Internet Matters is a

not-for-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. Launched in May 2014 by the

United Kingdom's The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

largest internet service providers BT,

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

, TalkTalk and

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ven ...

, the organisation offers child internet safety advice to parents, carers and professionals. The organisation partners with industry leaders and experts to create safer online spaces for children. Partnerships often include joint projects in research and general online safety. Internet Matters is often compared to

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Y ...

, and Childnet because of the similar work they do.

History

Internet Matters was launched on 13 May 2014 with a launch event at the Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London attended by guests including

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded Ellis-Bextor went solo and ach ...

and

Janet Ellis Janet Ellis, (born 16 September 1955) is an English television presenter, actress and writer, who is best known for presenting the children's television programmes ''Blue Peter'' and '' Jigsaw'' between 1979 and 1987. She has published two nove ...

and industry experts including

Sonia Livingstone Sonia Livingstone is a professor of Social Psychology and former head of the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science and has dedicated much of her research to children, media and the Internet ...

. At the time, David Cameron described the launch as 'a significant step forward in our mission to protect our children online'. Internet Matters is supported by the largest internet service providers in the UK: BT,

, TalkTalk and

. Between them they have direct relationships with 90% of internet households in the UK. The not-for-profit also works closely with other child e-safety charities and industry bodies including the

, Childnet, FOSI, the CEOP and search engine Google.

Partners

Website

The online portal gives information and guidance about the main e-safety issues children might be exposed to when browsing the internet. There is also advice for safeguarding and tips for setting up appropriate controls and filters in the portal. The portal contains information for parents on the online issues of

cyberbullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

, inappropriate content, online pornography, online reputation,

online grooming Child grooming is befriending and establishing an emotional connection with a minor under the age of consent, and sometimes the child's family, to lower the child's inhibitions with the objective of sexual abuse. Child grooming is also regularly ...

sexting Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized early in the 21st ...

self-harm Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilati ...

radicalisation Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...

and more. The site has published guidance to help parents understand information relevant to their child’s age, the latest in connected technologies,

mobile applications A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on des ...

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for a ...

and online gaming. It also has instructions for parents on how to set up

parental controls Parental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computers and video games, mobile devices and software that allow parents to restrict the access of content to their children. These controls were created to ...

and filters for specific broadband and mobile providers, devices and content providers.

Connecting Safely Online

Connecting Safely Online is an initiative to help children and young people with learning difficulties tackle online safety issues. It was launched in 2020 alongside Youthworks and in partnership with Meta. Articles provide advice for parents and carers as well as teens using social media to help them understand how to get help when they need it.

Digital Matters

Digital Matters is a free online safety learning platform designed for schools to teach children skills in online safety. It is split into two parts: Interactive Learning and Once Upon Online. Interactive Learning involves teacher-facilitated discussion and quiz-based learning while Once Upon Online is a choose-your-own-adventure story where children have to help characters find positive outcomes as they deal with online safety issues. The platform provides teachers with free resources to teach the lessons, including a lesson plan, offline worksheets, guides and more. It was developed with support from Internet Matters' partner, ESET, and uses

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

-style art. Parents and children can also access the platform for free to utilise the online safety resources at home or in conjunction with schools. The platform can be downloaded as an app to smartphones, tablets and computers. It is shortlisted for the Teach Primary 2022 awards in the App category.

Published research

Cybersafe (2013)

Cybersafe 2013 was a study commissioned to support the launch of Internet Matters. The findings of the study highlighted a clear demand for more information about the risks children face when accessing the internet, at the time of research 74% of parents surveyed stated they wanted to know more. Of the 74%, 18% wanted to learn more about filtering content and blocking access to specific websites

Back to School (2015)

Over 1000 UK parents were surveyed to identify at what age they thought a child owning a smartphone was OK. The survey revealed that the majority of parents (84.6%) would like a minimum age on smartphone ownership with 10 being the most popular age.

Pace of Change (2015)

Internet Matters commissioned Childwise to carry out a UK-wide study to explore the use and understanding of technology among children aged 7–17, and parents of children this age. The research revealed an increasing gap between parents and children online with the fact that children spent significantly longer online, with girls using smartphones on average 4 hours a day.

References

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External links

Internet Matters

Back to School (2015)

Pace of Change report (2015)

Cybersafe (2013)
Organizations established in 2014 2014 establishments in England Internet-related organizations Charities based in the United Kingdom