We are surrounded by the Internet, be it on our smartphones, tablets or laptops. In fact, being online has become a necessity in the 21st century. But is everything in the online world safe to consume? It’s not, and even more so when it comes to children. No parent wants their kid to be exposed to age-inappropriate content in their formative years. But this doesn’t mean that we simply take our child’s device away. Use of technology at school is increasing by the day and children are expected to know their way around it, so there has to be a way to set boundaries but in a manner that is acceptable to kids.
In this article, we will highlight and understand five key tips on how to manage the digital exposure among children:
Have open – non-judgemental conversations with them
There are many tips and tactics to ensure online safety of children, but being able to have an open discussion with them is among the most important. When you first allow your kids access to the internet, make it clear that what they say or do online can be seen by anyone – even if the post is made anonymously. Another thing you should regularly address is that everything they do online leaves an electronic footprint that can be traced back to them. This will help instill a sense of awareness and responsibility towards they do.
Make use of child safety features on internet browsers and digital apps
No one likes to think about the possibility of their child seeing or accessing inappropriate content online, but innocent searches can sometimes lead to not-so-innocent results. The key here is to make sure your child is properly educated while at the same time having the know-how about parental controls available on popular apps, internet browsers and devices such as Google Chromebooks and Amazon Fire tablets.
Be aware of whom your child is interacting with online
This is another important aspect for safeguarding your kids in the digital sphere. As adults, we know that some people in the online world are not exactly what they say, but children and young people can be alarmingly naïve about whom they are chatting with, especially if they are not taught to be cyber wise from an early age.
As parents this can be tackled by making friends and contacts within your child’s social media circles and keeping an eye on their posts. Your children may resist but you can tell them that is one of the key conditions for you to allow them access.
Be aware of what they share
While your kids might have grown up looking at the internet and social networking as bread and butter, they might be less aware of the risks associated with it. With so much personal information being dumped on the internet, it can be easy for a child to believe that you can share pretty much anything because it is social media. However, the fact is that most kids do not need to provide their full names, phone numbers or addresses to use most sites.
Encourage your children to ask themselves before posting anything if the information (i.e., name, phone number, home address, email, name of school) or photo is something they would give to a stranger. If your child is sharing photos or posts online, ask them to let you see what they are sharing. Alternatively, you can also encourage an older sibling to take up this task.
Keep a track of the time your child spends online
Research by internet security specialist Kaspersky Lab has found that the average child spends two hours and 37 minutes of his day online, with nearly one in five (19%) spending a staggering five hours or more consuming content. This has become all the more severe with the advent of covid-19 and the inclusion of technology in education, which has boosted online content consumption among children to unmatched levels. Therefore, for us as parents it has become more important to keep track and maintain a balance between the time our children spend in online and offline activities.
— Written by Amitabh Kumar, Co-founder, Wranga
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