How to Protect Your Kids from Explicit content
Today we see news daily about the impact of technology in our daily lives. Many of us have started to think about how technology affects us on a personal level, but… How many of us have stopped to think about how it affects our children? 85% of mothers reported using technology to keep their children busy.
Children receive their first device
with internet access at an earlier age. The same study revealed
that 83% of American households have tablets, and 77% have smartphones.
Even at school, technology is everywhere. Teachers mark tasks that require
tools and research online and use applications to manage tasks.
Technology is constantly adapting and
is here to stay, but many do not stop to think about the risk that this implies
in terms of cybersecurity. A recent study revealed an alarming
figure: 68% of parents never monitor what their children are doing
on the Internet - and Internet activity is increasing year after year.
For many children, the online world is
more real than the real world. It is vital for the well-being of our
children that we understand what they see on the web, both the good and the bad
in it and the impact it has on their physical and emotional well-being. The
problem, as many of us will admit, is that we feel like we don't really understand
the online world. Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are pretty baffling in
and of themselves, not to mention 4chan or TOR. Furthermore, we do not
believe we have the technical ability to navigate this complex environment.
The good news is that it is not
that difficult to establish certain technical controls to protect your children
on the Internet. Even more important is this: the best thing
you can do to protect your children is to talk to them. Set clear limits
on what they can access online and when, but don't forget to be there for your
kids when they make a mistake or have gone too far. Isn't that basically
what parenting is all about? In this comprehensive guide, we talk about 8 areas
that you should pay attention to as you navigate this complex online world. Depending
on the age of your children, not everything will be relevant to
you. Understand them not as guidelines for what to do now, but as things
to pay attention to as your children grow.
1. Mobile Phones and
Apps
According to consumer research from
Influence Central, the average age children get their first Smartphone is 10
years old.
Putting a Smartphone in your child's
hands has its advantages. A phone is an excellent safety tool: your child
can use it to let you know they have reached their destination, call you to
pick them up or make calls in an emergency. Furthermore, you can also use
your phone's GPS to track its location. Knowing that your children are
always within reach offers great peace of mind to every parent.
Smartphones, however, can also be
misused, putting children at risk. Since these are personal devices, we do
not usually know what our children do with them or how they use them.
If you are considering putting a
Smartphone in your child's hands, having a series of guidelines and tips
beforehand helps. Even if your child already has a Smartphone, it is not
too late to review the family rules. Show them that owning a Smartphone
comes with great responsibility.
There are many steps you can take to
implement phone security:
· Download parental controls. Parental control apps, for the youngest, allow you to limit the use of the device by your child, determine their location and monitor their calls and messages. These apps also allow you to disable certain features at different times. For example, turn off texting while driving.
· Set limits - when your child can use a Smartphone and for how long per day.
· Be an example for your child. Don't take your phone to the table at lunchtime, and don't text while driving.
Establish a central location in your home where phones will charge. Phones should be kept out of your child's room and should not be used late at night.
2. Streaming Content
and Smart TVs
We like to look back and remember the time when the whole family gathered around the television to enjoy something
together (in reality, many of us probably had a television in our rooms and
spent many hours watching TV without much guidance from our parents).
That said, streaming content
has become very popular and there are more TV series and movies at our
fingertips than ever before, much of which is not suitable for children.
Streaming services,
however, have great advantages. Many contain educational programming
for children and numerous documentaries. Most don't show ads, so your kids
won't be bombarded with commercial messages all over the place like they do
when they watch traditional TV. You can open up a whole new world for your
kids with streaming content - the key is how to use it.
Most of the
big streaming content providers have parental controls, some stronger than others. Netflix
allows you to create separate profiles for you and your children.
By using these tools you can
ensure that your children only have access to age-appropriate
content. Because Netflix's kid's menu has a different colour from the
regular menu, you can easily see if your kids are accessing content that you
allow them to watch or not. However, this does not prevent children from
entering your profile, so you have to be vigilant. iTunes and Apple TV
allow parents to set rating levels for the content their children
watch. In contrast, Amazon Prime has no parental controls, so the only thing you can do is log out and
not share your password.
All these tools, however, are not a
substitute for having frequent conversations with your children about what they
see on the Internet.
