What Are Your Children Doing Online Today’s children can be seen engrossed in mobile and computer screens. Some are playing games, some are watching videos, and some are enjoying chatting with their friends. Have you ever wondered what their online world is like?
Without your attention, they may fall victim to the wrong content. They may suffer from cyberbullying or lose their privacy. The amount of time children spend online can affect their mental health, and there is a risk that they will withdraw from their social life.
Not knowing what children are doing online and what content they are consuming can lead to unexpected problems for parents. So, now is the time to take the time to make your children’s online journey safe and understand their online activities.
Generally, children spend time on video games, online videos, social media platforms, educational content, online chat, etc. Many parents may feel that they learn a lot while using the phone. But the reality is not like this. Different types of entertainment content can have a profound effect on the psychological and social development of children.
Similarly, children are also likely to be exposed to violent games and pornographic content online, which can have long-term effects on their mental health.
Children face various problems when their online activities are not monitored:
Cyber Bullying: Bullying and verbal abuse on the Internet can cause mental stress to children.
Online Fraud: Children can unknowingly become victims of fraud and hacking.
Inappropriate Content: Children may view violent or inappropriate content when parents are not paying attention, which can negatively impact their behavior and attitudes.
Privacy at risk: If parents are not careful to protect their children’s privacy, their personal information may end up with the wrong people, which could make them victims of fraud in the future.
To ensure children’s privacy and safety, care should be taken to:
- Privacy Settings: Children should be taught to use the privacy settings on their social media accounts correctly.
- Communicate with children: Communicate regularly with children about their online activities and understand what they are viewing. Also, it should be inspired by useful content.
- Setting time limits: It is necessary to set limits on the time spent online so that the time spent online can be used effectively and can also participate in other social activities.
What to do and what not to do?
1. Be aware of and be open about your child’s online activities. In addition to this, I also intend to talk about it.
2. Keep yourself informed about YouTube, TikTok, and other videos that children watch, Facebook and other social media, and online games that they play.
3. If children use social media, keep track of who their friends are, what they share, what kind of conversations they have, etc.
4. Limit the amount of time children use mobile phones, tablets, or computers. Instead, involve them in extracurricular activities like sports, physical exercise, meditation, yoga, and music.
5. Be aware of possible inappropriate activities that may occur when children use social media and make it a habit to monitor regularly.
6. Bookmark links to online classes, etc., that children regularly take for easy access and teach them to use them.
7. To monitor what children are watching or doing online, keep the screen of the computer, tablet, mobile, etc., they are using so that everyone can see it.
8. Teach children to keep personal details such as their user IDs and passwords private.
9. Discourage children from meeting online friends in person as much as possible.
10. Install anti-virus, ad blocker, adware, or child protection software on computers used by children.
11. Ask to close unnecessary and unused IDs and accounts.
12. Use the parental control and child safety features of your internet service, operating system, and application.
13. Teach them not to use unsafe websites where freeware, pirated software and games, free music and videos, and pornographic content are available. Do not click on the links that appear in the pop-up windows and banners that such insecure websites send for promotion.
14. Learn to click or open computer, email, and internet links and attachments only by correctly identifying them. If you find such links and attachments suspicious, ask them not to open them.
15. Teach children to inform their parents if there is any suspicious activity or uncomfortable situation, and if there is a serious matter, file a complaint with the relevant agency.
