91Èȱ¬

Safer Internet Day is marked every year. It is a day to promote being safe, positive and responsible online.

This year's theme is Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online.

The aim of this theme is to help children and their parents or teachers talk about what they love and what they want to change about the online world.

It gives children a chance to be listened to and hopefully can work together to make the internet a more positive place.

We have some tips from 91Èȱ¬ Own It to help you live your best life online, stay safe and help make the internet a place where we can all explore safely.

Try to think of your online world as an extension of your offline friendships. Make sure to include friends in your activities, because it is still hurtful to be left out of online games or chats, as it would be in real life.

Respect your friends on social media, ask them before posting any photos and take down any pictures straight away if someone asks you to. Try to be mindful of how your posts will make other people feel before you put them up. You'll care about what other people post about you, so be nice to others too.

Every time you go online you leave a digital footprint, which shows others where you are and what you have been doing. Whether it's a post you've liked or something you've searched for it leaves an online trail.

In the future, when you meet new people or apply for jobs someone could look you up and you have to think - what will they see? Remember that once an image or file is online, it's likely to stay there forever so be careful what you post.

It's really important to never give out your personal information, such as your number, where you live or what school you go to. If you use social media check your privacy settings and make sure only your friends can see your posts. Ask an adult you trust to help you with this if you need.

The internet can be a great place where there is loads of useful information and a chance to play with friends. But if you find yourself spending lots of time online, or thinking about it when you could be doing fun 'real world' things, maybe it's time to take a step back.

It's important to have breaks and have a good balance between being online and spending time in the 'real world'.

Social media and some websites can be great for posting your opinions. However you risk saying or writing things on the spur of the moment that you might regret later. It's the same for when you are replying to something someone has said. Remember there's a person at the other end who has feelings, just like you do.

Remember to always speak to a parent, guardian or teacher you trust if anything worries you online.