Monitoring children’s digital behavior…a task that exhausts parents

Parents complained about the difficulty of monitoring their children’s activities on the Internet, while the Cyber ​​Security Council announced that it had provided a guide to help parents determine the controls for using all devices and protect their children from harmful content.

In detail, parents of children of different ages: Ahmed Essam, Samir Hanna, Amal Youssef, Hanaa Mahmoud, confirmed that they face difficulty in understanding the ways in which they can support their children and provide them with safe, organized and healthy activity on the Internet, especially in their early years. In addition to their (parents) lack of understanding of the expected threats and potential risks resulting from their children’s use of the Internet and electronic games, such as cyberbullying and abuse, and ways to properly deal with it and report it, they attributed this to their weakness in using technology, and their inability Differentiating between programs, and how to adjust settings for using different applications.

The parents: Rami Wehbe, Maan Rashid, Heba Arafa, and Lamia Sabry, indicated that the child is no longer surrounded by protection from his family members as he was before, due to the intrusion of technology, which directly affected the family bond that formed a strong network to protect the child, and relationships with Strangers are easier, which has made children more vulnerable, and access to any unsafe materials has become much easier, calling for the necessity of providing training and education courses for parents on ways to monitor their children’s activities on the Internet, to protect them from exposure to any Abuse or violation.

They pointed out that they are only good at traditional follow-up methods, such as checking phone records, text messages, Facebook and WhatsApp messages, to find out the people they are communicating with, and the form of the relationship with them, and also checking the photos that the child takes of himself, and to Who sends it?

For its part, the Cybersecurity Council – as part of its awareness campaign on its social media accounts “Parental Education and Control” – confirmed that it provided what it described as “an easy guide to setting up parental control tools,” with the aim of helping parents determine the controls for using all devices, and protecting their children from content. harmful and dangerous features, controlling screen time, and securing all settings with special passcodes, stressing the importance of parents being keen to protect their children’s digital world, while encouraging them to engage in activities outside the Internet, and preserving Open dialogue channels with them about how to stay safe online.

The Council pointed out that iOS devices are controlled by activating the Screen Time feature to restrict the use of applications, filter electronic content, and set usage limits easily, while Android devices are controlled through Google Play settings that allow For family personalization control apps, games and media with a secure PIN.

He stated that Windows devices make it easy to manage a child’s account through Microsoft Family Safety to adjust screen time and use applications.

The Council identified seven tips to protect children’s digital presence, which included setting limits for use on digital devices, applications and platforms, preventing access to harmful or age-inappropriate content, blocking specific sites or applications, or preventing the use of certain features such as cameras or making purchases, and setting specific times. To use devices, prevent access to them after these times, protect parental control settings using strong passwords, and open dialogue channels with children about online safety, in addition to supporting offline activities to ensure a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

The Cyber ​​Security Council warned of the increasing danger of phishing messages targeting families, calling for caution against fake text messages, increasing awareness of the means and indicators of detecting them, and protecting family members from phishing attacks and breaching their privacy, pointing out that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting families, from Through fake text messages, they pretend to be trustworthy sources, which requires verifying messages, avoiding unknown links, and installing security software.

While the Early Childhood Authority pointed out the possibility of children being exposed to danger on the Internet, it explained that the problem is that the majority of parents do not have sufficient knowledge about the risks that their children face in this world, which include producing and distributing offensive images and materials, and grooming the child through games and applications. electronic, and his exposure to offensive, inappropriate and violent material.

Through the “Guide to Protecting Children from the Dangers of the Internet in Early Childhood,” it identified eight forms or images to describe child abuse on the Internet in different ways, the first of which is threat or harassment, then online grooming, as well as sexual exploitation and cyberbullying.

The list of forms of electronic abuse of a child included communicating with him in a sexual context, forcing him to perform a sexual act, in addition to showing inappropriate images or video clips to the child and of a sexual or violent nature. Finally, the child can be exposed to harm again if evidence of his abuse is recorded or uploaded to the Internet. , or shared, causing repeated shocks.

It is worth noting that the statistics included in the guide showed an increase in the rates of Internet use in the country, especially social networking sites, which recorded a usage rate of 98.98% of the population, accompanied by a significant increase in the use and participation of more children in activities on the Internet.

Parents:

. We require training courses to learn how to monitor our children’s online activities, to protect them from any abuse or violation.

“Cybersecurity”:

. A guide to tracking children’s online activities, and securing application settings with special passcodes.