Many people leave their kids with phones in their hands just to keep them busy and quiet by playing various games. However, there is a true danger if a child enters the Internet, because it is full of sexual and violent information. This kind of information is easily reachable and it also may change a relationship between a parent and a child. Moreover, it is important to teach a child how to safely use the Internet.
A research company in USA – “Pew Research Center” – did a survey and questioned 743 teenagers of age 13-17 and 1058 parents. This research showed that 95 percent of teenagers have mobile phones and 45 percent admitted that they use interned almost all the time.
Tony Anscombe, security expert in ESET, says that as the technology develops, it is harder to use it safely. Experts say that children and teenagers do not know how to protect their data, they think that it is phone companies’ job to assure privacy. Experts also suggest that parents should care more about what their children are doing on the Internet.
According to the Children’s Commissioner for England’s research “Growing up Digital”, one third of fifteen-year-olds have posted partly nude pictures of themselves. The experts say that children do not understand the real danger of this kind of behavior.
This research was done in 2016 and 1000 children were a part of it. It showed that children spend more than 20 hours a week on the internet and parents do not know what they are doing there.
It also showed that almost half of participants do not care what kind of information and data they may release when logging in into specific websites. Moreover, the youth do not read terms and conditions before clicking “accept”.
More than 900 parents were a part of this research and 76 percent of them admitted that they are concerned about the dangers of the Internet. Although, experts say that it is wrong to be very strict and to forbid a child to use the Internet or certain websites, because they can easily do whatever they want when they are not at home. It is very important to communicate with children and explain the dangers that can be found on the Internet. This way a parent shows that they care about a child’s privacy but is also concerned about his safety.
Teenagers mostly use the Internet for social media, games and videos but it is so easy to click on the wrong ad, type in a wrong combination of words, which leads to pornographic websites.
Pornographic information has a really bad influence on a child. According to the research, young man, boys who watch porn movies are more likely to think of women as just sex objects.
Women as well are more likely to think of themselves as sex objects for men and they become more tolerant for sexual abuse.
Even though children are not emotionally mature and do not completely understand that what they are seeing on the Internet may be porn, the images still has an impact on their brain and thinking, which may show up later in life. Moreover, they may want to do things they see. This may lead them to start their sexual life way sooner than they should. Furthermore, the sexual information goes with violence very often. This may wrongly form the image of a relationship between a man and a woman.
Internet changes a relationship between parents and a child
Britain psychologists presented a research in “Frontiers in Psychology” magazine which showed that children are more likely to be close to the parents when they are reading real books and not the digital ones. Then the children laugh and smile more too.
New technologies give us a lot of new ways to improve ourselves and make an access to information way easier, however, it also affects our real life relationships and communication. We communicate with each other less and spend more time on our phones, we have less intimacy.
Many parents are using technology and the Internet to make their children busy, to calm them down. However, this trick is very risky, because later on the child may not want to do anything else, but to play with phone or a computer, and neither eat nor do their homework.
A research that was done in 2015 in “Pediatrics” magazine, showed that mobile Medias became a way to make children busy and quiet during road trips and dinners. This may seem like a great way to get some silence, although it affects child’s brain and later on him or her will not know how so spend time without any electronic devices.
How to protect children?
Talk. As soon as the child starts using the Internet, it is important to talk to him or her about possible dangers and how to avoid them.
Set the right example. If parents use the Internet smart, the children will follow.
Explain that no one else can know their passwords.
Show that there are alternatives. It is wrong just to take away a phone or an IPad, it is important to show that there are many alternatives, how to spend time, such as reading, playing with siblings or friends, board games, drawing, painting etc.
Show your information wisely. It is very important to be smart about what information about yourself you post online and in what kind of websites you do that.
When oral agreement does not work, do some actions. If a parent is concerned and believes that a child may not listen, it is recommended to limit the time of the Internet.
Children that are younger than 18 months should not be given any electronic device. If you give a child a phone to play with, it may affect his concentration and cognitive development.
