Internet Safety Week - #FreeToBeMe

Online Identity is at the centre of focus for Internet Safety week this year. Our identity is all of the things about us that makes us who we are. It could be our names, what we look like, our age, where we live, our hobbies and even our personalities. It's not possible or sensible to share everything about our identity when we are online. We might represent ourselves a little differently when we are online, compared to how we do this when we are at home, at school or spending time with family. Online identities allow us to express ourselves and be creative, but most importantly we can keep the important parts like our personal information safe and private.

It is important to remember that if we see someone online, we see their online identity, but that might not tell us everything about that person. Sometimes the information people post or say, doesn't reflect what they are really like offline. They might use usernames, photos, filters or avatars that are very different to their actual identity. This is why it is really important to remember that if we only know someone online, they are a stranger, and we should keep our identity and personal information safe.

To celebrate the importance of respecting the online identities of everybody for being unique, we have created our own avatars to reflect our creative personalities.