As part of Get Online Week, Riverside Community Health Project hosted a fun and interactive Get Connected! Digital Everyday event on Friday 23rd October, bringing people together to explore digital skills, creativity and the support available through Riverside.
One of the most popular activities was Real or AI?, where attendees compared real photographs with AI-generated images. The activity showed just how difficult it can sometimes be to tell the difference. Some images looked completely genuine until small mistakes or inconsistencies were pointed out. This led to useful conversations about being cautious about what we see online, questioning whether images and information are genuine, and some of the clues that can help us recognise AI-generated content.
Attendees also worked together to create a Digital Confidence Tree, sharing their experiences of being online and the skills they would like to develop.
Things people said they can already do online included:
- creating online accounts
- online banking and banking apps
- online shopping
- using ChatGPT and AI
- communicating with friends and family
People also shared things they would like to learn, including:
- following arts and crafts activities using YouTube videos
- developing digital skills that could help them earn money
- learning digital skills in a class
- learning from and supporting each other
The activity also highlighted some of the barriers people can face when trying to get online. These included children interrupting, not understanding how to use websites, having no Wi-Fi and running out of mobile data.
Creativity was also a big part of the morning. Everyone had the opportunity to make homemade sock pumpkins decorated with emoji faces, which gave us another relaxed way to talk about digital communication and everyday technology.
Throughout the event, we discussed the support available through Riverside’s Digital Everyday project, including our National Databank offer for mobile data, device loans and weekly Digital Drop-Ins for anyone who would like friendly, practical help with phones, tablets, apps and online services.
We finished the event by sitting down together for a shared lunch, giving everyone the chance to chat, relax and continue the conversations from the morning.
It was a really positive session, with lots of conversation, creativity and shared learning. Everyone had a great time, and the feedback and ideas gathered during the event will help us continue shaping Digital Everyday around what people in our community want and need.