Teaching Kids Internet Responsibility

Once upon a time, to keep children safe, people kept them off the internet. The world has changed and the internet is becoming more and more of a necessity and younger and younger children are using the internet. This is why it is even more important than ever to teach our children internet safety, to know what is a problem and how to avoid it. Here are some ways that you can help teach your children to navigate the web safely.

The use of the internet has been democratized in such a way that many boys and girls use it both to study and for leisure. However, it is necessary to promote responsible use of the internet as a study and leisure tool to prevent it from harming our kids in various ways. In this post, we analyze what to do to avoid the dangers that internet use poses for our children.

Today, mostly all kids use the internet and this shows that we live in a fully connected society where the use of computers, mobile phones, and similar devices is widespread. However, this situation also poses a risk, so parents have to take measures to protect their offspring.

Internet dangers for children:

For children to use the internet safely, it is necessary to know the risks that exist, among which we can highlight the following: Access to inappropriate content:

One of the most common dangers in the use of the internet by kids is that it consists of accessing content that is not appropriate for their age. For example, due to its sexual nature, due to the violence of the content that is seen, due to the use of drugs or weapons, among other aspects.

Sexting: 

Sexting is when an adult manipulates a child into sending photos with sexual content and then blackmails that child or uses those photos fraudulently.

In this case, it is essential to teach young people and adolescents not to send or forward this type of content, even if the recipient is a trusted person since it is not known what use they can make of that content. Besides, before contacting any unknown person, it is highly recommended to use a website like Nuwber. On this site, you can get several details of that unknown person, so you can learn whether or not the person is genuine.

Cyberbullying:

The use of the internet facilitates bullying and also facilitates the anonymity of a stalker. Harassment is often done through images, videos, text messages, or social media posts that are offensive. According to a study carried out by UNICEF in 30 countries, 1 in 3 young people declares having suffered cyberbullying. Therefore, it is essential to know the signs of cyberbullying and take action to prevent it.

Data Disclosure:

Another of the most frequent dangers in the use of the Internet by kids is that of disclosing confidential information such as personal data (age, address, telephone number) without being aware of the implications involved. In this case, it is important to teach children to distinguish fraudulent emails or messages sent to obtain data.

Grooming:

Grooming is a practice in which an adult contacts and meets a child or adolescent to gain their trust and involve them in sexual activity. This practice can have different levels of danger and generally what the harasser does is create a bond of trust to gradually isolate the minor and generate intimacy.

Through the internet, an adult generally pretends to be a child as well, adapts the language of his victim, and gradually manipulates the victim.

Tips for good use of the internet for parents:

- Knowing the risks that the internet poses for children is the first step to protect them.

- Analyze how the internet works. As a father or mother of a boy or girl, you must have a thorough knowledge of how the internet works, social networks, and all associated technology, to protect your children by letting them see the dangers and teaching them how to avoid them.

- Create good communication with your children. It is not only important that your sons and daughters know the dangers, but it is also important that they tell you with confidence if something is happening to them on the internet. For this, you must create environments of trust in which children feel comfortable when talking and tell the things that worry them so that you can help them.

- Do not set prohibitions. Establishing prohibitions in many cases does not work, especially when it comes to adolescents. It is more effective for kids to learn from a young age to use the internet correctly, avoiding dangers. What you can establish are certain patterns of internet use, for example, limit the time they use it, etc.

- Monitor what your kids do on the internet. On the one hand, place a computer in a busy place so that you can see what web pages they enter or what activity they carry out when they surf the net. On the other hand, it is also advisable to ask them about the people they interact with online or the pages they see so that you can know if there is any danger or if you can help them protect themselves. There are also apps and software that help you monitor your child’s internet activities these days. Those include Kindertales and Norton.

Conclusion:

Finally, technologies are increasingly present in our daily lives. This is why it is important to ask questions about educating young people about the potential dangers of these technologies.

For parents, they must educate themselves and teach their children how to use the internet tools safely. They must show them how to properly use internet resources for both educational and recreational purposes.

In addition, it is about helping our sons and daughters to understand that the use of the internet can be beneficial for study or leisure, but that there are also risks that must be known and that can be avoided.