What should parents do to protect their children from online risks?

Mr. Sean O'Grady, Head of Trust and Safety Policy at the US technology company Pocket Worlds, and a former employee in the field of online safety at TikTok, said that children should not replace their real world with online experiences.

Sean O'Grady has become increasingly concerned about both the wonderful potential and the potential dangers of the Internet, online games and apps. The Internet is a vast ocean, full of inspiration and wonder, but also full of potential dangers. Navigating the Internet is not easy, it requires caution and knowledge to ensure safety in a complex digital environment.

Sean O'Grady recognises that digital safety is a big responsibility, requiring both education and active involvement from parents. Here are some tips on how parents can help children and young people stay safe while exploring the online world.

Nurturing resilience in children

It is the process of helping children develop the skills and qualities needed to face difficulties, failures, and pressures in life in a positive way. When children are resilient, they will be more confident, more optimistic, and have the ability to overcome challenges to achieve success.

Many people want their children to stay away from online games completely because they believe it is the safest. However, Sean O'Grady does not think this is really possible. Banning screen time completely could leave children and teenagers behind in modern society.

Instead of banning, we should focus on helping children develop resilience. Talk openly with your children about potential dangers online, just as we warn them about dangers in real life.

Equip your child with digital literacy and stress that bullying or negative behaviour online is unacceptable. Also, remind them that if they encounter anything that makes them uncomfortable, whether online or offline, they can always come to you for a listening ear and support.

Don't let the online world take away from the real world.

Parents need to understand how online games and activities affect their teens' real lives, both psychologically, in terms of habits, and daily responsibilities.

As online games become increasingly complex, with rich content, engaging graphics, and social interaction features, it's understandable that kids are drawn to them.

Teens can lose track of their time when playing games, especially games with constant “achievements” or “challenges,” making it difficult for them to put their screens down. This can lead to missed time for school, family, or important extracurricular activities.

Additionally, being too immersed in the virtual world can make it easy for children to neglect real-life responsibilities, such as doing homework, helping with housework, or maintaining real-life relationships.

Therefore, parents need to not only monitor the time their children spend on online activities, but also talk to them about the balance between entertainment and responsibility. This helps children become more aware of the impact of games on their daily lives and develop more reasonable time-use habits.

Discuss aboutanonymityin the online world

In the past, anonymity was virtually non-existent, as everyone playing the game was sitting right next to each other on the couch, sharing the same screen and the same physical space. Today, with the development of technology and the Internet, online anonymity has gone beyond anything that early gamers could have imagined.

Because of this anonymity, it is extremely important to educate children about the risks involved. Explain to them that online anonymity can lead to negative behaviors such as harassment, exploitation, or spreading misinformation.

When a person feels “invisible” online, they may be motivated to say or do things they would never dare to do in real life. This includes bullying, using hateful language, or deliberately hurting others.

Parents should help their children understand that not everyone online is trustworthy, and that anonymity can hide many bad intentions. At the same time, encourage children to maintain respect and honesty when communicating online, and remind them that they can always come to their parents if they feel uncomfortable or encounter unusual situations online.

Discuss the cost of gaming

Nowadays, gamers can use real money to buy accessories, items, or upgrades in online games. However, these seemingly harmless transactions not only affect real-world finances but also pose the risk of manipulation or fraud.

Please remind children that all in-game purchases must be made through the app's official channels, and never transact directly with other users.

Also, teach children about the importance of keeping personal information private by never sharing credit card details, passwords, or any information that could be exploited, such as security questions related to pet names or birthdays.

By guiding children to be careful with transactions in the virtual world, parents not only protect their assets but also help children build safe thinking skills in the digital environment.

Take timeLearn, install, and monitor how your child uses it

Any child protection measures, no matter how advanced and effective, are useless if parents don’t actively use them. These tools only work if we actually take the time to understand them, install them, and monitor their use.

Take, for example, the parental control features on YouTube Kids. The platform offers a variety of useful options, allowing parents to limit the content their children can access, set usage times, and even moderate the channels or videos their children are allowed to watch.

However, to get the most out of these measures, parents need to invest some initial time in setting them up. This can include creating individual profiles for each child, adjusting options to suit their age and habits, and regularly checking for changes in recommended content.

Although this process requires effort and patience, the benefits are worth it. It not only helps protect children from inappropriate content but also builds a healthy digital environment that supports children's development in a safe way. More importantly, it also shows the active role of parents in accompanying their children in the digital world.

Use resources tosupport you

Raising children in the digital age, where they are constantly online, is becoming increasingly complex and challenging. Parents are faced with not only managing their children’s screen time, but also addressing issues such as inappropriate content, the risk of online abuse, and the impact of social media on children’s mental health. However, the good news is that parents do not have to go it alone.

Many organizations and think tanks are working to reduce online risks at a systemic level. Major tech platforms are improving safety policies, implementing parental controls, and using artificial intelligence to monitor, detect, and restrict harmful content.

At the same time, nonprofits and educational organizations are also stepping in, providing resources, workshops, and guides to help families learn about online safety.

In addition, many social movements and awareness campaigns have also emerged to call on technology companies to take more responsibility in protecting young users.

From creating child-friendly digital spaces to promoting digital education initiatives in schools, support from these organizations helps take the pressure off parents to protect their children from online dangers.

This shows that, although raising children in the online world has many challenges, with the cooperation between parents, organizations, and technology platforms, we can absolutely create a safer and healthier digital environment for the younger generation.