Social media and the internet is very interesting space and as much as we share a lot in this space it is important for us to ensure safety and privacy is respected. Sharing memories and moments is an integral part of our social media life but it also exposes us to a lot on the internet most especially children who do not have power over what we share about them.
- Talk openly with your child about their online activity
As soon as your child starts accessing the internet, talk to them about what they are reading, watching, and who they are communicating with online and keep the conversation going as they grow older. Ask your child what sites they visit or apps they use, write a list and look at them together. It’s vital to teach them about their online reputation, too, and how they must be careful about how they behave, interact with people and represent themselves in such a public forum. They must always remember that the internet isn’t private.
Mother working from home while holding toddler, family in background - Use parental control software to monitor your child’s online activities
Monitor your kid’s activities on the internet and online ensuring that their privacy and activities are protected. Apps like: Kaspersky Safe Kids, Locategy, FamilyTime, Boomerang, etc. are good choices for this. These software solutions act as online guardians and help parents better monitor kids’ Internet usage, keep track of visited sites, control the Internet connection time, or block malicious websites and report any unusual online activity.
- Know your parental controls
Apps have the parental control feature that allows parents to control their child’s activities while using the app. Parental controls can help prevent your child from seeing and accessing the most violent or sexual material.
- Be careful what you postIt’s important for children, teens, and family members to know how much information is too much information. In their excitement to share milestones, teens may sometimes post their personal information online. Personal or inappropriate photos can attract online predators or could affect future educational or employment opportunities.
Smiling school kids using a digital tablet in classroom at school - Install an antivirus solution on your kids’ devices
We all know that kids are naturally curious and attracted to new things, and they can easily access malicious links from untrusted websites or download video games from unknown web locations. Consider installing a good antivirus solution from a reliable company that packs a real-time scanning engine, firewall, and automatic update.
- Keep control of your family’s digital footprint
Every picture and personal detail that is posted and shared on social media and the internet contributes to someone’s digital footprint. The big risk with this is that once information is shared publicly, it can be used in ways you may not expect and cannot control. You should also assume that anything that is put online is permanent children and young people need to be smart about protecting their images and information.
- Online habits have real-life consequences
Everything we post and do have consequences in the real world. In recent times companies, platforms ask for social media pages to check your online activities. The limits we set may increase our online security.
Parental Control. Black mother watching her daughter’s activity online. Copy space - Be Social Network Savvy
Educate yourself on ways to be safe on social networks so that you can give the best advice to your children. Sign up to the social networks and apps your children are using and find out how to use the privacy settings and reporting mechanisms. Talk about how they can stay safe on social networks.
- Keep your accounts safe and secure
Keep a close eye on your social accounts ensuring that all your actions and activities are duly protected.
- Spend time online together
A good way to keep your home more cyber safe is to hold all of the family members accountable for their internet safety practices and support one another when someone faces a precarious online situation. As parents, that means monitoring your kids’ behaviors but also showing an interest in the sites they’re visiting and games they’re playing so that you can educate them on whether they’re safe.
Photo Credit: Instagram
