Do you know there are strangers in your child’s bed every night?
Bringing up children who were born or brought up during the age of digital technology and so familiar with computers and Internet at an early age compared to their parents requires an additional skill set.
The internet is the playground for this generation as it is a great interactive platform for kids to learn and play. This vast sea of information, however, does not come without risks. With just one click, young users face constant threats online that can affect them negatively. On the other hand, children should also be made aware that their behaviour online could also result in negative consequences both to other people and themselves.
It is important for parents to realize their critical role in ensuring that these young digital citizens use the digital technologies in a safe, secure, and responsible manner so that they and everyone else will have a positive experience online. According to UK’s Safer Internet Centre, the key online risks to the children are:
Contact: children can be contacted by bullies or people who groom or seek to abuse them Content: age-inappropriate or unreliable content can be available to children Conduct: children may be at risk because of their own behaviour, for example, by sharing too much information Commercialism: young people can be unaware of hidden costs and advertising in apps, games and websites.
Here are the challenges young Internet users face online:
UNHEALTHY CONTENTS
pornographic material content containing swearing sites that encourage vandalism, crime, terrorism, racism, eating disorders, even suicide pictures, videos or games which show images of violence or cruelty to other people or animals gambling sites unmoderated chatrooms – where there’s no one supervising the conversation and barring unsuitable comments. Children are exposed to unhealthy contents either by actively seeking these contents or accidental such as through pop-up advertisements or sent by other people to their devices (links, images, or information).
Talk to Your Children
- Prepping Your Child
Start a conversation with your children as you are about to let them off into the Internet world about what they might find online, including inappropriate contents online and the unhealthy consequences to them. It is good to have these conversations regularly.
- Agreed Ground Rules
Find out the kind of things your child likes to do online and explain on the types of websites and apps that are the best for them to use. These should include the search engines they use to find information. There are child-friendly search engines that are especially suitable for children.
- Age Limits
Explain to your child that many sites have a minimum age limit of 13 years old and that it is to help protect them from unsuitable content and harm.
Build Their Resilience
Young users might not know how to respond appropriately to unhealthy content. Parents should ensure that their children are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for them to be resilient to these harmful elements. Among other things, children should know how to stop pop-ups from constantly appearing on the screen; never click on links in emails and messages or chats that are unexpected or from unknown persons; and most importantly, immediately close the page showing the unhealthy content and report to you or other trusted adults about it. Let them know they have the right to a positive online experience and legal actions will be taken against those sharing unhealthy content with them.
Source: internetmatters.or