4 tips to protect children in a risky online environment-Information Technology

Besides convenience and practicality, today’s online environment has many potential pitfalls and risks affecting children’s development..

According to Kaspersky telemetry results, in the first half of 2020, along with the increase in online education and communication activities during the pandemic, nearly 40% of Vietnamese children use social media. online such as social networks and messaging applications; 38% access a variety of software, songs and videos online.

However, besides convenience and practicality, today’s online environment has many potential pitfalls and risks affecting children’s development.

Children use social networks more and more. (Illustration)

Another study from Kaspersky shows that more and more people are taking advantage of the anonymity of the digital world. The anonymous feature is being used the most in Southeast Asia with 35% of users, followed by South Asia with 28% and Australia with 20%. Among these, the social network with the most anonymous users is Facebook (accounting for 70%).

“Online anonymity allows individuals to freely pursue their interests and exercise freedom of expression. However, anonymity also makes it easier for bad actors to manipulate, harass, threats in cyberspace. And children are among the most vulnerable,” warned Kaspersky.

With the goal of raising awareness about network safety as well as using skills Internet Effective for parents and students, the program “Students with Information Security 2022” was co-organized by the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA), AIS, the Children’s Department (under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs), Department of Student Affairs (under the Ministry of Education and Training).

This program has a contest on the same topic that has attracted nearly 600,000 students from 6,000 secondary schools across the country to participate. Thanks to its practical meanings, this program is considered as a “Digital Vaccine” for children to protect themselves and grow safely and healthily in the digital space.

Workshop “Students with information security”.

During a seminar of the program, Kaspersky experts shared a lot of useful information with parents and schools around the topic of protecting children online. Mr. Ngo Tan Vu Khanh – Director of Kaspersky Vietnam assessed that today, children are born with smartphones in their hands, and today’s parents are raising their children in a world. very different from their parents’ time.

“The online world is full of lessons, information and fun. If used correctly, it can bring huge benefits to children. However, parents also need to be aware. about the harm that can happen to children and young people when they are caught up in the complex online world without proper counseling, guidance and supervision,” warned Mr. Khanh.

Some effective and safe ways to raise children in the digital world:

– Accompany children with an open and understanding spirit, instead of prohibition. Have a responsible conversation with your child about the benefits and risks of participating in cyberspace so that he or she is free to experiment to the extent allowed and draw his or her own lessons.

Discuss with your child about social media time to balance other physical activities. Be a good example. Practice what you preach so your children believe and understand that you only want to protect them.

– Learn about your children’s social media posts and the friends they communicate with and prevent them from accessing unsafe websites by restricting a specific category. This can be considered an effective tool in guiding and accompanying children to explore the online world safely and effectively.

– Choose a comprehensive security tool and solution to help protect children from cyber threats. Typically, with Kaspersky Safe Kids solution, parents can manage access time, as well as monitor their children’s online activities when using computers, tablets or smartphones. In addition, the SafeSearch feature on YouTube will help limit search results that are not age-appropriate, such as drug-related content, adult content.