A multi-award-winning cyber safety app has partnered with Australia's number one anti-bullying charity in a bid to reduce potentially harmful cyber behaviour.
Based on more than 15 years of cyber safety research and more than 30 years of bullying research, Beacon has been co-designed with parents and carers and backed by cyber safety experts including the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.
The app aims to provide families with trustworthy, practical resources to help confidently navigate children's technology use and reduce associated harms.
The partnership with Dolly's Dream was going to ensure the app would support families and also provided a focus on navigating cyberbullying and online risks that affected young people's mental health, the app creators said.
Dolly's parents Kate and Tick Everett said since starting their anti-bullying campaign Dolly's Dream in honour of their daughter, they had wanted an app in their program offering additional support for parents and carers in navigating their way around the online world to help their children.
"We are excited about partnering with the Telethon Kids Institute on the Beacon app so that we can get this important information and advice into parents' hands across Australia, especially in our rural, regional and remote communities," Mrs Everett said.
"We don't want other families to ever have to go through the heartache we have experienced.
"We hope Beacon will continue to provide the support and information to families and communities that we wish we had."
Via Beacon families can access content tailored to their needs - including articles, videos and alerts - from a comprehensive library of strategies and tips to help address challenging issues such as screen time, gaming and cyberbullying.
The content is regularly updated in response to changing Australian societal and online trends.
Dolly Everett was only 14 years old when she took her own life after relentlessly being bullied.
Research shows one in four young Australians will experience bullying this year, and one in seven won't tell anyone, leaving over 340,000 young people suffering in silence.
Dolly's Dream aims to break the silence around bullying and help young people, parents, and carers find the courage to speak out, through education, inspiration, and the power of shared experiences.
If you need help of know anyone who does:
- Dolly's Dream Support Line 0488 881 033
- Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800
- headspace 1800 650 890
- Lifeline 13 11 14