Cyberkids Training Programme

Young People in the Information Age

Just like the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the printing press changed the way we lived our lives, Information Communication technologies are also changing the contours of society. This reshaping is often talked about in terms of what is to come or that we are standing on the threshold of it, when in reality it is already here and is continuing to grow and develop around us daily at a somewhat radical pace. It is this radical pace that often leaves the Youth Service and its policy making engine a couple of steps behind in deciding what is in the best interests of young people. This is not so much the fault of the service, but more the effect of technological growth and the young person’s fascination with the latest “new cool thing!”

If you take stock of the changes in ICT's over this past 10 years you will see what I mean by this radical growth. The speed and connectivity of the internet has increased to over 320 times faster with the explosion of the broadband network throughout the UK. C2K has played a major part in reshaping the school environment, with its insurgence of ICT in the classroom, and more young people are engaging each other than ever before using online social networking tools to enhance their "offline" personal and social lives.

Like most things in society however, the internet and the use of ICT's are fraught with inherent dangers. Predators have tuned their skills to grooming innocent young people online with the intent to harm them both emotionally and physically. In retrospect though, we need to recognise that everything in the "offline" world can be as contaminated with as much danger as the "online" world, and in fact the “offline” and the “online” mimic each other when you look more closely at their social constructs.

Where I feel we are letting our young people down, is not educating them with the skills they need to deal with these dangers, a preventative step rather than a cure, if any, for the young person who may of suffered abuse via an internet groomed relationship and punishment for the assailant.

In comes the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. CEOP are the government body armed with the skills, staff and

resources to not only educate our young people through their website and education programme designed for delivery in schools, a programme which also fits perfectly within the style of youth work group practice, but also work effortlessly to enable young people to help bring to justice those that would cause them harm through online grooming activities. CEOP are working hand in hand with the Virtual Global Taskforce to keep a 24/7 policing presence on the internet and use smart and sophisticated methods to snare criminals.

The Way Forward

Society and ICT will continue to reshape each others contours, as ICT has an effect on what society will look like, and ICT’s, like most things do not exist out of nothing. They too are shaped by the landscapes in which they exist. To simplify, we have the control to shape ICT’s to work for the betterment of society and more importantly, our young people. The fact is young people are using them, they place a lot of value and time in them, and without educating them on how to protect themselves, and not investing in resources like the CEOP centre, it will continue to be a treacherous environment, as the only thing this type of predator fears is getting caught.