The dangerous effects of lockdown for our children
Children spend more time online because of coronavirus. Our kids are spending more time online doing schoolwork, connecting with family and friends and just having fun, and unfortunately, parents aren’t the only ones who know this. Internet experts say online predators realise it too.
We all miss our relationships. Predators are aware of this, and they are more than happy to fill that void.
OnlineYouthProtection.com is an excellent resource, which has an awareness program in place to teach parents how to spot a problem with their children and online predators when they are at home.
The program focuses on what predators do to try to convince children to talk to them, convince them that they are their friends and try to bully them.
Predators also use popular applications used by kids
Statistics on applications used by adolescents and pre-adolescents :
– 95% use YouTube
– 70% use Instagram
– 60% use Snapchat
– 50% use Facebook
Other popular applications for children include Kik and TikTok.
Parental Controls
Parents should check the Parental Controls for applications used by their children and make sure they are set to the highest setting.
TikTok, has robust parental controls that can be used to limit contact with children, who can view their videos, photos, or send messages to them.
TikTok is a good example of why predators are so frustrating. It should be an enjoyable application for kids that allows them to produce fun videos for each other for their friends or family. Still, like any social media application, where photos, videos and images are shared, kids are solicited and abused.
Fortunately, there are many things parents can do to protect their children. We recommend that you talk to your children about strangers online and the fact that someone might pretend to be another child.
Review and approve all games and applications before your children can download them.
Make sure privacy settings are set for game consoles, tablets and phones.
It also recommends keeping phones and tablets out of bedrooms and basements or out of sight. Phones in places that are not open to the rest of the family are usually a recipe for disaster.
Statistics shows one-third of children have a computer in their room, 66 per cent of college students regularly use a smartphone and nine out of 10 children between the ages of eight and 16 admit to watching online porn, whether intentionally or unintentionally. One in five teenagers has engaged in sexting.
Please find below a good resource to help parents. We recomments that other kids could watch the video with their parents, but we recommend that parents watch it first because there is adult content.
Our awareness aims to protect teens and children from online predators through education and awareness. For more information, click here.
We’re all on the cutting edge.
Understandably, everyone’s on edge right now. That’s why we see an increase in divisive speeches online. Even adults need to be careful about how we use our keyboards, especially since many young eyes are now online more often. Too many adults (especially in stressful situations) are quick to judge and slow to consider the long-term ramifications of their messages or comments – or the fact that there is someone on the other side of the screen. Unfortunately, we see corrosion of civility and humanity online.
Fortunately, there are also many examples of online positivity and kindness, from actor John Krasinski’s wonderful Some Good News series to Lady Gaga’s Together at Home concert. While these examples maybe a little too “OK Boomer” for your teens to appreciate, the fact is there’s a lot of good content to watch. Help them find it and make sure their screen time leans strongly towards the positive and away from stress, division and danger.
