Keeping Children Safe Online

Parents and guardians often remind their children to be safe when they venture out: “Stay in a group,” “Only walk in well-lit areas,” “Never leave with a stranger,” “Look both ways before crossing the street,” or the catchall “Make good decisions.” They want the best for their children and to ensure their safety while allowing them to explore, learn, and have fun.

 

What About Keeping Children Safe Online?

The internet is an invaluable tool, but with its many advantages come very real threats and potentially significant consequences. Children may be more naturally trusting of others and unable to comprehend or predict potential impacts of their actions online. Internet-connected devices are part of children’s lives earlier than ever before, and they may not understand cyber threats and how to avoid them.

Parents and guardians are highly encouraged to have conversations with their children about internet safety. Google: Be Internet Awesome is an initiative that provides a curriculum for teachers, parents, and guardians to educate their students or children about digital best practices. The curriculum includes concepts that informs children about their digital footprint, responsible communication, online scams, basic cybersecurity best practices, combating negative online behavior, and how to report inappropriate or harmful content. Be Internet Awesome also provides hands-on activities, such as the Interland game that can be supplemented with the curriculum and teaches key lessons on digital safety with challenging games.

Parents and guardians can provide children the knowledge and support they need to make smart decisions while using the internet. While it might feel difficult to start the conversation while keeping up with the pace of technology, below are some tips and guidelines on internet safety.

There are four main threats that can potentially affect an unsupervised child using the internet:

1. Exposure of personally identifiable information
2. Cyberbullying and harassment
3. Exposure to inappropriate content
4. Stranger danger – child predators and others who could harm your family

 

Exposure of Personally Identifiable Information

It is 2022, do you know where your child’s information is? Personally identifiable information (PII) is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual, whether directly or combined with other personal or identifying information that is linkable to a specific individual. The exposure of PII, such as full names, addresses, phone numbers, or birthdates, is particularly concerning because it can be used in multiple ways to significantly impact a child’s life and the effects may not be evident until several years later. For instance, cybercriminals can use a child’s PII to commit fraud and identity theft. This can negatively impact their future credit rating and result in the denial of student or car loans, jobs, or home financing when they become an adult. By the time the fraudulent activity is known, the damage will be difficult to repair.

In addition, PII can be used to target a child and their home in “swatting” incidents. Swatting is when someone makes a false report to dispatchers of an emergency in an attempt to prompt an armed law enforcement response to a specific location. This is a growing trend within the online gaming community, and many innocent people have been placed in these dangerous situations because children have unwittingly exposed their PII through gaming consoles and social networks.

Lastly, if a predator gains access to a child’s PII, this could inform them of the child’s address, phone number, and other details that can be used to make a connection with them.

 

Bullies: Beyond the Schoolyard

Cyberbullying is the intentional and repeated use of digital technology to cause harm to another person. It can occur at any time, from any location, and on any digital or internet platform. Cyberbullying is another growing trend among children and teens and can happen over email, social media, text message, and online games. It may involve teasing, name-calling, threatening, spreading rumors, trolling, online stalking, or posting embarrassing pictures or videos of the victim. Cyberbullying can even transition to face-to-face bullying and vice versa. Children can also experience cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying at the same time.

Cyberbullying can result in feelings of fear, isolation, low self-esteem, and loneliness, often causing the victim to become withdrawn. Depending on the severity of the case, cyberbullying can lead to mental health issues like depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal thoughts and ideation. Cyberbullies can be held liable for civil or criminal charges, depending on the circumstances. It is important to be aware of children’s online activities so that cyberbullying and online harassment can be prevented or thwarted before any long-term damage to either party occurs.

Basic Tips to Help Children and Teenagers Evade Cyberbullying

To help children avoid becoming victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying, parents and guardians should have family discussions with their children around their technology use and offer a supportive and nurturing environment if they notice any behavioral changes. Providing information about online safety and best practices while enforcing technology rules can decrease the chances of a child becoming involved in cyberbullying.

