I would like to explore the subject of
Internet Safety -a big subject!
I will start with outlining the dangers,
and follow this up next month with some advice and solutions to keep your children safe
when they are online or gaming.
Children and young people growing up today
have never known a world without the Internet and are often a lot more capable
than their parents in using technology.
Parents can feel anxiety because they sometimes don’t really know what
their child is doing online or understand what the dangers are.
The way children use the Internet is
different from most adults. Their whole
lives are arranged online. They talk to
their friends, share their thoughts and feelings and empathise with others on
social networks, make new friends online, play games and create virtual worlds,
organise their social life, post and view videos, and of course, use the
Internet for their education – to search and learn about new topics.
What
risks might a child face?
Cyber
bullying. This
can occur anywhere and anytime, even in the safety of home. The messages can then spiral out of control
if they are posted online. Sometimes the
sender may unintentionally upset the recipient by not thinking about the
consequences of sending the message and acting in haste. It can happen via texts, abusive phonecalls,
chat rooms or forums, picture messaging and social networking sites.
Grooming. Some people are not who
they say they are! Unfortunately, some
adults with a sexual interest in children will use the Internet to communicate
with them. Online grooming is when a suspected paedophile behaves in a way that
suggests they are trying to contact children for illegal purposes. In the worst case scenario, their online
disguise is so good that they then arrange to meet children.
Inappropriate
websites.
Children can accidentally find themselves on unsuitable websites, often
by accident and sometimes because they are curious.
Losing
control over pictures and videos. This can happen if a young person shares an
inappropriate photo or video with one friend and they then share it with all
theirs, and then it goes viral. Some
Apps like Snapchat are used to send photos which then vanish after a few seconds,
however they can be captured and saved.
The trouble with the Internet is that anything you say or post online is
there forever. It is totally unlike
human memory, which fades over time.
Hacking. This can happen to anyone,
and personal information can be stolen, or addresses used for spamming.
Viruses.
Children do a lot of downloading, and unless they are very careful, they
could accidentally allow viruses into the computer.
Loss
of security.
Most smartphone Apps request full access to contacts, and photos and
location. Phones come with GPS
tracking. In theory this could allow
others to track your child.
Most schools will teach children and young
people how to stay safe, but it is important to educate parents to the dangers
as well. It’s a new challenge for
parents to face.
For those parents who are on Facebook, I
would like to ask you to think about how many friends you have, compared to
your children. Young people have many
more friends than adults because they don’t know everyone that they add to
their friendship circle. Sometimes the
links are very tenuous. There is competitiveness
amongst young people to have many friends.
This is not always wise.
How many of you know what your children are
actually doing online?
How many of you have actually played the
games that your children play?
How many of your young people are online in
their rooms with no supervision?
I find it interesting that many parents let
their children play games with a certificate higher than their age. Some media include semi nudity, sex, drug
taking and violence.
There are many resources online to help
parents. My aim is not to alarm but
simply to raise awareness, but if you are worried, do Google “How to keep
children safe online”. I will outline
some ideas and solutions to help families with children in my next Blog.
