Promoting the positive side of digital and safety online
BE KIND on line was the theme running through the fifth annual DigitalACE event at Beau Sejour on Saturday.
The day is about supporting people’s aspirations, providing inspiration and tools to create things, and empowering everybody to learn. More than 3,000 people attended it last year.
The event was aligned to Safer Internet Day.
Economic Development Committee head of digital Lucy Kirby said the day would highlight how digital touches our lives in a very positive way but also how important it was to be safe.
It was important too to use social media responsibly. Guernsey was a smaller community and inappropriate postings on things such as Facebook could have a much bigger impact here than they might do elsewhere and with longer implications as well.
‘If you hold the Be Kind on Line ethos at the centre of what you do whether posting in a Facebook group or commenting on a friend’s photo online it will set you on a good path,’ she said.
PC Tom Elliott from Guernsey Police’s hi-tech crime unit and colleagues were educating people to the risks online and how to mitigate them.
Guernsey people lost in the region of £1m. to online scams in 2018 though the figure for 2019 was lower.
‘It’s about a social engineering and while they might not be the most sophisticated of crimes they can look plausible and can cost people a lot of money,’ he said.
‘People can take control of your computer just with an email and the vast majority of our work comes from phishing emails. People in Guernsey are at just as much risk as those in the inner cities. The money that we know has been taken is just what has been reported. Sometimes people are too embarrassed to report things, which is unfortunate.’
Sue Domaille and daughter Marguerite, 12, who goes to Blanchelande, have been to the DigitalACE every year.
‘For me it’s about the internet safety aspect but for Marguerite its the gaming side such as Pokemon, Wizards Unite, and virtual reality things such as feed the dinosaurs and shooting monsters,’ said Miss Domaille.
‘I feel I know some aspects of internet safety but within six months it can be out of date so this is a chance to broaden my knowledge.’
She said she did not like social media but said it was inevitable that Marguerite would want to get involved in the future.
‘Every time you post something online you have to remember that it could be there forever,’ she said.
Marguerite said she liked the learning aspect of DigitalACE but said it was horrible what some people did online.
