Skip navigation Home Accessibility information
Hide this page (shortcut Esc key) - This will take you to the google website
Page Utilities
Change wallpaper
Help
Accessibility

Online and mobile safety

Online safety

Online safetyComputers and mobile phones help us all to share things, talk to our friends and meet new people. But they can also make it easier for bullies and other people who might want to hurt you to get close to you.

So it's important to know how to be safe on your computer, on your phone and on websites.

Safer Internet Day

Tuesday 7 February was Safer Internet Day. This week is a great time to think about how you can stay safe and get the most out of social networking sites, online gaming, and your mobile phone. Maybe you're worried about something that's happened online? We've got lots of advice on what to do if you find yourself in a dangerous or upsetting situation when you're online.

We know that you sometimes want to keep your visits to this site private you can find out how to this on our cover your tracks page.

If you are worried about anything to do with internet safety and would like to talk to someone you can call ChildLine at any time on 0800 1111.

Safer Internet Day on the message boards

As part of Safer Internet Day we're discussing the issues around online safety.

One of the biggest mediums for online activity is Facebook and when the founder Mark Zuckerberg was asked in May whether people under the age of 13 should be able to use Facebook, he said:

"That will be a fight we take on at some point. My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age. Because of the restrictions we haven’t even begun this learning process. If they’re lifted then we’d start to learn what works"

What do you think about people under the age of 13 using Facebook?

Get involved in the discussion on the message boards.

 
 
 
 
 

Mobile phone safety

Mobiles are a great way to keep in touch with your mates. If someone you don't know gets in touch with you on your mobile, or if you are being bullied through your phone, you should tell someone who can help you, or call ChildLine. Read more about Mobile phone safety

Social networking

Social networking sites, like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, are websites where you can create a profile all about yourself and send messages to other people. It's important to know how to stay safe online and what to do if someone is nasty to you. Read more about Social networking

Online Gaming

Many young people play games online. These can be simple ones, like the ones on the ChildLine website, to large multiplayer games. In these games, people play against hundreds of other people who they often do not know. They can also interact with other players like in a social networking site. It's important to stay safe online and not let the fantasy world of gaming affect your real life.

Read more about Online Gaming

Cover your tracks

Keep your visits to the ChildLine website private. Calling ChildLine's helpline is confidential. If you also want to keep your visits to ChildLine's website confidential, you can cover your tracks by following the steps on this page. Read more about Cover your tracks

Sexting

Sexting is when someone sends or receives a sexually explicit text, image or video on their mobile phone, usually in a text message. Read more about Sexting

 
 
 
 
 

Ask Sam

School homework

School homework

I am having trouble organising my homework, i am trying to avoid it piling up but then i do so much i feel tired.

Read more
Write a letter to Ask Sam
 
 
 
 
 

Accessibility

We want to make sure everyone can access the information provided on this site

We've put together a few tips and help for you. Please send us a message if you can't find what you're looking for. Or you have a suggestion of something we could include.

Using the keyboard instead of the mouse.
As well as using the tab key to navigate through the screen, the ChildLine website has special access keys:

Alt+S = skip navigation
Alt+1 = home
Alt+0 = accessibility information.

Is the text size too large or too small?
You can change your text settings through your browser options:

In Internet Explorer, go to View > Text size and select your desired text size setting (eg, larger, smaller).

In Firefox, go to View > Text size and increase/decrease using Ctrl and + or -

If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse, you can hold down Ctrl and scroll back or forth to increase or decrease the font size in both IE and Firefox.

Changing your computer screen settings
To change the size of the image shown on your screen on a PC running Windows 95 and upwards, go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings and change the desktop area by using the sliding bar.

On an Apple Mac, you can use the Monitor & Sound Control Panel to change the resolution.

Having difficulty with your keyboard or mouse?
You can fine-tune your mouse and keyboard settings under Start > Settings > Control Panel > Accessibility in Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and XP.

Skipping navigation for talking browsers and screen readers
For speech browsers, you can press Alt and S followed by Enter to skip navigation on our pages.

The site is W3C level A compliant.

Help

Online safety

On this page you will find links to information about issues related to online safety.  If you would like to read more about an issue, click on the title to go through to the information page.  If you can't find the issue you want to find out about, you can try the site search or go back to the Explore page to look at other issues.