For the first time, people report that their primary motivation for using AI isn’t entertainment, but learning. In South Africa, where young people are some of the fastest-growing groups of internet users, many teenagers are especially excited about AI and digital tools to support their learning and creativity, but they want guidance, balance, and support from adults and educators to help them use these safely and well.
In support of Safer Internet Day, Google has highlighted five ways students, parents, and educators can work together to keep the focus on safe, effective learning:
Support learning with smarter online/offline boundaries
Knowing when to step away can be as important as knowing when to dive in. Protections like SafeSearch are on by default for kids, and Family Link can support smarter boundaries, including screen-time management, app approvals, content filters, privacy settings, and more. “School time” supports distraction-free learning by limiting device functionality during school and homework hours.
In South Africa, where many young people access the internet primarily via mobile phones, these tools can help families manage data use and late-night scrolling while keeping space for homework, rest, and offline activities.
Foster critical thinking in the age of AI
From history to computer science, anyone diving into anything needs to know the “why” as readily as the “what”. Using Guided Learning in Gemini, learners are guided to approach complex problems step-by-step, encouraging critical thinking over shortcuts and answers. Nearly three-quarters of people now use AI for education, and most teachers believe AI will improve student outcomes.
Help teens spot AI content and evaluate info online
As sophisticated AI tools become more common, understanding the origin and context of media we interact with is more important than ever. Best practices like the “SIFT” method in the Super Searchers training programme – Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims – help students critically evaluate online information. “About this image” in Search provides helpful context about the images you come across online, and SynthID watermarks identify when an image, audio, or video was created using Google’s AI.
Involve parents and guardians
Parents can stay involved by understanding the platforms their children use, working together to set family guidelines whether learning, socialising, or more. YouTube’s supervised accounts for teens are designed to respect a teen’s growing autonomy while still ensuring parents are in the loop, providing shared insights into their teens’ channel activity, including the number of uploads, subscriptions and comments. This year, we also introduced a set of quality principles that will make it easier for teens to find higher quality, enriching, age-appropriate content on YouTube.
Improve digital citizenship
The online world is a global community, and good citizenship extends beyond the classroom. With cyberbullying a growing concern – and with South Africa among the countries reporting high levels of cyberbullying among teens – it’s more important than ever to teach the fundamentals of digital citizenship and online safety. Be Internet Awesome provides resources for educators and families to empower young people to be smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave online.
Kabelo Makwane, Country Director for Google South Africa, said Google has a responsibility to make the internet safer for young people while encouraging confidence: “Across South Africa, we’re seeing incredible curiosity from young people who are using technology – and now AI – to learn, to create, and to connect in new ways.
“But as their world expands, so does their need for support. Helping them stay safe online isn’t only about protecting what they see and do, it’s about equipping them with the digital confidence to make good choices, ask questions, and keep learning. Safer Internet Day is a reminder that building a better web for the next generation is something we all share a role in.”
Access, with the appropriate guardrails, can open up new avenues of learning, creativity and opportunity for young people. For practical tools and resources to help families explore, learn, and stay protected, check out the Family Guide to Online Safety in 2026 .
Google supports Safer Internet Day (SID), a European Commission-led initiative that brings together stakeholders worldwide to promote a safer, more positive internet. SID is organised as part of the European Commission’s Better Internet for Kids initiative. In Africa, Google also supports Africa Safer Internet Day (ASID), a continent-wide effort aligned with the African Union Child Online Safety and Empowerment Policy to help turn online safety commitments into concrete action for African children.
