Tips to keep children safe online
The proliferation of social media, online gaming, online forums, and cell phone use have given today’s children technological access they never dreamed of a generation ago. Children now have access to an amazing amount of content, people, and information online. With these advances, parents now have even more challenges when it comes to keeping their children safe and happy. They want them safe from predators and happy in the sense that they are free from online harassment. Both of these concerns are top of mind for parents as their children create Facebook pages, play online games, and text endlessly.
Here is a summary of some of the main threats to the well-being of your children. In a constantly connected world, knowing where the danger is is the first step in prevention and safety.
predatory adults
According to enough.org, there are currently more than 600,000 registered sex offenders in the US and more than four percent of all children, while online, will be exposed to some form of suggestive solicitation from an adult. Naive or rebellious children could fall prey to these online predators.
peer bullying
The media has covered some high-profile cases of teen suicide and online bullying in recent years. According to some statistics from the US Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 52% of students report being cyberbullied at some point, while 25% report repeated bullying through their cell phones or profiles of social networks (statisticbrain.com).
inappropriate content
Pornography and inappropriate content is everywhere on the Internet. According to Alexa.com, four of the top twenty web traffic sites are pornographic in nature. When you consider what often comes up in a search engine when you enter a seemingly innocuous search, or the number of inappropriate spam emails you receive, it’s not hard to see why this is an issue in keeping kids insulated from inappropriate content. .
Narcissism and Compulsion
Children, and especially adolescents, are hyper-aware of social status and image. This mindset can lead to unhealthy amounts of time on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. Kids get caught up trying to be constantly in the know, connected and interacting online in hopes of gaining acceptance or becoming more popular.
Secret
Other data from the US Department of Health indicates that only 52% of teens exposed to bullying or inappropriate solicitation report the incidents to their parents. There are no numbers on exposure to inappropriate content, but it’s probably a safe bet that many of those incidents also go unreported.
All of these threats are very real and, considering the amount of time kids spend online, could happen on a daily basis. Here are some tips to help keep your children safe, while bridging the gap between parental control and proper education for your children.
• Children should be “friends” with their parents on Facebook and allow them to be “followed” on Twitter. As teens get older, parents are bound to get pushback, but this is a sure way to see what their kids are posting and what is being said about them. It’s a fine line between monitoring and interference, so caution is advised.
• Do not allow children to create their own personal email addresses until they reach a more mature and responsible age. Any account created online must be linked to the parent’s email. This will not only allow you to monitor which sites your children are signing up for, but will generally require you to authorize their use and give you time to discuss any concerns with your children or decline the request.
• Make sure your children are informed about what is appropriate to post online and that they never provide contact information or post inappropriate or suggestive images of themselves. In today’s world of social media, kids can be your own worst enemy. They shouldn’t post anything online that they wouldn’t want on a billboard, as this is essentially what online posting is. And removing or controlling Internet content once it’s available is no easy matter.
• Young adults tend to want to add as many peers as possible to their social networking circles. But the reality is that many of these “friends” are not committed to your child’s best interest and often become a source of teasing or cyberbullying. Make sure your kids only accept requests from friends they know and trust.
• Strict rules and guidelines should be established and agreed upon before allowing children to go online. These rules and guidelines should also be reviewed frequently as your child’s online experience grows. You need to set limits on what is acceptable, limit the amount of time you spend online, and make them understand what you will and will not accept in terms of behavior.
• Children are by nature naive, curious and trusting. This is dangerous. So keep an eye on your children’s activities. Check your browsing history through browser tools. You can also purchase programs that will enhance your monitoring capabilities.
• Set your parental controls on your computer. Every operating system and browser has a set of parental controls. You must ensure that you set the appropriate limits or settings for each. You can also adjust the settings on Google and the other search engines to be strict, ensuring that only appropriate content is returned regardless of the search.
Educating yourself and your children is ultimately the most important step you can take. Sit down with your children and set ground rules. Review those ground rules every time your kids get a new device, create a social media account, or sign up for an online game. Parents have the unenviable task of walking the fine line between building trust and keeping children safe. Applying a combination of education, guidance, and follow-up should help.