Tips on using the internet safely

By Our Special Correspondent

Children are curious at a young age to experiment and to know new things and try out different new things. Teaching children to use the internet safely is very important due to pandemics. The mode of learning has changed and they are using the internet frequently and they need to be aware of the pros and cons of a particular website, app and gaming platform.

The internet has become an integral part of our daily lives. For instance, India had 755 million internet users in 2021 , and many of these internet users are kids. The problem, however, is that not all parents understand how important it is to supervise the internet usage of their kids. Due to the fact that many younger kids don’t understand the risks associated with visiting unfamiliar websites or sharing personal information, they can be vulnerable to dangers such as identity theft and cyber bullying. Fortunately, there are several simple ways you can help protect your children from these dangers while still allowing them to enjoy using the internet.

Many dangers can be seen in the online platform, identify theft and Trojans can get into the private information this can happen while playing a game or while using any websites, Cyber-bullying is another danger, they are prone to get harassed by someone and at the risk of open challenges which can be life-threatening and they can get bullied and threatened by someone unknown or known.

It’s no secret that today’s youth has an increasingly robust relationship with technology, but what is less understood is how much time young people spend on non-school-related computer tasks like gaming, video calls and social media. According to a recent study by Common Sense Media (CSM), 84% of teens have their own mobile phone or tablet, while 74% of teens have their own device.In case of cyber bullying or an incident of inappropriate content online, be familiar with the school and other local reporting mechanisms, keeping the number of support help lines and hotlines handy.

Don't forget that there's no need for children to share pictures of themselves or other personal information to access digital learning.