Online safety
It goes without saying that the internet can be an unforgiving place. Aside from the more obvious risks such as online bullying, grooming or device addiction, the way children are engaging with the online world means that we have to take stock of their mental health and wellbeing, the type of content they are viewing and what they are posting online.
This includes the heightened concern around fake news and what impact social media influencers may be having on our children’s behaviour. It also includes the ongoing debate as to whether online gaming and certain features of online gaming, such as loot boxes and skins, are categorised as gambling and are encouraging gambling habits in children.
The number of varying social media applications continues to grow too. Previously, if you educated yourself on the mechanics of Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, you’d pretty much be covered.
However, we’re now in an age where a multitude of ‘apps’ exist, and they’re more complex than ever before. Whilst the above remain popular, how many of us have heard of TikTok, YOLO, FaceApp or LIKEE. All of these are all free to download and available at the touch of a button.
Such are the range of risks we now need to be aware of and the different platforms that children can access, it’s not easy to keep up to date.
We have a vast amount of resources to guide and support you with online safety.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/#guides
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-centre/parents-and-carers/safety-tools-social-networks-and-other-online-services
https://www.getsafeonline.org/