Interland: Google’s Interactive Game Reshaping Digital Safety Education in 2025

Digital Safety Education Evolves Through Gaming

Interland stands as an adventure-packed online game that transforms key lessons of digital citizenship and safety into hands-on practice, enabling players to become ‘Internet Awesome.’

As part of Google’s Be Internet Awesome initiative, this educational campaign specifically targets children aged 7-12, a critical demographic gaining increased online independence while still developing their understanding of digital risks.

Comprehensive Digital Safety Training

The game features four distinct islands, each focusing on crucial aspects of internet safety:
– Tower of Treasure: Teaching strong password creation and personal information protection
– Mindful Mountain: Focusing on responsible information sharing
– Kind Kingdom: Promoting positive digital interactions
– Reality River: Training players to identify phishing scams and misinformation

The game employs fluency-building and sense-making approaches to reinforce digital literacy concepts. By dividing internet literacy into four distinct levels, each focusing on a specific skill, the structured approach makes learning more digestible and ensures step-by-step knowledge building.

Educational Impact and Recognition

The program, which is free of charge, has received the Seal of Alignment from the International Society for Technology in Education. The materials, developed by Google in partnership with Parent Zone, enable teachers to bring these crucial lessons into the classroom.

The ultimate goal of this initiative is to create a safer and more educated online environment, helping bridge the educational gap surrounding internet awareness for students in this technologically dependent age.

Future Implications

In an era where digital literacy has become as crucial as traditional literacy, the program addresses a growing concern that even experienced internet users still fall victim to scams, struggle with privacy settings, and have difficulty identifying misinformation.