I don't help children spend less time online.
I help them be smarter online.

My name is Geert van Asperen, founder of Asperity. I'm a father of five and work daily with digital safety and cybersecurity.

The digital world is changing fast. Children grow up with games, social media, AI, online friends and endless amounts of information. That brings huge opportunities, but also demands new skills.

As a parent, I see how naturally technology is woven into children's lives. As a cybersecurity professional, I see just as clearly how important it is that children learn to navigate that world consciously, critically and safely.

That's why Asperity exists.

Digital literacy through experience

I believe digital literacy isn't just about learning rules. Children need to understand why something matters, and learn how to make good choices themselves.

Not by only telling them what can go wrong, but by letting them experience situations first-hand.

That's why Asperity develops interactive digital escape rooms and educational experiences where students collaborate, investigate and solve problems.

From digital safety and online identity to gaming, social media, online influence and critically assessing information.

From cybersecurity to the classroom

My experience in the world of cybersecurity forms the basis of our games. Topics adults encounter every day get translated into situations that fit children's everyday world.

Students become digital detectives, for instance, investigate a security incident, or discover how online persuasion and manipulation actually work.

That way they learn not just what the risks are, but above all how to stand stronger in the digital world themselves.

My mission

My goal is not to scare children away from the digital world, but to make them stronger in it.

Because technology isn't going away — and it doesn't need to.

The solution isn't to keep children offline.

The solution is to make them smarter, more aware and safer online.

Beyond the classroom

I start in the classroom, because that's where the first chance lies: children grow up with a phone before anyone has shown them what to watch out for. You don't just pick that up — you have to actually go through it, like crossing the street.

But it doesn't stop at the school gate. Parents are the example for their child — and were never taught any of this themselves. They too had to figure it out along the way, often the hard way. That's what I'm working on: the same way of learning, but not in a classroom — at the kitchen table, together with your child.

And one day I want to look beyond the family too, toward those most vulnerable to it: the generation that grew up without any of this, and who are therefore often the first target of those who abuse it. They deserve no less attention. They just deserve a different approach.

It starts in the classroom. It doesn't stop there.