• Be aware of what social media platforms children use. Even if the app has age restrictions, it is easy to create social media accounts using false information. Open and supportive discussions with children are vital for them to feel encouraged and comfortable in sharing information.
• It is best for children to avoid social media platforms. Parental controls on devices can help prevent underage children from downloading social media apps. Despite the positive aspects of social media, there is still an abundance of risk factors, such as privacy endangerment, exploitation, and online harassment.
• If children are allowed to have social media, it is important to monitor their activities. Children should only accept friend requests from people they know. If a stranger is added as a “friend,” it gives that person access to information about the child that could be used for bullying or unsolicited communications from predatory individuals and scammers.
• It is important to always check or update privacy settings for online platforms. Even for accounts with strict privacy settings, content can be shared with others via screenshots or screen recordings of videos.

 

Inappropriate Content

There are plenty of places on the internet where children should not venture; however, it is not always easy to prevent them from violent or sexually explicit online content. Children may be peer pressured into participating in activities that they normally would not engage in. It is important to teach children the ramifications of sharing personal images or videos, even if they believe the recipient is trusted. This media can be used to bully, humiliate, embarrass, or even blackmail.

There are other forms of inappropriate content online that encourage children to perform dangerous stunts to “fit in” or gain popularity among their peers. This viral content often comes in the form of internet challenges. Recent examples include NyQuil Chicken that involves cooking chicken in NyQuil, the Blackout Challenge that encourages individuals to hold their breath until they lose consciousness, or the Milk Crate challenge that involves walking up “stairs” made from stacked milk crates, all of which can result in injuries and are public safety concerns.

 

Strangers With (Virtual) Candy

The internet makes it easier for people to disguise who they are and, therefore, who a child may be interacting with through games, chatrooms, or social media websites. The Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center estimates there are 500,000 online predators active each day. It is estimated 50 percent of the victims that are sexually exploited by strangers online are between the ages of 12-15. It is also estimated 89 percent of sexual advances directed at children occur in internet chatrooms or through instant messaging. Such interactions can lead predators to ask for explicit pictures or attempt to contact the child over the phone or in person. Additionally, approximately 40 percent of children remove privacy settings in order to attract more users, which increases the chance of being contacted by a stranger who may pose as someone of a similar age.

A study conducted by the Center for Cyber Safety and Education researched US children in grades 4-8 to better understand children’s internet usage behavior and the extent to which they engage in age inappropriate, or even dangerous, behavior while using the internet. The study revealed that 40 percent of children connected or chatted online with a stranger. Of that 40 percent, 53 percent revealed their phone number to a stranger; 21 percent spoke by phone with a stranger; 15 percent tried to meet with a stranger; 11 percent met a stranger in their own home, the stranger’s home, a park, a mall, or a restaurant; 30 percent texted a stranger from their phone; and 6 percent revealed their home address to a stranger.

An effective way to reduce the number of online interactions children have with strangers is through education and parental or guardian involvement. Discuss with children the dangers of revealing too much personal information and talking to or meeting strangers from the internet. Maintaining awareness of the websites and apps children use can offer parents and guardians better insight into risky behaviors that may be occurring. Providing real-world examples detailing the impact of these types of online exchanges can help children understand why caution is needed.

 

Resources

The following is a list of online resources to help educate parents on the threats that their children could face online. Please share this information with your friends and family to help make the internet a safer and more enjoyable experience for everyone.

• A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety – A report published by the FBI that outlines various online threats and provides parents with signs to look for if they think their children may be at risk.
• ITRC – Child Identity Theft – The Identity Theft Resource Center provides a fact sheet for parents that includes potential indicators of child ID theft and prevention recommendations.
• Internet Safety Pledge – NetSmartz.org, a website developed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), provides a wealth of information about protecting children online and encourages the use of safety pledges to open the door to communication between parents and children.
• Internet Safety Tips for Kids and Teens – The National Children’s Advocacy Center speaks directly to children with a list of safety tips.
• Secure Your Home and Your Family – SANS Institute provides video presentations designed to help parents protect their children online.
• Random Stranger Chat Rooms – This blog post provides a list of websites designed to enable users to chat with strangers. Keep in mind, lists like these can change and new sites are developed every day, so do your own research from time to time to keep up with trends.
• The Parents’ Checklist – This is a comprehensive list of modern chat and text lingo designed to help parents understand what their children may actually be saying when communicating with friends or strangers.

Protecting children on and off the web is every parent and guardian’s top priority. When talking to them about staying safe, make sure to carve out time to have a conversation about online safety.