
(Applause)