3. Consoles
for Gaming and Online Games
According to the NPD group, 91% of
American children ages 2 to 17 play video games. Consoles have long been a
source of concern for many parents; With so many games with violent or
sexual content, it is important to be careful about the type of games your
children play.
Also, in console games that have
a multiplayer component and in those that are played
solely online, it is open to abuse by other players. Many games
allow players from all over the world to chat, which can
potentially expose children to bullying and Cyberbullying. Likewise,
children can also make friends online and can give their personal information.
Games are also a great way for children
to develop several skills. These help children develop problem-solving
skills, learn to commit to long-term goals and work as a team, and they can
also be a great way to strengthen family ties. Fortunately, most consoles
offer strong parental controls, so parents can monitor their
children's gaming sessions.
4. Social Networks
Although the format has changed,
parents have been worrying about their children's TV series and video games for
years. Social media, on the other hand, is a new concern.
The use of social networks is
practically universal among US adolescents: 71% of them use more than one
social network. Today children spend an enormous amount of time on social
media. A survey by the nonprofit Common Sense Media showed that 8-12
year-olds spent six hours a day online, much of it on social
media, and 13-18-year-olds the inordinate amount of online! nine hours a
day!
According to a recent Harvard study,
although most social networks require their users to be at least 13 years old,
68% of parents claimed to have helped their children create an account. Social
media can be especially addictive for tweens and teens. Its use also opens
the door to a series of issues such as Cyberbullying, inappropriate exchanges
or talks with strangers (more on this below). Access to social networks is also
essential today in the development of adolescents' social identity and
constitutes their way of connecting with their friends. P can be a healthy
way of relating; the key is to set certain limits to make it a positive
experience.
5. Cyberbullying
The lives of our children have gone
online. Those of those who bully, unfortunately, too. Cyberbullying is
often in the news and there are even cases of suicides due to online bullying.
Cyberbullying occurs on all the
platforms named above and take various forms: spreading rumours, sending
threatening messages on social networks or via text or email messages, identity
theft and uploading of shameful material to the Internet under the name of
another child spreading private photos without permission or, in general,
talking about another child on the Internet with the aim of humiliating or
degrading them.
Cyberbullying is especially harmful
because it is very public. In the past, if a child was bullied on the
playground, possibly only a few peers would see it. Today's most personal
information about a child can be spread across the web, and it remains there
forever unless it is reported and successfully removed.
Cyberbullying can negatively affect the
reputation not only of the victim but also of the abuser, and can have a great
impact on the future of that child - for example, their entry into university
or their working life.
It is also very persistent. If a
child is a victim of traditional bullying, their home is often a
refuge; instead, since digital platforms are always available,
Cyberbullying victims find it difficult to find relief.
It is often very difficult to know if your
child is being bullied online - parents and teachers are less likely to notice
as it happens online. According to the internet safety organization
i-SAFE, less than half of the children who were victims
of online bullying will tell their parents or other adults what
was happening to them. In fact, according to a US government
survey, 21% of children between the ages of 12 and 18 have suffered
bullying, and an estimated 16% were bullied online. The best way to prevent
Cyberbullying is to pay attention to your child's behaviour; several
red flags can be displayed.
A child who is bullied may close their
social media account and open a new one. You may begin to avoid social
situations, even if you used to enjoy them before. Cyberbullying victims
(and perpetrators) often hide their screen or device when other people are
around and there is a certain amount of secrecy about what they do
online. They may even suffer emotional distress and become withdrawn.
Conclusion
Many technical tools can help you keep your children safe on the Internet. Some of them are VPNs,
antivirus software, Internet filters, and parental controls, but none are really enough to keep
your kids totally safe.
As we've repeated over and over in this
guide, the key is not to master several technical tools (most are actually
very easy to set up, so don't let a little technical knowledge scare you
off). You don't have to keep up with the latest on the internet either -
trust us, you will never be able to cope!
The most difficult and important thing
is having frequent conversations with your children about their
lives. Remember, Internet companies, social networks, game and console
providers and the rest of the online world can help you set
content limits, but they will not necessarily be thinking of the best for your
children.
The ideal person to keep your children
safe on the Internet is you. A chat about how to stay safe online
can be an excellent vehicle for building a positive and trusting relationship
with your child. Internet safety is often a priority for every parent and
caregiver. If you have found this guide helpful, consider sharing it with
your friends and family via Facebook and Twitter.
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