Online Safety
Being online is an integral part of how we live today. And children are increasingly becoming regular users of the Internet too.
As parents, we know that while children enjoy connecting with friends and playing games, being online also has some risks.
On the Tell Katy App, there is for the teen category and online safety video. It provides them with an outline of the most common risks. It explains what the red flags are and what they can do to minimise those risks.
Some of the risks explained are:
Grooming – Online grooming occurs when people attempt to have sexual contact with children and young people. This is against the law.
Privacy – Anyone, anywhere could see your personal information, this means, strangers, or family and friends.
Trolling – is when an individual, or group misuses social media to cause conflict or harm, often caused by bullying.
Catfishing – this is when someone steals another person’s online profile, or they create a fake profile in another person’s name. These fake profiles can be used to start online friendships.
Permanently online – Despite the removal of comments or photos, once something is posted, it can remain online for a long time.
Identity fraud – a person’s identity can be stolen if enough information is gathered about them. This can be used to commit crimes under your name or steal your money. Additionally, fake profiles can be created to ruin someone’s reputation or to bully them.
Research completed by the Australian eSafety department exploring the online behaviour of teens aged between 12-17 years, showed some various experiences by teens online. While there were some negative experiences there were also some positive ones.
Results confirmed that teens are spending a large amount of time online, and there were no surprises showing that social media was still a prominent activity. However, it certainly isn’t the only activity. Teens are using the internet to connect with friends, play games, search for information, and use online services.
While some of the mainstream social media platforms continue to engage teens, YouTube and Tik Tok are beginning to dominate the teen audience as videos are a popular source of entertainment.
Although technology offers many benefits for teens, such as the ability to research topics and stay connected with loved ones, there is a downside.
Unfortunately, negative experiences such as cyberbullying, harassment, and unwanted contact are still prevalent. Although, recent research shows that teens are taking action after experiencing these negative situations, including reporting it or speaking to friends and family. However, there is still much work to be done in promoting behavioural change, as a significant percentage of teens continue to ignore potentially harmful experiences or believe that nothing will change.
Some good news about teens online! Is that the teens are active in helping to build positive online relationships. Most of these teens had already experienced negative online experiences and are determined to foster safer online environments.