Children’s online safety is critical for raising the next generation of informed, savvy, and well-adjusted internet users. Yet, cybersecurity awareness is a life skill most educational institutions have yet to integrate properly.
It’s up to you as a parent to be aware of the dangers your children may face and prepare them for the challenges of the digital world as best you can. Here are five fundamental lessons to instill in your kids early on to make their online experiences safer, less stressful, and more rewarding.
1. Why It’s Crucial in the First Place
They might become netizens at a far younger age than you did, but that doesn’t mean children automatically grasp the dangers better. Before you can correct that, it’s important to explain why the internet can be dangerous and how protecting oneself helps.
The statistics aren’t encouraging. Research by the Global Cybersecurity Forum uncovered how more than 70% of children experienced one form of cybercrime or another. Worse yet, the number keeps rising. The threats are broad and diverse in magnitude, ranging from harassment through cyberstalking to identity & account theft.
Making your children aware of how their online behavior can have negative consequences is a must. However, you should frame it in a context of empowerment, emphasizing how the child can minimize the risks through positive cybersecurity practices.
2.How to Manage Their Digital Footprint
You may still remember the pre-Facebook times when anonymity and discretion were the norm on the net. The emphasis now is on individual expression and connection, which encourages children to share far too much about themselves online. Since they aren’t aware of the dangers, most of what they share may be publicly available and make it easier for advertisers, hackers, or bullies to track them.
Explain why sharing everything about their personal lives online isn’t a good idea. Have them set all their social media accounts to private and ensure they’re only friends with other children and people you trust.
3.How to Deal with Strangers
A lack of awareness makes children the ideal targets for all kinds of online predators. They’re impressionable and easy to coax into revealing personal information like their real name, location, or account details. Some even go further, pretending to be other children and resorting to other means to get victims to meet with them or send explicit content.
Informing your child of such strangers in an age-appropriate way is the first step. You should also instill a mistrust of strangers who contact them out of nowhere and behave weirdly. If the child is young, restrict their access to devices in communal areas like the living room, kitchen, etc.
You can periodically check their online activities and chats but don’t go too far with this so that they don’t feel exposed or like they have no privacy. Rather, simultaneously foster trust and let them know that it’s okay to share everything with you. Emphasize how they should reach out if they ever feel unsafe or unsure about an online interaction.
4.How to Practice Good Password Hygiene
The internet is a modern child’s playground, meetup spot, learning center, mall, and so much more all rolled into one. All these activities require them to create accounts, which can become weak points if they have unhealthy password habits like reusing the same one for several accounts.
Creating strong passwords is the basis for continued account safety. Each account needs a long, unique password with different letter cases and special characters. Rather than get lost in trying to remember them all or writing them down somewhere, you should set up a password manager for the entire family.
Each member gets their own secure vault to store as many passwords in as they need. The manager can also easily generate and autofill strong passwords as they create new accounts. It works on multiple devices, so everyone’s logins are secure, whether they’re on PC, tablet, or mobile. Password managers also come with two-factor authentication that protects accounts with compromised passwords from being breached.
5.How to Avoid Falling for Scams & Suspicious Links
Innocence and a trusting nature mean children are more likely to fall for the countless scams that plague all the corners of the internet.
Some scammers stalk children’s favorite gaming worlds, offering incredible prizes or promising to help them overcome hurdles while stealing their account details or inventories, which they resell for real money. Others resort to more conventional means like phishing emails, fake social media ads, or pyramid schemes an entrepreneurial but experienced teen might fall for.
Teach your kids about the prevalence of online scams and how to develop the critical thinking skills needed to recognize them. Choose the best data removal services and employ these tools for your child’s information so that your kid receives as little spam or scam messages as possible. Make yourself available for them to express their concerns, and don’t punish them for making mistakes, so they trust you. Show them real-world examples of scams, phishing emails, and other shady activities so they’re easy to recognize and avoid in the future.
