One of the greatest
challenges facing parents these days is how to ensure that their children
remain safe online. With so many young people now owning tablets,
smartphones
or PCs, it’s increasingly difficult to know what content they access and who
they’re meeting on the Web.
Frankly, at times,
online safety can seem overwhelming, but help is at hand. We have gathered a
wealth of ideas, settings, and software that can help in the fight to protect
your little ones as they venture out
into the wilds of the Internet.
Talking is still the
best solution
“Talking to your
child is one of the best ways to keep them safe,” says the National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). “Preventing your children from
using the Internet or mobile phones won’t keep them safe online, so it’s
important to have conversations that help your child understand how to stay
safe and what to do if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable.”
Creating an
awareness of the wonderful possibilities the Internet holds is a very positive
approach, but it should definitely be augmented with conversations about the
potential dangers of inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and talking to
strangers. As your child grows older they will also need different levels of
supervision, and conversations should be on going, rather than having ‘the
one’. Many schools now include these subjects in lessons, which gives you an
excellent opportunity to continue the discussion at home.
The CPS is also on
their side against cyberbullies and fraudsters, and those who create fake
social media profiles in order to troll or harass others could soon face
charges. Cases will also follow if posts are indecent, grossly offensive or so
false they cause distress and anxiety, reports the BBC.
This doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t implement software restrictions to safeguard their Internet
access. So much hard-core material is available online with a few key presses
that it would be foolish to let your little ones loose in such a jungle without
protection. But preparing your child for the eventual exposure to something
adult is the wisest course; even if you successfully lock down your own home
and devices, there will always be friends at school with tablets or phones and
unfettered Internet access.
Online gaming risks
While much of the
media focus tends to revolve around the problems children can encounter on
social media sites such as Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram (all of which
require account holders to be at least 13 years old) recent research from
security experts Kaspersky labs has found that online gaming is now a real
source of concern.
In a study of 11 to
16-year olds, Kaspersky discovered that 38 per cent of children had encountered
people pretending to be someone else on gaming platforms, while 23 per cent had
been asked personal or suspicious personal questions while online.
Perhaps the most
worrying statistic though was that 20 per cent of the children interviewed said
that they trusted the gaming platform so much that they would see no problem
meeting contacts from it in real life. This is compounded by the fact that
nearly a third of the children in the study said that their parents had no idea
who they talked to when they played games online.
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