by Catriona Mulcahy, Project Officer, Webwise
Safer Internet Day (SID) 2025 saw over 200,000 children and young people across Ireland participate in activities and initiatives, making it the largest SID celebration to date. This year’s theme, Prepare / Protect / Thrive, explored the role of influencers and social media algorithms in shaping young people’s lives.
The campaign reached over 2.2 million people, assisted by a national media awareness campaign that was supported by Coimisiún na Meán.
Safer Internet Day 2025 – Stakeholder event
A national stakeholder event was hosted at Microsoft Dream Space, which was opened by Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee TD.
The event brought together key stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and challenges that children and young people face in today’s digital world. With young people accessing vast amounts of information online, the discussions focused on how best to protect and empower them to navigate the powerful influences shaping their experiences.
Hosted by Gavan Reilly (Virgin Media), the event featured keynote contributions from the 5Rights Foundation, the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency, Professor Debbie Ging (Dublin City University), and Niamh Hodnett, Online Safety Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán.
Insights were also shared by the Webwise Youth Advisory Panel, Hotline.ie, ISPCC, the National Parents Council Primary, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Oide Technology in Education, Media Literacy Ireland and Microsoft.
Recordings of all keynotes and sessions are available on webwise.ie.
SID 2025 also marked the release of new research in partnership with the DCU Anti-Bullying Centre: Exploring How Young People Navigate the Evolving Online World in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Misinformation. The study highlights how young people interact with digital spaces and identifies key areas for supporting their online wellbeing and resilience.
Prepare / Protect / Thrive – Awareness Campaign and Webinar Series
What we see online can have a BIG impact …
For Safer Internet Day, Webwise encouraged parents, schools, educators, young people and stakeholders to reflect on role of influencers and algorithms in children and young people’s lives. With access so much information online we explored how to protect and empower them to navigate the opportunities and challenges of these powerful influences. Watch the campaign film below.
Throughout February and March 2025, Webwise hosted a series of free parent webinars exploring topics including online bullying, rights online, mis/disinformation, creating family agreements and online influencers. Expert guests for the series included representatives from Coimisiún na Meán, the National Parents Council, the Advertising Standards Authority, Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytical Psychotherapist Dr Colman Noctor, and Journalist and Entrepreneur Mark Little.
Full details on Safer Internet Day 2025 activities, the media campaign, and research findings can be found in the 2025 Impact Report.
