The internet is dangerous for kids and everyone else using it. Thus, internet safety for kids is vital, for there are many cyber predators to social media posts that can haunt them in life. Online hazards can have costly, severe, and tragic consequences. Now that children are on the internet more on various platforms, they can easily expose their families to threats. For instance, they can download malware accidentally, and cybercriminals can access sensitive information. Therefore, you need to teach your children about the online dangers and how they can stay safe. Below are the online challenges children face online and how to protect them.
Accidentally downloading malware
As you use internet content with your children, ensure you use The PirateBay for entertainment purposes and teach your children about sites that can infect them with malware accidentally. Malware steals information from your computer and hijacks it for use causing a slow performance. Cybercriminals will always trick you into downloading malware, and one way is through phishing and malware masquerading as games to entice kids. To protect the kids, you need to educate them on identifying internet threats. And safeguard your kids’ devices with security protections against malware. Also, use parental controls and other applications to help build a safe framework for your kids’ online activities.
Cyberbullying
Today, cyberbullying is a serious problem. Over 60% of children who use social media platforms have witnessed bullying, and most children ignore the behavior as much as it affects them. Online games and social media are today's playground, and these platforms are where cyberbullying occurs, and it is throughout. Through online games, the game can turn from fun to a humiliating ordeal, and through social media, the children face unhealthy exchanges. To protect against cyberbullying, talk to your children openly about it and how to stand up to bullies. An open dialog is always better when dealing with a cyber-bullying threat.
Posts coming back to haunt a child later
Things that happen on the internet stay on the internet. When your child adds something online, it is not easy to remove it later. But, for teenagers, it is hard to consider how a Snapchat message or party picture can cause problems ten years later, when they are seeking a new job or how a prospective mate will feel about their content on social media profiles. Therefore, to protect your tweens and teens, explain to them how their opinions and style is a guarantee it will be different and change as they grow older. Therefore, their 15-year-old self can alter their adult life through one click, for the internet has no delete button.
Cyber predators
Today there are many predators stalking children on the internet. Therefore, if there is no adult supervision, they will abuse the children’s trust. Thus, children can easily get lured to dangerous personal encounters. Most of these predators lurk on gaming and social media platforms that children mostly use. In the same virtual platforms, it facilitates cyberbullying through anonymity. There is a different way to look after child safety, talk to your children to know if anything is going on online that concerns them.
Falling for scams
Children will fall for scams that offer them something they value. Such as free access to special features or online games. It is easy to scam young people, for they are yet to learn to be wary. Thus, cybercriminals, use sites popular with children to find victims and promise them prizes in return. Young or old, the best way to be safe from a scam is to know when to keep off, especially when an offer is too good to be true.
To sum up, children's online safety is vital to protect every child on the internet. Since children do not yet understand social boundaries, the parents have to teach them how to stay safe online and supervise the younger ones what they are doing online. Above are some of the dangers children face online to watch out for and talk to them about to know what to do and not do. And to encourage them to ask when they are not sure.
