How can parents keep youngsters from harm when using platforms?

From TikTok to Snapchat, the ever-changing social media landscape can prove difficult for parents and carers to keep up with.

And with the recent case of a “disturbing and distressing” video appearing on a popular social media app, the dangers that come with using these platforms has been in the spotlight once more.

To get the best tips on how parents can keep their children safe online, The Courier spoke to Carla Malseed, local campaigns m a n a ge r at c h i l d r e n’s charity NSPCC.

The NSPCC has broken the risks faced by children and young people online into three main categories and offers resources and advice on the dangers associated with each grouping.

Carla explained: “The risks are divided into three categories which are what they see online, who they meet and what it is they do.

“The internet wasn’ t designed with children in mind so they can see things that are inappropriate. These are things like racial hatred and violence or content encouraging eating disorders or self-harm.

“For parents, the best way to manage these risks would be technical tools, so things like parental controls such as passwords.

“We also have a resource as part of out partnership with O2 called Net Aware. Parents can go on to this and type in TikTok, for example, and Net Aware will bring up lots of information about it.”

While it would be impossible for parents to monitor every aspect of what their children are doing online, there are ways in which they can try to ensure they understand the risk involved.

To achieve this, Carla believes it is important to keep the lines of communication open b e tw e e n parents and children.

She said: “Nobody needs me to tell them that children can chat to people online and that it can make them vulnerable to bullying or grooming.

“We believe the best way to manage these risks is through talking to children about healthy relationships.

“It’s about having these discussions with them, finding out who they are friends with online and what information they share.

“Remind them that if anything happens online that makes them feel sad or worried that they can come and speak to their parents. If they don’t want to do that, and we know sometimes that children don’t want to speak to their parents, then just let them know where else the y can go.”

The question of how much time children should be spending on social media is one that most parents will ask themselves.

However, for Carla, the important factor to consider is what exactly children are doing online rather than how long they are spending doing it.

She said: “Probably the biggest questions that I get from parents is how much time online is too much?

“For us, it’s not about the quantity but rather the quality. For example, if children are spending hours researching a school project online then that’s very different from spending it on TikTok or YouTube.

“That being said, obviously we are all spending more time online than we were previously so it is important to be sensible and balance our online and offline time.”

Another crucial element to keeping children safe online is ensuring that boundaries are put in place so that they know what they should and should not be posting.

Carla added: “I t ’s important to agree the rules and boundaries with children, whether that’s about how much time they spend online or what they share, and really help them understand what the consequences may be.

“Role modelling important as well.”

Obviously we are all spending more time online

is