Technology

Are Our Kids Safe with the Electronic Devices and the Internet?

Have you noticed a kid or teenager without a smartphone these days? Surely, you must have not because every other kid is teen cradling an electronic device of some sort these days. To keep up with the growing demand and persistent requests for a smartphone, parents have no choice but to hand over one to their kids.

Parents think their kids are only using electronic devices to access the internet so that they can seek help for their homework and assignments or to watch their favourite movies and TV shows. What they are not aware of is the fact that kids might also step into the world of the dark internet, putting themselves at a huge risk.

If you think your kids are completely safe on the internet, then you are wrong. When you hand your kids their smartphone, they can come across both good and bad things on the internet. One of the best ways to ensure your kids’ online safety would be installing spy apps for Android or iPhone on their devices.

Why Kids Are Not Safe on the Internet?

We are a part of the digital world now where almost every kid and teenager grows with technology. Parenting has turned into digital parenting, making the process even challenging for most parents. There was a time when parents had to look for their kids’ activities within school and outside school, especially when they were at their friend’s place or stepped out for a hangout with their friends.

With the advent of the internet and various social media platforms, parents now have to keep track of their kid’s online activities as well. The load of parenting task has definitely increased for most parents whose kids are spending a lot of time on their devices.

Though the internet is an excellent source of learning for kids, let’s not forget that there is also an increasing danger for kids to become an easy target for evil-minded people who are trying to take advantage of their innocence and lack of knowledge.

From sharing too much personal information to falling for online scams to becoming a victim of cyberbullying to having a meetup with an online sexual predator to watching adult content, these are some of the biggest online dangers that kids face online.

Because of the presence of these online dangers, the internet is not considered a safe place for kids. Parents must find the best ways to monitor, manage, and control their kids’ access on the internet. They can follow different actionable tips to ensure their kids’ safety on the internet.

Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet

Let us provide you with some helpful actionable internet safety tips that parents can apply to keep their kids safe when browsing the internet.

Educate Your Kids About Online Threats

You want your kids to benefit from the good side of the internet but, at the same time, you also want them to safe from harmful internet dangers. The best to do that would be educating them about online threats and how to identify them.

You need to have open communication with your kids about safe browsing on the internet, tell them about the harmful sites and apps that they should avoid, explain them about different types of cyberbullying, make them aware of sexual predators and different ways they can try to reach out to them, and also discuss other important topics that can help them understand what’s going on.

The more openly you speak to your kids about online threats, the easier it would be for them to understand what they see or hear online.

Set Time Limits for Your Kids

For most kids and teens, the internet and social media are quite fascinating and they can spend hours there. However, this can be worrisome for parents. They should be concerned about the time their kids are spending online.

If you notice your kid is spending way more time on the internet and is slowly becoming addicted to social media so much so that they are staying up all night to use their accounts, it is time for you to set time limits on their internet and social media usage.

You need to tell them about the time that they can spend on their electronic devices. Also, it would be wise to turn off the internet connection at night so they cannot access the internet late at night.

Use Parental Controls/Monitoring Apps to Monitor Your Kid

Kids are using several electronic devices one at the same time. At one moment, they can be seen using their smartphone, and on the other, they are found sitting in front of their laptop screen. What’s more, they are also using iPads and gaming consoles to access the internet.

With so many electronic devices, it is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to supervise their kids on every device. This is where parental control and monitoring apps come into play. You can install iPhone or Android spy apps on your kids’ devices and monitor their online activities.

Monitoring apps are a great way to monitor your kid’s online activity and they also help you control and limit your kid’s internet usage. What’s more, you can also block inappropriate content on your kid’s phone with the help of these monitoring apps.

Install Antivirus Software on Your Kid’s Devices

When kids start using the internet, they are curious to explore new things. It’s natural for them to get attracted to a lot of new things that they come across on the internet. This can lead them to open malicious links from unreliable websites or download video games from untrusted websites or gaming forums.

Therefore, it is important to install good antivirus software or app from a reliable company on your kid’s device that comes with a real-time scanning feature, firewall, and automatic update.

Online Behaviour Can Have Real-life Consequences

As a parent, you must teach your kids about the risks of being online and also give them an awareness of cybersecurity and its importance. You should tell your kids to avoid talking to strangers on social media, explain to them how to differentiate between real and fake news online, and also keep them updated about the most frequent online risks out there.

It is also important to teach your kids that their online behaviour can have a direct impact on their real life. Whatever is posted on the internet, stays there permanently even if the kids delete them later. So, the kids need to be mindful of what they are posting online because it can have a direct impact on their real-life reputation.

Kids need to acknowledge the fact that all their online actions can have real-life consequences so they must know how to use the internet safely and wisely.