BY- RIYA UPVEJA
The internet is fast becoming trusted by both children and adults as a reliable and accurate source of information. Through the internet children now have access to an almost endless supply of information and opportunity for interaction. However, there can be real risks and dangers for an unsupervised child.
The majority of websites include informational tools like encyclopedias, coverage of current events, access to libraries, and other useful materials for kids. On social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and others, they can also play games and connect with others. The simplicity of being able to "click" from one area to another appeals to a child's impulsivity, curiosity, and need for quick satisfaction or input.
The majority of parents instruct their kids not to converse with strangers, not to answer the door when they are home alone, and not to provide personal information to random callers. The majority of parents also keep tabs on the places their kids go, the friends they play with, and the media they are exposed to, such as TV shows, novels, and magazines. Nonetheless, a lot of parents are unaware that a child's online experience needs to be supervised and guided with the same amount of care.
Parents shouldn't presume that the supervision or monitoring offered by Internet services will keep their children safe. Social networking platforms and most "chat rooms" are entirely unregulated. Children who interact with people in these places will not be able to tell if they are "talking" with another child or a child predator posing as a child or teen because of the anonymity of the "screen name." Parental oversight of e-mail or "chat room" activities is not possible, in contrast to mail and visitors that a child receives at home. Children who have been coerced into providing personal information, such as their name, passwords, phone number, email, or home address, or who have consented to meet someone in person, may, unfortunately, face serious repercussions.
Some of the other problems include:
• Accessing unsuitable or intimidating content
• Exposure to online content that encourages violence, hate, and pornography
• Being tricked and exposed to relentless advertising
• Being asked to enter a contest or sign up for a club while giving personal or household details to an unidentified source
• Spending less time engaging in physical activity and exercise, as well as developing social skills
• Getting attacked on social networking networks for disclosing too much personal information
To protect the children from these risks and make their online experience safe parents should:
Do not let your kids spend too much time "surfing" the internet.
• develop in a child the idea that chatting with "screen names" in a "chat room" is equivalent to chatting with strangers.
• teach a child the importance of never providing any personal information to anyone or any website online.
• teach the value of never approving an in-person meeting with an online contact in children.
• Never provide a child with credit card information or a password that allows access to unsuitable services or websites or allows online purchases.
• children should be reminded that not everything they read or see online is true.
• use the parental control tools provided by your online provider, or purchase software from the market, to block access to "chat lines," "newsgroups," and inappropriate websites.
• Only give a child their email address if they are old enough to handle it, and make a strategy to regularly check their email and online activity.
• keep an eye on a child's website and online identity information.
• Teach them to treat others with the same respect when conversing online as when speaking to them in person, which includes refraining from using foul language, name-calling, etc.
• insist that a child stick to the same rules whenever they use computers, whether those at school, libraries, or friends' houses.
Parents should keep in mind that using social media does not prepare kids for having real-world interactions. Parents have the chance to keep an eye on and supervise the activity by spending time with their children while they are first discovering an internet service and again later on. Also, it offers the chance for group learning.
