Topic Links
Choosing Content
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Here are some questions to ask when deciding whether something's good for the GoSafer.Online site
- Is it British? Content from the U.S. and other English-speaking countries is usually not as relevant or interesting to a U.K audience. We should think carefully before including it (doesn't apply to foreign-language material of course).
- Is it safe? We test all urls in VirusTotal before publishing. For your own protection you may want to do the same. Copy/paste the url into the box at VirusTotal before you visit the site.
- What's the format? Video and audio are more likely to appeal to our main audience. Teachers and academics are no doubt more willing to look at written material.
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Does the content
- ...mention drugs?
- ...risk causing distress?
- ...risk causing offence or controversy?
We can still include it, unless it's extreme. We just flag it accordingly.
- Could it be politically sensitive? Our website may include news stories, but we are not a news site. We focus on practical issues. So for example, “Country A has launched a cyber-attack on Country B” tells our users nothing useful and doesn’t belong. “Country A has launched a cyber attack on U.K. Android users (and those users need to do xyz) should be included, whether or not some of us have a degree of sympathy with Country A. We do want to persuade the public that big tech is more interested in profit than users' wellbeing. That doesn't make us anti-capitalist: it's a fact, and a problem that could be addressed by a government of any type.
- How to send us the links you've found? For the moment, it's fine to drop them in an email. If that's inconvenient perhaps we can develop an alternative.
Here is a list of the topics where we need links to web sites providing information. We've sorted the most urgent to the top, and the rest according to how few links there are. If you have expertise you'd like to apply, ignore our priorities and choose or propose an appropriate topic. Send us an email for any topics you'd like to look at. A future version of this page will allow you to log in and make your choices which will be recorded automatically.
| Priority + Counts |
Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Priority: 1 No. Links: 0 | Excessive Time Online (1 child topic/s) | We'd like to gather information on the effects of spending too much time online and how widespread the problem is. |
| Priority: 2 No. Links: 0 | APP (Authorised Push Payment) Fraud Users are persuaded to give money to the criminal from their bank account (1 child topic/s) | Criminals may pose as bank employees, telling victims their bank acou We're doing a presentation in Hounslow on Nov 7 24. It's an older audience which is fearful of scams and this a very common scam. |
| Priority: 3 No. Links: 5 | Fake Appeals An appeal to the public claiming that a human or animal needs help (1 child topic/s) | This can include fake animal rescues or requests to share a post about someone with dementia This was featured by "Which" magazine as one of the most convincing scams of 2023 |
| Priority: 5 No. Links: 1 | Anxiety Feelings of anxiety caused by social media or smartphone usage (2 child topic/s) | This year there has been a social science debate over the statistical association between youth smartphone usage and levels of anxiety |
| Priority: 6 No. Links: 3 | Fake News (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Automated Phone Scams (1 child topic/s) | Scams that use a computer to dial the phone and play a message. |
| No. Links: 0 | Banking Scams (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Browser Settings Settings you can apply to your "standard" browser (whether you've installed add-ons or not). (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Content Moderation AI AI used in social media to detect bad content (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Counterfeiting Selling of fake goods and medicines online (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Dangerous Products Products which do not conform to UK regulations (1 child topic/s) | Mainstream suppliers sometimes sell these products which may be imported from China or other foreign countries |
| No. Links: 0 | Discord (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Fake Offers Scams and Deceptive Financial Offers (1 child topic/s) | Scams and deceptive offers such as training that promises unrealistic financial returns |
| No. Links: 0 | Fake Reviews (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Generative AI AI which outputs graphics, text or sound (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Instagram (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Investor Training (1 child topic/s) | Training courses by "entrepreneur" who apparently don't want to practise their art. |
| No. Links: 0 | Meme Stocks Meme stocks (1 child topic/s) | Meme stocks are company shares which become extremely popular for individuals on social media to buy |
| No. Links: 0 | Online Profile Your Online Profile - How Others See You (1 child topic/s) | The ways in which our online activity affect how our peers, potential employers and the wider public see us |
| No. Links: 0 | Over-Sharing Over-sharing personal photos and information (1 child topic/s) | Over-sharing personal photos and information |
