Parents not talking to children about right online safety issues
PARENTS may be missing out vital
information when they talk to their children about staying safe online, the
NSPCC warns. The NSPCC asked more than 600 primary school children what
information they needed to stay safe online. More than 80% said online privacy
settings on mobile apps and games was a topic they thought their parents should
cover in an online safety conversation. And 54% opted for location settings,
which can prevent sex offenders tracking children.
However, although 80% of parents told the NSPCC in a YouGov poll that they knew
what to say to their child to keep them safe online, only 28% had actually
mentioned privacy settings to them and just 20% discussed location settings. The
charity is now urging parents to make sure their online knowledge is up to date
by checking out its updated Net Aware guide, published.
Among 12 sites that have now been added to the guide are Tapatalk and Pheed,
which many parents may not be familiar with, plus well known games like Call of
Duty that allows users to chat online.
The latest websites, apps and games featured in Net Aware were reviewed by a
panel of parents and all were rated poorly in terms of how easy it was to change
privacy settings, report concerns about abuse or bullying, and find safety
advice. The guide now covers a total of 60 social networking sites, apps and
games popular with children and is free to access
online.
Claire Lilley, NSPCC head of child safety online, said:- "If parents
aren't talking to children about things like privacy settings on social
networking sites it can leave them at risk of online grooming. We've seen
horrendous cases where offenders take a scattergun approach, targeting hundreds
of children at a time online, often posing as another young person.
It's important parents have the knowledge to talk in detail with children about
safety settings. Minecraft is one game that is much safer for children once the
privacy settings have been adjusted. Our updated Net Aware guide is packed with
straightforward advice that will help parents stay up to date with their
children's digital lives."
Following the launch of the NSPCC's online safety campaign in January nearly
400,000 parents have spoken to their children about staying safe online.
However, it seems that many parents have gaps in their online knowledge and
don't talk about the right issues with their children.
For example, Tinder, Facebook Messenger, Yik Yak and Snapchat were all rated as
risky by children, with the main worry being talking to strangers. However, for
the same sites the majority of parents did not recognise that the sites could
enable adults to contact children. Parents tended to worry more about sexual or
violent content or bad language.
The NSPCC is calling for all social networking sites, apps and games used by
children to provide easy ways for children and parents to report abuse, attempts
at grooming or concerns about content.
The charity also wants to see all online accounts for under 16's:-
► Block messages from strangers.
► Prevent users making their location or contact
details public.
► Set profiles as private by default on sign up.
► Alert children to the risks if they choose make their profile public.
