For a primary school

In November I was contacted by the Municipal Library in Cheb asking whether I could introduce their readers to the hazards of the internet. Cheb is far away, but the journey is pretty manageable — you can work on the train — so I accepted and started thinking about the content. A few days later the library got back to me, and this time the request came from the children's department, which wanted to use my visit to introduce secondary school students to online dangers. I was given a more or less specific brief — what topics to cover. It was clear the school pays attention and knows what children face today.

Talks on this topic are tricky — teenagers have definitely heard this kind of information before, more than once or twice. So I wanted to weave in real stories, about their peers. I added a look behind the scenes of social networks and some basics of digital hygiene.

It was an interesting experience. At certain moments I think it really hit home. The surprise in their eyes when they saw what can be found out — what the consequences can be — was priceless. Next time I'll focus more on building rapport and interaction with the audience. Getting them to ask more questions and open up… though I know that's not easy.