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Reimagining Online Safety Education with Young

Tracks
Ballroom 1 - In Person & Online
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
9:20 AM - 9:40 AM

Overview

Lilly Moody & Louisa Welland, Young And Resilient Research Centre, Western Sydney University


Details

Presentation Key Learnings: 1. Traditional online safety education reflects adult anxieties and concerns and is often disengaging. Young people are calling for a reimagined approach to online safety education which reflects their everyday experiences, concerns, and the ways they imagine safety. 2. A reimagined approach provides young people with technical skills and a set of (digital) capacities to navigate the issues they deal with every day, both offline and online. 3. Young people’s ideal (online) safety learning experience is one that is youth-centred, diverse, interactive, open and collaborative, authentic and original.


Speaker

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Lilly Moody
Research Centre Manager
Young And Resilient Research Centre, Western Sydney University

Reimagining online safety education with young people

Abstract

Online safety education is typically designed by adults for young people. As a consequence, it often reflects adult perspectives and concerns. While existing education has been somewhat successful in raising young people’s awareness about online harms, young Australians report gaps in their online safety skills and knowledge (eSafety, 2021). This study aimed to understand how online safety learning experiences can better meet young people’s needs and address their concerns. To do so, the Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University (WSU) led a creative and participatory process to co-design a framework for online safety education with 31 young Australians. What we heard from young people is that conventional online safety education does not always resonate with their everyday experiences or key concerns. Young people suggested it is not just a matter of tweaking current online safety education, but that we need to reimagine and rebuild (online) safety education from the ground up. The insights from this study informed the development of a reimagined framework for (online) safety education. This focuses on the everyday safety issues young people deal with and acknowledges that these issues occur in online and offline settings, by decentering the online. In doing so, the framework provides young people with both the technical skills and a set of (digital) capacities to navigate the full spectrum of issues they experience, online and offline. The findings from this study also outline how young people say they want to learn about (online) safety through a set of key delivery principles. Lastly, we showcase how the framework has been implemented by PROJECT ROCKIT to co-create, with young people, digital online safety education resources for Australian high schools.

Biography

Lilly Moody is the Centre Manager at the Young and Resilient Research Centre. Lilly has eight years’ experience working in research with a focus on youth participatory methods and has worked in a range of human rights and youth-centred roles in the NGO sector. Lilly has recently been investigating young people's digital practices, online safety, young people’s experiences of climate change, and young people’s rights in a digital age.
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Louisa Welland
Research Officer
Young and Resilient Research Centre, Western Sydney University

Reimagining Online Safety Education with Young

Biography

Louisa Welland is a Research Officer at the Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University. Louisa holds expertise in creative, youth-centred participatory methods. Louisa has worked in the non-for-profit sector in youth mental health research and has recently been exploring concepts of co-research with young people, youth digital content cultures and online safety. Louisa strives towards leading empowering, collaborative research with young people that advances policy, practice and service delivery, to support young people's rights and resilience.

Moderator

Julia Cutler
Senior Event Manager
AST Management

Shinade Hartman
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AST Management


Presenter

Agenda Item Image
Lilly Moody
Research Centre Manager
Young And Resilient Research Centre, Western Sydney University

Agenda Item Image
Louisa Welland
Research Officer
Young and Resilient Research Centre, Western Sydney University


Session Chair

Abi Cooper
Youth Mental Health Advocate
Youth Mental Health Advocate

 

 

 

 

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