6 Dangers that await your child on the internet
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The Internet can be dangerous for your children and adolescents. From cyber predators to social media posts that can surface and haunt them later, the risks are worrying. Unwittingly, children can also expose their families to the dangers of the Internet, for example by accidentally downloading malware that can give cybercriminals access to their parents' bank account or other sensitive information. Protecting children on the Internet is above all a question of awareness: knowing the dangers lurking in the shadows and knowing how to protect yourself from them. Cybersecurity software can protect them from some threats, but the most important thing when it comes to safety is communicating with your children.
Here are the top six risks children face online:
- Cyber harassment
According to Internetsafety101.org, 90 percent of teens active on social media have ignored bullying they have witnessed, and a third have been victims of cyberbullying. Social networks and online games are today's virtual playgrounds, which explains why most cases of cyberharassment can be found there. For example, children may be the subject of ridicule in exchanges on social networks. Or, in the case of online games, they or their “characters” may be subject to incessant attacks, turning the game from an imaginative experience into a humiliating ordeal.
- Cyberpredators
Sexual predators and other predators of all kinds may stalk children on the Internet, taking advantage of their innocence, abusing their trust and, perhaps, eventually tricking them into meeting them in person, which turns out to be extremely dangerous. These predators lurk on social networks and gaming sites that attract children (the same virtual playgrounds where most acts of harassment take place). They can exploit children's innocence, but also their imagination. “Pretend play” is a natural part of online gaming and the social interactions that come with it, but predators can use it as a hook to ensnare children.
- Publication of private information
Children do not yet understand the concept of social boundaries. They may post personal information on the Internet, for example on their social media profiles, which should not be visible to everyone. It could be anything from images depicting embarrassing personal moments to their home address.
- Phishing
Without forgetting that a whole section of topics aimed at teenagers highlight dangerous physical feats in Youtube videos, advice on potentially dangerous diets for young people in trendy blogs (such as the phenomenon of the thigh gap) or even incentives to publish compromising self-photos (dediboobs). The desire to be accepted by a group, the marketing of advertisers and crowd training contribute to the diffusion and integration of messages which are not always adapted to the reader. A young person without the necessary perspective will take at face value a video of insults between famous rappers and will seek to imitate them, or will starve themselves to follow an unrealistic beauty trend.
- Accidental malware download
Malware is computer software installed without the victim's knowledge that performs dangerous actions on the computer. This could include stealing personal information from the computer or hacking the computer for use in a botnet, resulting in slower performance. Often, cybercriminals trick people into downloading malware. Phishing is one of them, but there are others (such as convincing victims to download a so-called game) that can be particularly attractive to children.
- Posts that will come back to haunt a child sooner or later
There is no “Delete” button on the Internet. Anything your child posts online will be almost impossible to delete later. But teens, in particular, don't think about how a future employer (or potential spouse) might react to "funny" pictures or other personal content they post on their social media profiles or other websites.
Adult or illegal websites
Between online gambling, drug or weapon sales, torrent sites offering illegal downloading, there are many places on the Internet that are not made for children.
Historically, it was the maturity of online video technologies that allowed the pornography industry to rush into a huge new market and flood the web with adult sites. And even today, porn sites are multiplying like hotcakes. Publishers try at all costs to bring visitors to their site, not hesitating to widely distribute explicit and deliberately misleading advertisements in the promises. At least 8 in 10 children aged 11 to 13 have already seen a pornographic image on the Internet
The Internet can pose risks for children and offer them wonders that previous generations would not have even dreamed of. Make sure your children experience the joys of the virtual world, not its dangers.
Child and telephone: vigilance in the street
Children (and adults!) often forget that calling on a cell phone focuses a lot of their attention. This drop in alertness can be extremely risky, which is why it is imperative to do not use your phone while rollerblading, cycling, or even crossing the street .
The laptop is also a object very popular with thieves .
The best protection: It still remains to push back the age of the first smartphone for a young child who does not yet have the maturity to be able to avoid all its pitfalls
An alternative solution to today's very fashionable smartphones exists, the connected watch for children , it allows you to contact your child at any time, know where they are... and much more
