Children need to be made aware of online safety

Teaching the young about how to navigate the digital world with its many risks is quite essential

Kids are both impressionable and vulnerable. To expect them to understand the importance of online privacy, social networking etiquette, internet safety and security issues is implausible. In the increasingly digital lives that we live, it becomes the responsibility of parents to take a lead. Parental guidance and supervision, therefore, should form the basis of kids’ digital lives. Teaching them how to navigate the digital world and where to draw a line is quite essential.

Highlights of a recent survey held as part of the Norton Cyber Security Insights Report reveal that among more than 1,000 adults surveyed in the UAE, nearly 87 per cent believe it is risky to allow children to use computers and mobile devices without any parental supervision — yet two in three parents (66 per cent) do not limit access to any websites or apps. Almost one-third of parents in the UAE (34 per cent) let children browse the web unsupervised. The research further indicates that at least one in 20 parents admit they don’t take any action to help protect children online, and may even be unaware of how to do so. This is an alarming trend and needs to change. Parents need to be proactive and set up rules for children on how to go online and how to use mobile devices. Children must be educated about the length of time they can be online and why their online behaviour can jeopardise not only their own privacy, but that of their family as well. Internet can have benefits galore for kids but let’s not forget that several dangers lurk online and that is where the role of parents kicks in.