The Internet has become an invaluable and irreplaceable tool. It offers a way for everybody to keep in touch and communicate, which is especially important during the developmental years of childhood.
It is also an essential learning tool, providing access to a literal world of information.
And there is no greater source of entertainment and knowledge.
However, for all its benefits, the Internet also poses a host of challenges and potential threats for all who enter.
Even as adults, we face a lot of unknown threats, and as parents or guardians, we have the added concern of ensuring children are safe whenever they go online.
Fortunately, there are tools we can use to help protect children and monitor their online activities.
According to this trusted mSpy review, there are comprehensive monitoring tools that enable parents to see websites children are visiting and check their communication and interactions with others.
According to tech content writer Lora Pance, the monitoring software enables parents to monitor social media activity as well as calls, and it offers additional features including location tracking and even keylogging.
It is undeniable that children spend more time than ever online. In the US alone, 8-to-10-year-olds spend an average of 6 hours of screen time every day. Kids are online on mobile phones, laptops, game consoles, and even when they’re at school.
Even limiting the amount of time a child can spend online doesn’t completely eradicate their time online, so educating them and monitoring their activity remains important.
There really is a myriad of ways in which we communicate online. Game consoles don’t just let us play games against friends.
They can mean gaming with people we’ve never met, and the same is true for our children.
Social media is great for finding and sharing information, as well as keeping in touch with friends and family, but others can just as easily send requests and forward details to children.
And with approximately 2 billion websites on the Internet, social media and games servers only scratch the surface of what is out there.
Online threats can take many forms.
Children need to be careful who they’re talking to, only communicating with people they know. They also need to be careful of the sites and types of sites they visit, as there is a lot of adult content.
Fake news can also be very damaging, especially for young minds. And scammers certainly aren’t afraid to use kids as a means of gaining access to home computers and other information.
Even beyond this, there are regular reports of children installing apps and then running up bills of thousands through in-app purchases.
It isn’t just your children that are at risk when they go online. Children are more trusting and they are less likely to do due diligence before installing apps, clicking links, or visiting questionable links.
Curiosity can lead to some dark corners of the Internet and it can also lead to the installation of malware and other potentially harmful software.
Once malware is on your home network, it can get onto your phones and your computers, potentially gaining access to bank accounts and other important software and apps.
In order to protect your children, you need to understand the threats that are out there. Malware and harmful software, phishing scams, social engineering scams, and fake news are some of the most prevalent threats.
Learn how to identify them and what you can do about them. This will help you protect your children, and enable you to empower your kids to protect themselves.
Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away, and assuming that your children won’t visit questionable websites or talk to people who message them on Facebook won’t protect them if it does happen.
Just like the stranger danger warnings of old, we need to educate our children on the threats that are posed online.
Teach them not to click links or install software they don’t trust, and show them how to delete messages and emails from people they don’t know.
Direct them to report buttons on social media, and ensure they know they can come to you if they feel threatened by anything that is happening online.
No matter how well you educate your children, though, you still need to take action yourself, to help prevent and overcome potential threats.
Ensure your home network is secure, install a VPN to help protect everybody’s privacy, and monitor your child’s social media accounts.
You can install a tracking app on their phone and computer that will help you determine the sites they’re visiting, too. Game consoles are a little more difficult to monitor, but you can set up online accounts for your kids, allowing you to determine privacy settings and age settings.
This can help prevent access to adult content and may also prevent your children from connecting with adults above their own age range.
The Internet is an invaluable tool but it also poses numerous threats to us all, especially children.
Fortunately, there are steps and precautions we can all take to help protect ourselves and our loved ones. Good protection starts with education but can be facilitated with the installation of appropriate security and other tools.
