Children and young adults invest a large portion of their day online. Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat allow this creative generation to craft detailed timelines of their lives for their friends — and strangers — around the world to see. So, what can one do, as a parent?
Gulf News spoke to Nicolai Solling, director of technology services at Help AG Middle East, a company that deals with IT security services. As a father himself, he emphasised the need for parents to educate themselves before talking to their children about potential dangers online. Here is his five-step guide for parents, to ensure their child’s safety online:
1. Discuss openly with your children that the internet is a deceptive place.
All parents should discuss with their children that not everyone is who they seem to be, on the internet. It is a place where people have different motivations to engage with children — from sexual predators to political radicals, trying to indoctrinate people.
2. Never meet an online friend alone.
Children should be under parental supervision if they decide to meet up with an online friend in real life. The internet is a wonderful place to make friends, but it is important to ensure that people are who they say they are.
3. Make the child understand that what you post online is permanent.
This includes posts on Facebook, messages on Whatsapp and texts to friends. In specific, today’s mobile devices usually have a camera with which you could send a photo of yourself, that you may not want to see in the future.
4: Don’t share passwords and ensure that only you have access to your accounts.
Children may not have a dedicated computer or smartphone, so they may log in from multiple sources. For the same reasons, children should be advised to avoid sharing passwords and be taught how to log out from an application.
5: It is ok to say ‘no’.
Children need boundaries when it comes to internet usage. If parents believe their child cannot handle having access to the internet or latest applications, they need to make sure that they set limits.
— The writer is an intern with the Readers Desk at Gulf News.
