Ages

9–14

ReelLife advice
Social media can be a great way to explore the online world. You can
talk to friends and family, share and watch videos, post photos and
join communities. Like with lots of good things, there are also risks.
We need to be careful about sharing anyone’s personal information,
communicating with people we do not know face to face, and when
offers seem too good to be true. Anyone can be caught out, so be on the
lookout for risks.

Personal Information
Personal information includes any details that can identify who you are.
Things like your full name, date of birth, and what you look like can be
given away in bios, posts, images and livestreams shared on social media.

It can be great to share things when we are online, but it is important to

control what we share and who we share it with.

Here are our top tips

• Make your accounts private.

• Review and amend your bios so that they do not give away
personal information.

• Check your posts for any personal information before sharing them.
• Only accept people you know as friends and followers.
• Keep your password private, and make sure it isn’t easily guessable.
• Keep your apps updated for security but look out for little changes
to your privacy.

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Contact from others

Social media can be great for staying in touch with friends, finding new
people with similar interests or following the lives of celebs, but online
hate, bullying and harassment can occur too.

If you experience or witness these, use the report and block tools and talk
to a trusted adult about how you are feeling.

Here are our top tips

It is hard to know what people online are really like and if they can be
trusted.

Someone you only know online should not ask you for any of these things:

• To meet up or for a video chat

• For personal information
• For pictures or videos of you
If someone you only know online asks for any of these things, talk to an
adult you trust. If you feel unsafe or they won't take no for an answer,
you can report this behaviour to CEOP.

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Posts, stories and other content

There is a lot of positive and inspiring content shared on social media, but
we can’t always control what we see.

Some content can be unreliable, upsetting or even encourage us to join

in with dangerous offline activities. Think critically about the things you
see by asking questions about where they have come from, what their
purpose is and what impact they could have on you or other people.

Here are our top tips

• Talk to a trusted adult if you see anything online that makes you
worried or upset.

• Try to work out why content has been posted. What reaction are they
aiming for or what action do they want us to take?

• Use fact checkers and trusted websites to check if news stories are
reliable.

• Ask permission before spending someone else’s money online and talk
to an adult if you have any doubts about an online purchase.

• Use the block and report tools when you see harmful content like hate
speech and fake news

• Actively look for other viewpoints, to make sure you are seeing things
from another angle.

childnet.com/reellife © Childnet International 2023

For further information and resources to use with your learners,
head to: childnet.com/resources

For help and advice on any concerns which may be raised whilst
using this resource, or specific issues raised by your learners, have
a look at our Teachers and Professionals Help and Advice pages at:
www.childnet.com/help-and-advice/teachers-and-professionals

Childnet’s mission is to work in partnership with others around the

world to help make the internet a great and safe place for children.
We work directly with children and young people from the ages of
3 to 18 on a weekly basis, as well as parents, carers, teachers and
professionals, finding out about their real experiences online, and
the positive things they are doing as well as sharing safety advice.

Explore more resources at childnet.com/resources

Part-funded by Nominet

Childnet International is a partner in the UK

Safer Internet Centre with the Internet Watch
Foundation and the South West Grid for Learning © Childnet International 2023