Tips for
Healthy Use of Internet
Minors access the internet each time before. Around 60% of children use the Internet daily, and almost 45% of
them spend two hours a day surfing the Internet. These are some of the most
significant data extracted from the “Survey on usage habits and Internet
safety of minors and young people in Spain” prepared by the Ministry of the
Interior. And there is more. As UNICEF assures, one in three
Internet users are minors. Although
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can provide them with numerous
advantages in their learning and socialization process, there are also risks
that they must learn to prevent and combat.
Although
there is no age at which it is recommended that minors begin to access the
internet independently, some experts recommend that minors not access the
internet alone, without adult supervision, until they are 13 years old. (Parental
Control Software)
Children
and adolescents are very familiar with the use of different technological
devices. They were born with them, almost “under the arm”, so much of their personal, social and educational life takes place on
the internet. Not
only do they surf the Net visiting web pages, but they spend hours and hours on
social networks, they use instant messaging applications like WhatsApp to
interact with their friends, they play online with people from all over the
world, etc.
Many
of these applications, programs and platforms contain a multitude of personal
data that, in the case of minors, can be particularly compromised if they are
misused. For this reason, it
is so necessary to give advice for safe browsing and for the protection of the
devices themselves.
10
recommendations for minors to use the internet safely
1.
Do not give personal information
Children
and adolescents must be clear that giving personal information online is
totally prohibited. If any of your contacts, known or unknown, on any
platform, not only on social networks, but also on online gaming platforms,
forums, etc., request personal data from you under any pretext (in many cases
very elaborate) of yours, from your family or friends, should not provide them under any circumstances . (Parental
Control Software)
It
is also important that they bear in mind that they should not send personal or family photographs and
videos, especially if these images can identify physical spaces such as schools , private
homes, sports centers or any other space where the minor goes. Personal
data has a value that cannot be given away.
2.
Use different email accounts
Another
of the most recurrent recommendations made by entities specializing in the safe
use of the Internet by minors, such as Friendly Screens or Safe
Internet for Kids (IS4K) from Incibe, is to create and use different email accounts. In this way,
minors will be able to have a personal email with which they
normally operate for school subjects, for example, and a second email with which they can register on game pages,
forums and other similar platforms. Another associated advice is not to
provide the email address to strangers and do not
give the emails of friends without the permission of their parents or legal
guardians.
3.
Reject spam emails or those containing download files
Downloading
files without knowing their origin can compromise the security of the devices
that the minor is using. These
files can have malicious intentions that introduce viruses to your computer
or even track information stored on your computers.
4.
Access codes and passwords, always secret
Minors,
and also adults, must not share passwords and access codes to electronic
devices, social network profiles or that allow entry on our behalf to any other
online platform. Passwords
do not have to be given (not even to those closest to you) . In the
case of children and adolescents, they can
only provide this information to their parents or legal
guardians. It is also advisable to change passwords every two to three
months.
5.
Ask for help if someone treats them badly or asks for “weird
things” on the internet
If
while surfing the internet they receive messages in which they are insulted,
treated badly or asked for images or any other document, they should leave the internet immediately and tell their parents .
On
the other hand, it is also common for bargains and gifts to be offered online. Minors
must be explained that they should not believe these types of offers, since
they can be false and hide malicious intentions to obtain their data, obtain
money illegally, etc. When
in doubt, they should discuss it as a family . If
someone starts arguing with them on social networks, it is better to recommend
that they do not answer or enter the rag. This can cause them a feeling of
great anxiety.
6.
Maintain family trust
The
child or adolescent must know that those people who offer them anything online
with the condition of "not telling their parents" do not have good
intentions with them, so contrary to what they have been asked, they must
communicate it to them. to their parents or legal guardians so that they are up
to date and can remedy this situation. Earning
the trust of minors to explain their activities on the Internet and the
relationships they establish on the Internet is essential to minimize risks. (Parental
Control Software)
If we have this confidence, we will be more agile when it comes to tackling possible harassment, Cyberbullying situations or any other harmful circumstance that may be living on the internet beforehand. If any of these situations should occur, it is advisable to try to remain calm and not blame the minor. If we do so, we may lose your trust and escalate the situation. If you want to know more about how to detect and combat digital bullying of minors on the internet, you can read the article "Cyberbullying: How to detect and combat it?”
7.
Run away from viruses
To keep children's computers and mobile
devices safe from malicious viruses, it must be explained to them that they should not open emails from which they do not know the
origin. In
the case of mobile devices, minors should know that if they receive a message
they doubt, it is better not to open it because it could compromise their
security. On
many occasions these messages have attractive claims about raffles, gifts,
prizes, etc.
8.
Beware of internet "friends"
In
this sense, configuring
the privacy options of social networks is a good solution to limit who
can contact the minor and who cannot. Even so, there may be the situation
of a person with bad intentions getting access to them through a digital
channel. The intention of these people is to gain your trust and then get
something in return, be it images, money, etc. Minors are afraid and it is
difficult for them to discuss the problem with their parents or legal
guardians.
Another
derived and especially compromised situation is that the person who contacts
them wants to meet alone. We
have to make it very clear to them that they should never date alone with an
unknown person, even if they have had conversations online for a long time. We
never know who is really behind a social media profile , on many occasions
identities are spoofed to deceive minors. In
no case should they meet alone with someone they have met online. (Parental
Control Software)
9.
Take care of the image on the internet
On
many occasions, the minor may not take into account the real reach of the
internet and, especially, of the social networks they use. For this reason
they upload images, sometimes compromised, without really being aware of the
large number of people who are seeing them.
Possibly
if those same images were shown in a physical auditorium full of people
watching them, they themselves would refuse to share them . What is
published on the Internet shows an image about us towards others, for this
reason minors must bear in mind that the information and images they publish
can damage their personal image and bring problems to them and their relatives. This
is how they explain in the following video from Friendly Screens the
importance of choosing images and the risks associated with sharing them.
10. Encourage a critical
spirit in minors
It
is important that from a young age they learn that everything they see on the
internet does not have to be true. A very healthy habit is for them to learn to contrast information and not take it as good
information, usually sensational and seeking to provoke an almost instantaneous
emotional reaction in him or her. The news fake or
false information can also affect younger. Find out what fake
news is and how to recognize it on the internet through
the following article. (Parental
Control Software)
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