| No. Links: 0 | Predictive AI AI used in employment, courts, education (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Property Investment Schemes that claim huge "guaranteed" profits from property investment (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Ransomware (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Right to be Informed The right to be informed determines where and how you tell people the purpose of storing their data, how you use it and how long you keep it. (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Social Media Bots (1 child topic/s) | Bots are fake accounts that spread large amounts of propaganda designed to mislead as to facts or strength of opinion. |
| No. Links: 0 | Suicidal Thoughts (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Suspicious Transaction Scam (1 child topic/s) | A call (often made by computer) telling you that there has been a suspicious transaction on your bank or credit card account. |
| No. Links: 0 | System Updates (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Twitter (renamed as "X") (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Accusations of Stalking Accusations of stalking (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Amazon Scam (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Anti-Virus Software Do you need anti-virus software? (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | VPNs (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | YouTube Kids (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Online Attacks (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Online Challenges Social media challenges to do unsafe stunts (2 child topic/s) | Young people are most vulnerable to challenges since they may crave attention |
| No. Links: 0 | Viruses Viruses are small pieces of software that sneak onto your computer. How can you stop them? (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Online Misunderstandings (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Online Dating Effects of online technology on relationships (3 child topic/s) | Effects of online technology on relationships |
| No. Links: 0 | Addiction/Over-use (4 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 0 | Negative Feelings (4 child topic/s) | Including depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal thoughts |
| No. Links: 1 | Broken Dreams of Tech The Broken Dreams and Promises of Tech (1 child topic/s) | Promises made by the tech industry that were broken or could not be fulfilled |
| No. Links: 1 | Browser Add-Ons Software which you can install in your browser (usually written by outside developers) (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | County Lines The practice of using children or vulnerable adults to traffic drugs into rural areas (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Depression (1 child topic/s) | Depression caused or intensified by online activity |
| No. Links: 1 | Eating Disorders Including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and BED (binge eating disorder) (1 child topic/s) | "Anorexia" is trying to control your weight by not eating enough, exercising too much, or both. "Bulimia" is losing control over how much you eat, then taking drastic action to not put on weight |
| No. Links: 1 | Echo Chamber (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Email Scams (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Facebook (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | FOMO FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Gaslighting (1 child topic/s) | Psychological manipulation by another person or online |
| No. Links: 1 | Hi Mum and Dad Scam The fraudster impersonates a relative or friend needing help (1 child topic/s) | The fraudster may explain why their phone number differs by saying the original phone is broken. They may explain differing bank details by claiming they can't access their original account. Then they ask for cash to help with the fake problem. |
| No. Links: 1 | Hoax Challenges Fake challenges designed to get clicks (1 child topic/s) | A dangerous or shocking fake challenge could attract a lot of attention so there are reasons for creators to make them that way |
| No. Links: 1 | Hoaxes (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Loneliness Loneliness (1 child topic/s) | How loneliness can be increased by technology or the effects of the pandemic |
| No. Links: 1 | Misogyny Hatred of girls and women (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Netflix Netflix on smart TVs or phone/laptop (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Password Managers Password managers will manage passwords for your logins, you only need to know one "master" password. (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Pig Butchering (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Revenge Porn (1 child topic/s) | Revenge Porn often involves faked images. |
| No. Links: 1 | Sim Swap (1 child topic/s) | Criminals can impersonate you, pretend that your phone is lost and request a new sim which they receive. |
| No. Links: 1 | Snapchat (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Social Media Challenges (1 child topic/s) | Crazes which challenge you to do something uncofortable/stupid/dangerous which spread quickly over the internet. |
