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Online or Offline - Keep it safe and friendly

2019-2-RO01-KA105-0640542019Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: RO|LT|PL|TR|FR · Grant: €14,825
Social dialogueHealth and wellbeingRural development and urbanisation

Objectives

The way the young are communicating and organizing has changed fundamentally. The new generations have adapted their lifestyle to the new technology, where they have also moved their socialization. Among the threats present in social media we can pinpoint addiction, failing to meet the real demands of society, the negative impact of ones’ public image and even depression. These can lead to a decrease of flexibility, of courage and optimism of a young person in regards to integrating himself in the society, a negative impact on personal and professional development and in building ones’ identity. Also a truth is the fact that the young population, still living in Europe’s rural areas, are hardly ever meeting up to spend time together. Causes: their number is small, the distance between their homes is larger, and there is the attractiveness of the internet which gives them comfort when it comes to spending their free time. This means that they are spending much more of their free time in their homes, on the internet. What we also remark is an increasing number of young people who fall victims of these threats on social media, with effects that have both a psychological, and a physical one, some youngsters choosing to take their own lives or becoming victims of human trafficking. We cannot overlook the fact that among the causes there is the lack of information, the delay of the rural communities to adapt to the new technologies and new threats and, therefore, the lack of involvement from the parents in the “digital life” of their children. It is important to mention here the fact that the young people from the rural areas don’t always know how to spend their free time in a more healthy and productive way, as the life in a village does not offer a vast array of options for entertainment. And when the threats are there, the youth are not informed how to react, where to seek help or how to deal with such a situation. The aim of this project is, therefore, to increase the level of information among the young people from rural areas in regards to the threats of social media. To reach this goal we have set three clear objectives: to raise awareness among young people of the positive and negative aspects of social networks present on the internet; to diversify the options these young people have to spend their free time by offering them the tools to find the games and interactive activities that best suits them when it comes to offline interaction; to raise the level of active involvement and reaction towards the threats from social media. There are 6 organisations and institutions that have partnered for this project from Romania, France, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Turkey. We want to decrease the number of young victims of social media from the rural areas, to put our shoulder to the wheel in order to fight cyberbullying, to give them options of how to entertain themselves offline and to develop these young people’s ability to select information and react to dangers and threats. Such a project will have effects also upon the self-esteem and socialization of the young people involved, they will be more confident and more involved in the social life of their community, but they will also improve the relationship with their families and friends, effects which will echo in their community and leave a mark on the people they will come in contact with.

Project partners (5)