As the world has technologically equipped itself, the clutter of bits and bytes has also unleashed a kind of terror that no one thought was possible a few years back. With AI becoming increasingly woven into everyday life, these dangers are significantly increasing. As per reports, 1 in 5 children across 21 countries have been exposed to online sexual abuse and this number is only going to increase with each technological upgrade. So, let’s explore a few ways to protect children from being vulnerable to online abuse.
Gen Alpha kids are the digital natives who are exposed to the world of electronics from a very young age. Parents often end up handing them their phones when their crankiness switches up a notch. With every reel and every video, the child becomes a little more obsessed with the digital contents and tries to imitate them. Now, taking advantage of such vulnerability, abusers find ways to target children.
Start with the basics: Teach your children how to identify abuse of any kind when they are online. Tell them about the red flags such as strangers asking them to keep conversations secret, requesting personal or intimate images, offering gifts, or trying to move conversations to private platforms.
Set ground rules: Set certain rules and imbibe them in your children’s mind. For example, teach them to never share personal information like name or location with anyone online, be it a girl or a guy. Don’t accept friend requests from strangers you don’t know.
Review privacy and safety settings: Most of the apps in today’s technology come with child protection. Turn that on before handing your electronics to your child. But that shouldn’t be the only protection, because today’s kids are smart enough to turn that off quickly. So, keep a physical check on your child and regularly check safety settings on social media, gaming and messaging platforms. Also ensure the webcams and other cameras have protective covers when the child is using the phone or laptop.
Encourage them not to respond to threats: If a person is asking for certain private pictures or as a matter of fact any private information and holding a threat over your child’s head, it is likely that they will give in to the requests. So, encourage them to respond to threats with caution. If someone demands intimate images or threatens to share existing ones, children should not send more material or pay the person. They should save evidence in a safe place, block the offender and tell a trusted adult.
Children are mostly jovial in nature and when faced with trouble, their behaviour usually becomes secretive. So, notice signs such as hiding screens or going online without supervision, creating new email or social media accounts, becoming sullen or withdrawn, losing interest in friends or activities, or showing strong emotional reactions after going online.
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