The Internet is more dangerous than we imagine. For children, who spend more time online than in a playground, the Web poses untold risks that parents have to identify and eliminate.
Shivangi Nadkarni, Co-Founder & CEO of Arrka Consulting, holds a workshop in the city for parents and children, to address the issue. Excerpts from an email interview:
How dangerous is the Internet for children?
Just like in the physical world, the digital world has its own risks. Many of these are invisible. Unfortunately, awareness about such dangers is rather limited, because we didn’t grow up with them. The lack of awareness sometimes lulls people into a false sense of safety. It is therefore important for parents to understand what the dangers are, educate and monitor their children to protect them — just as they do in the physical world.
How can parents keep their children safe from stalkers and online predators without infringing on their privacy?
There are many measures that parents can take. These include:
- Educating children about the existence of ‘bad guys’ and how to watch out for them.
- Laying down clear rules on what their children can do with their gadgets and for how long.
- Having rules about whom they can connect and communicate with.
- Monitoring to ensure that rules are being followed.
- Creating the right environment for their children, so that they feel secure enough to talk if something goes wrong.
At what age do you suggest parents introduce children to smart phones and tablets? Is it a good idea at all?
The exposure a child gets via digital media is fabulous and insightful — to deny a child that exposure would be a shame. However, it is important to monitor and restrict the time spent using these gadgets. So rather than not giving a child access, it is important to lay down rules of usage.
Today, videos are being made for babies to watch and be stimulated by. So the age when a child gets a particular gadget depends on the child’s ability to handle the gadget and the information that comes with it responsibly. We think very little when we put on a YouTube video to entertain the child. If you’re opening the door, you have to know that very soon it will be pushed open fully, so you have to make sure you and the child are ready for the experience.
If you just want to keep in touch with your child while he/she is in some afterschool activity, all you really need to do is give them a basic phone.
Suggest some basic rules that parents can set for their kids when they go online.
There are rules on multiple fronts that parents need to set:
- Rules on what sites the child can visit, which social media the child can use.
- Rules on the kind of language and content the child can use, the kind of information the child can post (eg: No personal information), whether or not the child can put up photos and videos, etc.
- Rules on following basic hygiene factors online to ensure safety and security. For example, not opening every photo or video that comes their way (as it can be infected), using strong passwords, etc.
- Rules on what kind of apps they can install.
Will privacy settings help? If so, what are the best privacy settings?
Yes, privacy and security settings are a big help, and must be turned on. Unfortunately, this is often not done. Every app and device has its own settings — and they keep changing and evolving as the ‘threat landscape’ evolves.
For eg, Facebook lets you limit your posts to ‘only friends’, so what you post is not available to strangers; Whatsapp lets you limit availability of your status and ‘last seen’ timings to only those on your contacts list; Google lets you turn off your search history, so it cannot analyse it and add to your profile; smart phones let you turn off location services, so apps by default cannot access your location, etc.
The two-hour workshop will be held at C.P.R Environmental Education Centre, Eldams Road, on March 22. For details, call 99305 37656.
