Photos of students returning to school, mobile phone risks, and threats parents should recognize and avoid
As the new school year approaches, parents are reminded to take extra precautions to ensure their children's online safety. According to Stephen Balkam, the founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, this involves carefully managing social media postings and adjusting phone settings to minimize exposure to personal information and online risks.
Social Media Safety
To secure children's online safety, it's important to avoid posting photos that reveal identifiable details such as full names, school names, grades, teacher's names, ages, or visible house numbers and neighborhood landmarks. These can be used by predators to locate or contact the child.
Setting children’s social media profiles to private is another essential step. By doing so, only approved friends or followers can see content and personal details. Additionally, configuring settings to restrict friend/follower requests to mutual contacts, require approval for tagging, and turn off location sharing on posts can help protect children from potential harm.
Monitoring the child’s social media use by reviewing who they follow, who follows them, and their chat messages is also crucial. This can help detect any signs of cyberbullying or inappropriate interactions.
Phone Settings and Online Activity
Using parental control apps or built-in device controls to block access to inappropriate content and monitor app permissions, especially camera, microphone, and location access, is essential. Turning off or restricting direct messaging functions so children only communicate with known contacts can also help protect them from potential risks.
Educating children about the risks of sharing personal information or inappropriate photos is also crucial. This includes the dangers of sexting and how such content can be misused. Regularly checking chat histories and friend lists, fostering open communication about online experiences, and encouraging children to report any uncomfortable interactions can help ensure their safety.
In summary, protecting children's online safety on the first day of school involves limiting personal details shared on social media, setting strict privacy controls, monitoring online interactions, and using parental controls on devices to guard against cyberbullying, predators, and privacy breaches.
John Shumway, a General Assignment Reporter at KDKA-TV Morning News, emphasizes the importance of keeping children's information as private as possible on social media. Predators and scammers are known to troll the internet for potential victims, and sharing full names, school names, addresses, teacher names, and sending photos to the world can put children at risk.
Parents should also explain to their children that they are keeping an eye out for their safety and that they should be vigilant against bullying, both in school and online. Bullying can occur online as well as in school, and parents should be vigilant to ensure their children's safety both physically and digitally.
Balkam suggests limiting information to a child's first name and keeping photo distribution to family and friends. The new school year is an opportunity to reset family social media expectations and rules. By following these guidelines, parents can help ensure their children's online safety during their first day of school and beyond.
