Online Safety

Gather around everyone and let’s have a conversation about Online Safety.

We know about cybersecurity which protects devices and networks from harm, but did you know that the concept of Online Safety protects the users of these devices by spreading the awareness, educating the user, and providing appropriate information and technology.

Online Safety/E-Safety is often referred to as the proper or appropriate approach to user safety when using the internet. 

It is also being conscious or aware of any possible threats while surfing the internet. The nature of these threats could be in managing our online reputation, harmful or illegal content, and managing personal data.

Instead of being scared of these threats, let’s focus on the informative side, noting these challenges and learning how best to tackle them.

 

How would we define Electronic Safety?

Electronic Safety/E-Safety/Internet Safety is simply the awareness of the possible risks that the internet can bring and educating ourselves on how to deal with them. Check out these Online Safety Tips.

Let us look at the 4 Cs of Internet Risk Factors in Online Safety

Contact:  While we may not have physical contact on the internet, interacting with unsuitable, inappropriate or dangerous people may put us at risk.

Content:  The internet is like a whirlwind of information. Access to inappropriate information may place us at risk.

Conduct: Our behaviour is important, even in the digital space. Hence our own conduct/behaviour may put us at risk online.

Commercialism:       Certain platforms possess hidden costs, which may place us at risk also.

Child-Parent Communication

While this may seem unimportant, I assure you that parents speaking to children about their online activity is very important. Children should be able to communicate with their parents if something goes wrong.  Children’s online activity shouldn’t be kept secret, encourage them to share with parents, so that they would be willing to speak about suspicious activities online.

CyberBullying

This term refers to the use of technology – chats, social media, emails, etc, to intimidate, harass or threaten another person. This act may be more common than you think, as research shows that about 20% of children between the ages of 8 and 15 years old have been bullied online in different ways.

Sexting or Sexchatting

This is the sharing of intimate or sexual content with another person. Reports of unknown internet users sexting or sexchatting children is on the rise. Children should report any chats requesting for pictures of videos of themselves to their parents, and parents should develop conversations with children on these matters.

Online Gaming

It is a known fact that online gaming has gone beyond game consoles, they can now be played on tablets, mobile phones and computers. These games now include messaging between gamers to enable them speak or chat with each other. The ability to chat with unknown individuals is in itself a risk to children, as parents have no control over the content of the conversation.

Online Videos

Video streaming is now available on a variety of social media platforms, and while there is a great wealth of educative content out there, there is also room for inappropriate content that children have access to. Parents should look into control options, to regulate content that their children have access to.

For instance, Youtube, uses a mix of automated Google filters review by moderation teams, and feedback from parents. For older children, or use on a wider range of devices, YouTube Restricted Mode is an additional setting which can be enabled on the YouTube website and app. If enabled it restricts the availability of potentially mature or objectionable content.

 

Devices

Certain statistics and research show that over half of the internet usage is via a smartphone, with the laptop usage at about 20%. While we can advice that computers in the home be located in a family space, we see that this advice may not work for smartphones. However, there are restrictions that can be set around screen time limits, bed time and restriction of the installation of certain applications.

As a school we advice using computers or tablets in a safe family space with restricted settings for the online curriculum.

 

Parental Controls

Parental controls on Wi-Fi appears to be a very effective tool in restricting harmful content. This can block children’s access to harmful or inappropriate content.

Social Media

This is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. Social media is interactive and promotes the creation and sharing of content by linking people’s profiles with others in ‘social networks’.

For kids, social media services mean they can keep in touch with friends, connect with new people, and share photos and videos with each other. However, there is the risk of viewing inappropriate or harmful content, the promotion or emulation of illegal behaviour, oversharing of personal data or assimilating incorrect information, and inappropriate contact with adults.

Some resources to help with parenting in the digital age can be found here.

Be sure to share your feedback in the comments section below.