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Internet safety is very important
- Varsha Prasad
Editorial Team
Today, most of our time is spent in front of the computer or mobiles. Social networking has become very popular and is attracting more and more users every day, be it WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. With the rise in the number of such applications and social media sites, cyber crimes are on the rise too and kids and teenagers are the most targeted. It is the responsibility of the parents and the teachers to play their role to keep the internet safe as much as possible.
Internet safety issuesIn the era where advertising has become very important and crucial for any business, pop up ads and scrolling ads have become very common in all web pages and websites. Some of these ads may be useful while some might be inappropriate and misguiding. Exposure to inappropriate material is one of the issues that torment the internet users. Such information, if seen or read by children by mistake, can disturb them psychologically. They can also misguide and give wrong information t the children.
Cyber bullying is another villain of the internet, where emails, social media sites, chat rooms and websites, become the medium for harassment, humiliation and bullying. Children and teenagers become prey to these predators. A cyber bully can spread lies and rumors, can deceive the child to reveal personal information, can post inappropriate messages and pictures and can send threatening mails and texts. With these problems, it becomes very important for the parents to keep their children safe from becoming prey to such activities.
What can parents do to help?
- Parents have to be alert to the possible changes of the child's behaviour after exposure to the internet.
- They have to see if the child is spending less time on school activities and spending more time on the net.
- Building trust with children is very important. Parents can talk to their children, be supportive and let the children know that they can look up to them and come to them for help if they need any.
- Parents can sometimes become stressed and panicky about such issues. But being supportive and understanding will always help.
- Setting limits for computer and internet usage, explaining the reasons and discussing the rules of online safety is very important.
- Computers can be kept in common places where everyone at home can access it.
- Parents can learn how the internet and social media works and maybe, sometimes, spend time with the child while on the internet. Parents can also spend time with children to teach them appropriate internet or online behaviour.
- Use a block on the internet which regulates what the child will see and which blocks unwanted ads to pop up.
- Sharing an email account with the children will help monitor messages.
- Avoid sending children to the chat rooms or cyber centers, as they are more likely to come across objectionable material there than at home.
What can children do to stay safe from cyber predators?
- Never post details such as personal information, phone number, email ids or address on social networking sites.
- Do not become friends with strangers online and do not respond to messages and mails from unknown people.
- Use privacy settings for your social media sites.
- Do not share your password with anybody except your parents.
- Do not download or install programs and applications which you are not sure of or aware of. If need be, ask your parents. Do not download images and videos from unknown sources.
- If you feel uncomfortable while using the net or while on social media sites, do not hesitate to discuss it with your parents.
In this era of computers, being away from them is difficult but being safe is very important.
