Dangers of social media
In 2020, parenting doesn’t just involve being a cleaner, a chef, and a taxi driver…but a social media expert too.
You need to know your TikTok from your Twitter, and your Periscope from your PopJam.
While it’s great for messaging friends and sharing selfies, social media can be a very dangerous place.
In 2018/19, Childline delivered 1,700 counselling sessions about online sexual abuse.
In 647 of these counselling sessions children mentioned worries around sexting or selfgenerated images.
Meanwhile, less than half of children (44%) aged 12 to 15 said they knew how to change their settings to control who could view their social media.
This makes it even more important for your readers to speak to their child about staying safe online.
With Safer Internet Day just around the corner, it’s important to make yourself aware of the social media platforms that your child could access with just the tap of a button.
With new online accounts popping up every single day, it’s more important than ever to talk to your child about how they can stay safe in the online world.
The NSPCC has teamed up with O2 to create a resource to help parents grasp the online world.
NetAware is a free online tool that anyone can access to find out more about what their child could be accessing online.
It features tips and advice on keeping a child safe online, as well as showing the latest apps that are popular among young people.
It can be difficult to know how to start talking to your child about what they’re doing online or who they might be speaking to.
But talking regularly, like you would about their day at school, will help your child feel relaxed and mean that when they do have any worries, they’re more likely to come and speak to you.
We know there’s only so much that parents can do - and social media companies have a responsibility to protect children on their platforms.
That’s why the NSPCC’s Wild West Web campaign is calling on people to email their MP urging them to back a new Bill that paves the way for a proper independent watchdog to regulate online harms against children.
More information can be found online, at https:// www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwe-do/campaigns/wildwest-web/
“Talk to your child about how they can stay safe in the online world.”
Helen Westerman, Head of Safeguarding in Communities at the NSPCC.