Group launches fresh awareness campaign over internet safety

Hampshire’s Youth Commission chose cyber safety as a top priority for the year.

The organisation is supported by the Officer of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

A survey by the Youth Commission found young people’s main concerns on the internet were grooming, privacy and bullying.

The survey also found 66 per cent of respondents had little or no knowledge of the law around internet use.

Now the group is launching a campaign, Go Fish, to keep up awareness.

Youth Commission member Ellie Moore, 20, from Portsmouth, said: ‘The internet has brought many wonders to the world, but we need to be aware of the risks.

‘With the growth in accessibility of the internet for young people, it is vital to teach them not only how to avoid dangerous situations, but also how to find the help they need if have become a victim of cyber crime and we hope to achieve this through our GoFISH campaign.’

Fellow member Alison Romaine, 17, of Fareham, added: ‘Growing generations haven’t seen life without smart phones and so the human obsession with documentation, instead of being in paper form, is now displayed online and globally available, which in itself brings about issues of privacy and security. We don’t want to criminalise this way of interaction but our campaign GoFISH (Find Internet Safety Help) aims to simplify how to handle any issues online.’