Helping Families Have a Cyber Safe School Year

As families around the world gear up for another school year, many parents and caregivers are concerned about helping their kids stay safe online. Research shows that 93% of young people from ages eight to 17 use the internet, and 72% have been victims of cyber threats, including scams, phishing, exposure to inappropriate content and more.

With children increasingly using digital tools for their education, families can work together to keep that time online safe and secure. That’s why Norton, one of Gen’s trusted Cyber Safety brands, teamed up with National PTA to create The Smart Talk, a free resource that helps families have open, positive and ongoing conversations about digital safety and online privacy.

The Smart Talk uses guided questions about Cyber Safety best practices—from social media and cyberbullying to using and downloading apps—to help families begin and continue these conversations. Over the past year, we continued to reach families all over the U.S. with these resources.

Leading The Smart Talk at U.S. Schools

In addition to making the platform freely available online, we provide National PTA with funding for local PTAs to host The Smart Talk Conversations for their school communities. In the 2023-2024 school year, Norton’s support allowed 40 local PTAs to produce these events, 58% of which took place in Title I schools (schools where many families live below the poverty line).

“The Smart Talk [helped bring] awareness to our families that healthily social media and internet safety is more than just a password,” said one grantee. “This program opened heartfelt, honest conversations and set plans in place to protect one another in an increasingly cyber world.”

National PTA estimates that The Smart Talk Conversations reached more than 3,500 students and family members between April 2023 and February 2024 through a mix of in-person and virtual events.

Reaching a Growing Audience

The Smart Talk is available year-round to kids and families looking to navigate the digital world safely. National PTA engages its network of state and local PTAs to raise awareness of the tool and grow its user base.

TheSmartTalk.org has grown to more than 12,000 users, and National PTA’s engagement efforts kept the platform top of mind in many school communities. Campaigns such as #HowWePTA and Safer Internet Day, as well as other activations, garnered more than 162,500 impressions across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. National PTA also delivered 29 e-newsletters across a 750K subscriber base that included information on The Smart Talk.

Providing Tools for Cyber Safety

This collaboration is a key component of our broader efforts to provide youth, educators, families and vulnerable people with the Cyber Safety skills they need to navigate their digital lives safely and with more confidence. In addition to our Cyber Safety partnerships, products like Norton 360, which has device security, real-time threat protection, Parental Control and more, help us meet our vision to power digital freedom.

For more on how we provide Cyber Safety education and training, check out our 2024 Social Impact Report.

These grants were awarded from the Gen Foundation, a corporate advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.