Year 4, 5 and 6 have attended a Police Liaison Talk from Mid North Coast Youth Officer, Senior Constable Wendy Hudson. Senior Constable Hudson addressed important issues concerning online behaviour, in particular, the legal ramifications of underage social media usage, cyber safety and cyberbullying.
Prior to Senior Constable Hudson’s talk, many of our Primary students may not have been aware of the greater impacts of negative online behaviour. In particular, Senior Constable Hudson focused on the permanency of the internet and the potentially detrimental impacts their social media presence has on their future.
Senior Constable Hudson emphasised the significance of online safety and students’ parents monitoring their online activities. Social media and online gaming can present many dangers to our students and they were urged to consider the consequences of communicating with strangers and releasing personal details online.
Social media platforms all have an age restriction of 13 years, Senior Constable Hudson said that this meant our Primary School aged students should not have accounts. Acknowledging that there are some students who would have social media, she reiterated how imperative it is that parents have the ability to access and monitor these activities.
It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to listen to Senior Constable Hudson’s expertise and have their questions answered. Parents can find more information at the Think U Know website which has many excellent resources and fact sheets about youth online behaviour.