| No. Links: 1 | The Rothschilds (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | TikTok Crazes Viral online behaviours from TikTok (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Web 3 (1 child topic/s) | Web 3 is supposed to be "de-centralised", which means services that are not controlled by any one organisation. The claim is disputed by some. |
| No. Links: 1 | Social Media Crazes Viral online behaviours (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Smartphone Safety How to Make Your Smartphone Safer (2 child topic/s) | There are a few simple steps you can take to keep your smartphone or tablet safer and you don't need to be a tech expert. |
| No. Links: 1 | Online Fads Online Social and Investment Crazes (3 child topic/s) | Information about the latest online fads and investment crazes, as well as information about how the older ones worked out. |
| No. Links: 1 | GDPR UK General Data Protection Regulation (3 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Get Rich Quick Schemes These are not always illegal but people who sign up often lose money (3 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 1 | Emotional/Relationships (9 child topic/s) | Depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal thoughts |
| No. Links: 1 | Social Media What do I need to know about social media? (13 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 2 | Cryptocurrency New kinds of money created by computer (1 child topic/s) | Non-Technological |
| No. Links: 2 | Impersonation/Identity Theft (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 2 | Incel Involuntary Celibates (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 2 | Money Muling (1 child topic/s) | Money mules pass money through their bank account so that criminals can hide where it came from |
| No. Links: 2 | NFTs Non-Fungible Tokens (1 child topic/s) | Non-Fungible Tokens are connected to computer files. They are supposed to prove that the file is genuine, or be proof of ownership, although this may not be correct. |
| No. Links: 2 | OSINT Open Source Intelligence (1 child topic/s) | Open Source Intelligence is a way of investigating real-world or cyber crime with information that is openly available online, e.g. social media posts, government statistics etc. |
| No. Links: 2 | Social Media Influencer Scams Social Media Influencer Scams (1 child topic/s) | Social Media Influencer Scams |
| No. Links: 2 | Tracking/Stalking Tracking is often done with spyware apps (1 child topic/s) | Parents place tracker apps on their childrens' phones: similar technology is often used by stalkers |
| No. Links: 2 | Buy Now Pay Later BNPL spreads the cost of things you buy over a period of time (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 2 | Catfishing (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 2 | Conspiracy Theories (2 child topic/s) | Conspiracy theories are an explanation of events that is unreasonable, poorly based on facts, or framed with the intention of blaming a social group |
| No. Links: 2 | Unsuitable Content Pornography, Violence, Crime, Hate Speech, Radicalisation (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 2 | YouTube (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 3 | Deep Fakes Usually fake images, audio, or video created by artificial intelligence (1 child topic/s) | Online tools make it easy to create fake images, recordings, and video to cause trouble in business, politics and now personal life |
| No. Links: 3 | Gambling Addiction (1 child topic/s) | Gambling isn't new but our relationship to it has changed due to technology |
| No. Links: 3 | General Advice for Parents Advice on keeping your children safe online (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 3 | Phone Scams (1 child topic/s) | Scams over the telephone, either personal or automated calls |
| No. Links: 3 | Roblox (1 child topic/s) | Roblox allows people to build games and play games built by others |
| No. Links: 3 | Talking with Your Child (1 child topic/s) | Keeping the lines of conversation open |
| No. Links: 3 | Trolling/Cyber-bullying Cyber-Bullying (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 3 | Email Security (2 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 3 | Grooming/Manipulation (5 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 4 | Children and Smartphones (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 4 | Social Media Addiction Over-use of social media (1 child topic/s) | TikTok, Instagram, Snap, Facebook and other social media are designed to keep users' attention, which can lead to over-use |
| No. Links: 5 | "The Anxious Generation" How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (1 child topic/s) | Book by Jonathan Haidt, Social Psychologist |
| No. Links: 5 | Fact Checking Finding out whether news is fake or not (1 child topic/s) | Fact checking sites are usually set up by public or independent non-profit organisations |
| No. Links: 5 | Parenting (12 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 6 | Radicalisation (3 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 7 | Influencers Social Media Influencers (1 child topic/s) | Social media users with large followings can influence others to buy products or services |
| No. Links: 7 | Mental Health Mental Health Information and Organisations (3 child topic/s) | Mental health problems caused by tech or which tech can help solve |
| No. Links: 8 | TikTok (1 child topic/s) | |
| No. Links: 9 | Artificial Intelligence (6 child topic/s) | includes ChatGPT and search using it, plus other chatbots |