Protecting your child or children is a parent’s top priority, but when it comes to the internet, there are many unseen threats that are lurking and could potentially cause harm. While it is impossible to keep children from being exposed to these dangers, it is still essential to keep them safe. There is no way to avoid being online given that it has become so mainstream that it is part of the school curriculum, and there is no software that offers a silver bullet for every situation. The best approach is to ensure constant awareness and education so that both parents and children are aware of the risks and how to avoid falling victim to them.
You can’t live in a bubble
From daily schoolwork to communication and entertainment, online activities are part and parcel of our daily lives, and there is no way to keep children from being exposed to the internet. This means that there is also no way of completely sheltering them from the many threats that lurk online.
While device restrictions, content filters and limiting access may seem like the best plan of action, children are incredibly savvy and often find ways to bypass these controls. Since it is all but impossible to prevent them from coming across potentially harmful things online, a better approach is to teach them what to be aware of, how to think about their online experience and how to respond.
Many potential threats
Cyber attacks are always a concern with any online interaction, and children can be vulnerable to being targeted through chat apps, social media, malicious apps or software, phishing via e-mail, text, chat, websites or infected links and more. However, these threats are almost secondary to the phenomenon of cyber bullying, where children are harassed or victimised online. Cyber bullying affects a large proportion of children, and it can have detrimental mental and physical effects.
Other threats include blackmail and sextortion, theft of credit card information or online identity, and even oversharing of information that can come back to haunt a child later in life. Online threats can also translate into physical threats, where human trafficking and modern slavery rings use the internet to groom candidates and then meet them physically and kidnap them.
How do we deal with it?
The first thing we need to teach children is that what is online is forever. It may seem silly or inconsequential now, but the wrong type of sharing, or oversharing, can cause long-term negative impacts. It is also important to teach children what information is appropriate to share and what needs to be kept private, for example, not posting photographs that show your home address, your school or any other information that can be personally identifying.
Some other lessons to teach children include the following:
- Be respectful of the privacy of others and do not post information that may compromise them;
- Remember that the online world is not real, and people may not be who they say they are;
- Do not share passwords, payment card information or login credentials;
- Remember that e-mails and chats are not secure channels. Be kind to others and do not engage in cyber bullying activities; and
- Finally, when you have any doubts or concerns, tell your parents what is happening.
Technology is not enough
Having basic security in place is essential, including firewalls, anti-virus and anti-malware solutions. However, these cannot account for human error or deliberate sharing of information that should be kept private. Technology that blocks access can be bypassed, so it is not a viable long-term solution either. Awareness is the most important weapon in the arsenal of keeping your children safe online, and it is vital to make this an ongoing and continuous process, as threats are constantly evolving.
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