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Who are your children talking to?
By Sophie Cross
If you've got kids and you've got a computer, then you will be more than aware that web use and online profiles are getting a bit out of hand. Kids + www/internet = worry as far as parents are concerned.
Do you know who your children are in contact with on the web? Have they ever uploaded videos or photos of themselves? Who are their Moshi Monsters friends?
Don't get me wrong. I think the Web/ Internet are amazing – for all sorts of things. I couldn't do without them in my job. The web is a brilliant education resource. My daughter uses it constantly for school projects and learning about interesting "stuff". We use it constantly for video watching, TV catch up, social media and everything else most of the world uses it for.
But my daughter also uses it for incessant watching of YouTube rubbish, including the latest ALS Ice Bucket Challenge craze of video uploads by famous and non-famous and wannabe famous girls in very small and see-through bikinis making themselves cold and wet.
Somehow that particular well-intended awareness campaign for ALS or Motor Neurone Disease seems to have been hijacked yet again by YouTubers who record and publish their daily lives in mind-numbing minutiae, and kids are fascinated by them.
Children also watch endless videos of "epic fails" and how-tos; they post photos on Instagram and do live gaming with interactive games like Minecraft; and watch instructions on how to perfect a backward walkover!
The watching is ok. I can control that easily as long as I can see what my daughter's watching and I can turn it off. And I can stick on a parental control and know she can't access anything explicit.
I worry about the uploading of videos. Gymnastic videos might seem very innocent, but to others it may be provocative. I can't believe I'm even saying that but then this is the sad reality of the online community. Not everyone is a friend.
Children are now playing games like Minecraft Live, Flappy Bird, Clash of the Clans and taking part in interesting little worlds like Moshi Monsters. And they're playing them at a very young age.
In these worlds children have their own identities; they create their own persona, house, interests and activities. They collect friends. They contact people. They get invited to befriend other players and can send each other messages. This is the part that worries me most. My daughter is too young to be on Facebook or Twitter and she's not yet very interested in them. But she is into virtual world games, and these can be just as tricky and potentially dangerous.
Do these innocent online worlds present potential grooming opportunities to predators on the web who know children are going to be playing? They're more than aware of Stranger Danger in the "real world", but what about online?
It is easy for 'groomers' to find child victims online. They generally use chatrooms, games or social media platforms that are focussed around or targeted to young people's interests. These groomers often pretend to be younger and may even change their gender. They can be whoever they like.
If you've heard of Catfish, or Catfishing, you'll know all about this. Mainly reserved for social media, it's not exclusively so.
Many of these pretenders aren't in it for paedophilia. They might be in it for scamming, conning or just for the challenge of seeing how far they can take a deception.
But they often give a false physical description of themselves, which may bear no resemblance to their real appearance or personality. It's easy to do online when you're effectively anonymous.
Sadly a lot of these online catfish do have malicious intent and some are grooming children. They may create a very elaborate identity. They may act as children themselves. Groomers may also seek out potential victims by looking through personal websites and social networking pages. They often introduce "rude" pictures and porn to de-sensitise children to sexual acts and start to make them seem normal.
In many circumstances, grooming online is faster and anonymous and results in children trusting an online 'friend' more quickly than someone they had just met 'face to face'.
Those intent on sexually harming children can easily access information about them and they are able to hide their true identity, age and gender. They are not restricted by time or accessibility to a child as they would be in the 'real world'.
- Read Netsafe, NetAlert and other online safety websites, because they provide up-to-date information.
- Install software to reduce the risk of your child accessing obscene material.
- Talk to your kids. Sadly they need to know that there are bad people around who might want to harm them but will pretend to be their friend.
- Children need to know that people on the internet or other gamers or Moshi friends may not be who they say they are. It's exactly the same as "Stranger Danger". If you wouldn't talk to a stranger in the outside/real world, then don't talk to them on the internet either.
- Only ever accept friend requests on anything by people you actually know, like classmates or friends.
Keep your children safe online
It's important to start early. As soon as children show an interest in being online and connecting with other people they need to be told about the dangers.
Teach your children the five key Childnet SMART rules that remind young people to be SMART online. You should go through these tips with your children.
S - SAFE Keep safe by being careful not to give out personal information – such as your name, email, phone number, home address, or school name – to people who you don't know online.
M - MEETING Meeting someone you have only been in touch with online can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents'/carers' permissions & when they can be present.
A - ACCEPTING Accepting e-mails, IM messages or opening files from people you don't know or trust can be dangerous – they may contain viruses or nasty messages.
R - RELIABLE Someone online may be lying about who they are, and information you find on the internet may not be reliable.
T - TELL Your parent, carer or a trusted adult if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.
For more information for kids, parents and educators, go to
kidsmart.org.uk |
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| Sophie Cross is a public relations consultant and writer who has publicised and written about everything from makeup to The Muppets, child care to celebrity chefs and perfume to Partners in Population and Development! Originally from the UK and as a languages graduate she has worked around the world, living in Australia for the last 11 years where she runs, PR Chicks. Read Sophie's blog
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