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Safety rules for Social Media
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| bet | 6/18 | | Sana | 20.05.2024 | | Hajmi | 63,57 Kb. | | #246102 |
Bog'liq INFORMATION AND SECURITYSafety rules for Social Media:
Discuss the pressure to share
Kids constantly feel pressure to share pictures and other details about their lives. Have a positive conversation about the value of privacy to help relieve them of that pressure.
Understand the permanence of social media
Remind your kids that there’s no such thing as deleting something on social media. Knowing that whatever they share is permanent (even if they take it down) will encourage them to think about what they post.
Educate them about online strangers
Predators use the internet to track and contact children. It’s important your child knows who he or she contacts or accepts friend requests from.
How to enforce a safe environment:
Don’t let your kids on social media until they reach the required age.
Keep the computer in a public, accessible location where you can see your child’s activity.
Limit the amount of time your kids can be on social media or online.
Block location access to all social media apps.
Adjust the privacy settings to make your child’s account as private as possible.
Monitor your child’s activity online. Make sure the content they post is harmless with no identifiable features.
Enforce a safe environment. Do not let your kids on social media until they’re old enough. Keep the computer in a public location. Limit the amount of time spent on social media. Block location access to all apps. Adjust the privacy settings. Monitor your child’s online activity.
Cyberbullying
Our children’s lives have moved online. Unfortunately, their bullies have moved online too.
Cyberbullying comes in many forms: spreading rumours and sending threatening messages via social media, text, or email, pretending to be another child and posting embarrassing material under their name, forwarding private photos without consent, and generally posting online about another child with the intent to humiliate or degrade them.
Cyberbullying is particularly harmful because it is so public. In the past, if a kid was bullied on the playground, perhaps a few of his peers saw. Now, a child’s most private information can be splashed across the internet and is there permanently, and even if reported and taken down, nothing is truly deleted when it comes to the online world.
Cyberbullying can negatively affect the online reputation not only of the victim, but also of the perpetrator, and have a deep impact on that child’s future, including college admissions and employment.
It is also extremely persistent. If a child is the target of traditional bullying, his or her home is more often than not a place of refuge. Because digital platforms are constantly available, victims of cyberbullying struggle to find any relief.
By definition, cyberbullying occurs among young people. (When an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyberharassment or cyberstalking, a crime that can have legal consequences.)
The Law Commission says one in 10 New Zealanders have experienced what it calls “harmful communications” on the internet. That number doubles for those aged 19-29. Other research shows that 1 in 3 New Zealand college students experience some form of cyberbullying or harassment and 1 in 6 pre-teens.
Even when bullies can be identified, research shows that they, as well as their victims, are often in need of help. 1 in 4 boys who bully others have suicidal thoughts, and this number jumps to 1 in 8 for girls.
Cyberbullying can be devastating for young people. It contributes to truancy, failure at school and emotional problems such as depression, self-harm and in extreme cases, suicide. Sometimes it can be easy to spot — for example, if your child shows you a cruel text message, tweet, or response to a status update on Facebook. But more often than not your child isn’t going to tell you, so it’s vital to have regular and open conversations with your child.
The vast majority of children today at secondary school and many primary school children carry a mobile phone. The technology of smartphones is making it easier for cyberbullies to not only send text messages, but also send or post online threatening or embarrassing images and video clips. If bullying messages are coming through to a mobile, contact your phone company. Netsafe has plenty of information on how to contact phone companies.
Report the abuse to the provider and ask it to take action. The company should be able to trace the source of the messages and warn the bully that they could lose their number and/or access to the network if they continue.
If you think someone at school is bullying your child, contact the principal as soon as possible. The Education Act 1998 includes National Administrative Guideline 5, which says schools are to provide a “safe physical and emotional environment for students”. This includes dealing with behaviour such as cyberbullying that occurs out of school but has implications for student well-being while at school.
It’s often very difficult to tell if your child is being bullied online. It happens online, so parents and teachers are less likely to overhear or notice it. Fewer than half of children bullied online tell their parents or another adult what they are going through, according to internet safety organization i-SAFE. In fact, according to a recent survey of nearly 750 young people, by Otago-based group Sticks’n’Stones, a third of children aged 11 to 18 had experienced online bullying in that same year.
The best way to prevent cyberbullying or to stop it in its tracks is to be aware of your child’s behaviour. A number of warning signs may present themselves.
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