Looking Outward
Today has been mostly about you, your accounts, your data, your habits. This last session is about the people around you: kids, parents, grandparents, neighbours, the mate who keeps clicking suspicious links. In almost every community, there's a handful of people who end up being "the one who's good with computers". If that's you, or if it's becoming you, this session is about doing that job without getting exhausted, and about the specific things worth teaching to the people you care about.
You don't have to fix everyone's tech. You do have to help the people you love avoid the three or four traps that cause real harm.
Kids and Teens Online
Children and teenagers have always been online differently to adults. They live on platforms most of us only visit (Discord, TikTok, Snapchat, Roblox). They talk to strangers routinely. They share things we'd never share. That's not going to change. What you can do is stay in the conversation.
Keep it a conversation, not a lecture
The quickest way to lose a teenager is to deliver a talk about online safety. Ask questions instead: "What apps are your friends using these days?" "Has anyone ever messaged you that you didn't know?" "Have you seen any weird AI stuff lately?" Be genuinely curious. You'll learn a lot faster than by explaining.
Agree on the "come to me" rule
Tell the kids in your life: "If anything online ever makes you uncomfortable, upset, or confused, come to me and you won't be in trouble, even if you did something you shouldn't have." The biggest barrier to kids reporting bad stuff is fear of being blamed or of losing their phone. Name the rule. Stick to it.
Know the big risks, in rough priority order
Bullying and drama on platforms they use. The most common harm by a mile.
Strangers making contact through games and DMs. Especially on Roblox, Discord, Snapchat and Instagram.
Sexual content being shared or requested. Laws in Australia are strict, including about what minors send to each other.
AI-generated nudes and "deepfake" harassment. A growing issue in Australian schools.
Scams and in-app purchases. Kids are less cynical than adults. Enable purchase controls.
Parental controls without paranoia
Both iPhones (Screen Time) and Androids (Family Link) have free built-in tools that let you see what's installed, limit screen time, and block purchases. They're not a substitute for conversation, but they're a useful safety net, especially for younger kids.
Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) is free, 24/7, for anyone aged 5 to 25. The eSafety Commissioner has parent guides, a youth advisor section, and an image-based abuse reporting channel. These are the two names to remember.
Helping Older Family Members
Older Australians are the group losing the most money to scams. They're also the group most likely to be patronised, ignored, or have help imposed on them rather than offered. Both those facts are worth sitting with.
Start from respect, not rescue
Older family members have run households, raised children, held jobs, managed finances, and navigated change for decades longer than you. They're not bad at technology, they've just had less time with it. The help that works is the help that assumes competence and explains cause, not the help that says "let me just do it for you".
The three things worth their time
Two-factor authentication on their primary email. This alone stops about 80 percent of account takeovers.
The three warning signs of a scam: urgency, an unexpected link, and anyone asking for passwords, gift cards, or remote access.
The "hang up and call back" rule for any call claiming to be from a bank, government, or utility. No exceptions.
If you help them with those three things, you've done more than most family members manage.
Set up, then step back
It's tempting to do things for someone rather than showing them. Don't. Sit with them, show them once, then have them do it. They'll remember it. If you do it for them, they'll need you every time.
Be Connected is a free resource
Be Connected is a free Australian government program specifically for older people learning digital skills. Lots of free courses, written for adult beginners, not children. A good place to point someone who wants to learn more between your visits.
We covered this in Session 5, but it's worth repeating. Agree a family code word with parents and grandparents. If anyone ever claims to be a family member in a phone emergency, they have to say the word. This is the single most effective protection you can give an older family member against voice-cloning scams.
When You're the Tech Person
In every family, workplace, and community group, somebody ends up being the one people call when the Wi-Fi is down, the email won't send, or there's a weird message on the screen. Today you might have just become that person in your circle.
Some honest advice for doing that role without burning out.
Teach, don't rescue
The request is usually "can you fix this". The kindest long-term answer is usually "let's fix it together, I'll show you". Twice as long the first time, half as long every time after.
Use the AI as your co-pilot
You don't have to know how to fix everything. When someone brings you a problem, open ChatGPT or Claude and troubleshoot together: "My mum's printer keeps showing offline, she's on Windows 11, a Canon printer. What are the most likely causes in order?" The AI will walk you both through it. You're not meant to be a human help desk, you're a translator between the person and the tool.
Know when to refer
You don't have to be the whole solution. Someone with an identity theft issue needs IDCARE, not you. Someone being harassed online needs eSafety. Someone with a bank dispute needs their bank. Knowing who to hand over to is half the skill.
Protect your own time
It's fine to say "I can help with the setup this weekend, but not mid-week evenings" or "let me show you how to ask the AI yourself". Being helpful doesn't mean being available 24/7.
Your Personal Safe-Use Checklist
This is the take-home from the whole day, condensed to one page. Print it, screenshot it, or save it somewhere you'll find it. Tick each one as you do it.
In the next 48 hours
Turn on two-factor authentication for your primary email.
Turn on two-factor authentication for MyGov.
Check your email at haveibeenpwned.com, change any password that's been in a breach.
Decide on a family code word. Tell your family tonight.
Save Scamwatch, ReportCyber, IDCARE and eSafety in your phone contacts, so you can find them fast.
In the next two weeks
Install a password manager (Bitwarden is a solid free one). Save five important passwords into it.
Review your Facebook and Instagram privacy settings so only friends can see your posts.
Check your phone's app permissions. Turn off location for anything that doesn't need it.
Pick one new AI tool (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini) and use it three times for something useful. Build the habit.
Have one honest conversation with a kid, teen, parent or grandparent in your life about online safety. Ask them what they're dealing with.
Ongoing habits
Any urgent message: slow down. If it's pushing you to act fast, that's the scam.
Any unexpected link: don't click it. Go to the source yourself.
Any phone call claiming to be a bank or service: hang up, call back on a number you have.
Any AI answer that matters: verify it before acting on it.
Any photo, voice or video that surprises you: check another source before sharing.
Where to Go for Help
Bookmark, screenshot, or save these. Every one of them is free.
Keep Learning
AI and online safety aren't a one-day topic. The tools change, the scams change, your needs change. A few gentle habits will keep you current without turning it into a hobby.
Use an AI tool once a week for something real. Not to play with it, to get something done. The habit matters more than the skill. Competence follows use.
Subscribe to one short newsletter you'll actually read. MoneySmart's scam alerts, Scamwatch's updates, or your bank's security alerts. One email a fortnight is enough.
Share what you learn. When you spot a scam, mention it at work or on a family group chat. When you figure out how to do something, show someone else. You'll remember it better, and you'll help someone along.
Ask the AI when you get stuck. This is the Session 2 habit, but it compounds. Every time you use AI to answer your own question instead of waiting for someone to explain, you build the muscle.
Come back to CDU TAFE for the next thing. This short course is one of a series. If you want to go further into AI, M365, or any other digital skill, the doors here are open.
One Final Thought
You came in today with a mix of curiosity and caution about AI and the online world. Curiosity is the right posture. Caution is the right partner. You don't need to become a specialist, you just need to be a confident, thoughtful user of tools that almost everyone now depends on.
If you remember one thing from the day, make it this.
Digital literacy isn't about knowing more than other people. It's about knowing you can figure it out, one question at a time, with a helper in your pocket.
Thanks for spending your Saturday with us. Good luck with the homework on your new checklist.
Before you leave, pick your one thing.
Look back at the checklist above. Pick the single item you'll do first, tonight or tomorrow. Say it out loud, or write it down.
Not five things. One. The one you'll actually do.
If everyone in this room leaves with one new habit they stick with, this course has worked.