IS IT POSSIBLE TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM MISUSE OF INTERNET?
An increasingly current situation is the exposure of children to the infinite knowledge stored on the Internet. Those of us who have children at home know that it is impossible to be aware of everything they do with the devices to which they have access. This issue that we have to live is increasingly relevant because minors have contact with the Internet at a very early age.
We ourselves, the parents, have started little by little to dabble in the Internet thanks to the fact that cell phones are more powerful every day. Currently we can attend interviews with people on another continent or communicate with the most distant family at any time.
Today children have, in one way or another, access to Internet
devices from a very young age. Many, without knowing how to speak, can already
view photos and post videos of their own choosing. Those who can speak already
search by voice! It starts out as a game and they end up unlocking their
tablets and phones to watch their favorite videos.
Using the Internet correctly can be an important learning
tool. However, you can also offer content that is not suitable for a child. It
is here when parents must be vigilant and have the Parental Control tools that
allow them to supervise and manage the use of the smallest of the house.
Likewise, it is possible to control communications and interactions with other
network users in order to avoid cyber bullying and possible deception. Let's
not forget that without proper parental control we will not know if we are
protecting our children when they are online. The Internet is a gateway to the
virtual world that, like the real world, can have risks.
A good tip would be that, as far as possible, you always surf
with your children so that you can explain responsible use and what should and
should not be done on the Internet. Another would be to establish guidelines on
the time of use, since it is recommended that they also do sports or activities
other than being in front of a screen.
With these tips we want to help you have better Parental
Control over what your children see on the Internet. In addition, we want
to share with you some specific and easy-to-use tools.
Parental Control Tools on the Internet
The Internet itself offers us the solution by putting at our
disposal different free and paid tools. It is possible to download them on
Android and IOS devices and take control from the first moment. There are a
number of parental control applications, we cannot mention all of them, but we
will recommend the best apps in free mode
Secure Kids is a very complete application that protects
children from the dangers they can encounter on the Internet. The most
important to mention are Sexting, when there is an exchange of photos and video
of a sexual nature through digital devices. Cyber bullying is a type of
harassment directed at minors also through electronic devices. Grooming is when
an adult tricks a child into obtaining sexual material. And finally, Phishing,
which refers to identity theft to fraudulently obtain confidential information.
Another great Google app is Family Link. It allows you to see
the child's activity in order to make decisions about healthy use of what they
do on the device. It allows you to manage the download of applications so that
you can approve them before the child uses them. It also suggests applications
recommended by teachers to enhance their curiosity.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the YouTube Kids application
which includes options such as sound settings, search engine settings, feedback
and timer, the latter to limit the children's time on the Internet. With this
application we can have the content especially dedicated to the little ones, so
they can search all the videos without fear that they may find images that are
not suitable for them.
Parental control in operating systems
In addition to the applications available in the market, we
can take advantage of the native options of our operating systems on our
computers. Windows 10 has a built-in Parental Control with which we can create
different users and restrict Internet access according to age. With this we can
control the schedule and amount of time, restrict app purchases and get a
report on online activities.
On Apple computers it is also possible to create a profile for
the child and restrict permission to use the Internet through standard parental
control.
Additional
Resources
The digital education is very important and is a great weapon
for Parental
Control. For example, the Mozilla browser provides free online
cybersecurity games so that little ones can defend themselves against hacker
attacks.
Following with more tips we can say that it is very necessary
to know how to use online video games safely. The most important thing is that
they are games that are adapted to your age and that do not enter your real
name as a player profile. There are also safe search engines.
We hope that these tips have been helpful so that you can
exercise Parental Control on the Internet properly and you can enjoy a
high-quality Internet like ours as a family. Be sure to see our Fiber Optic
Internet plans for your home.
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