The most important tip for keeping our kids safe on the internet is first and foremost to be aware of the various threats that they can come across while exploring the world wide web. The next important tip would be to keep an open and honest dialogue about the dangers and how they can be an active participant in keeping themselves and the family safe.
The Internet is Forever
Posting to the internet is fun and engaging for people of all ages - but the internet also never forgets. It may be cliche to say - but it is true. Even if a post gets buried by other posts, or you try to remove or delete it - they still exist and can still be found. Making sure that private and personal information is something childrenknow not to post on the internet is important.There really is no delete key for the internet - you can hide, remove or close out accounts - but those posts are still in the history of the internet and still exist.
Some posts can come back to haunt our children when they are adults - it is important they are aware of the timelessness of anything they do on the internet.
- Don’t post personally identifiable information
- First & Last name
- Address
- Phone number
- Don’t have public profiles, keep profiles private
- Don’t share pictures of themselves privately
CyberBullying
Cyberbullying is when someone uses technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, socially ostracize or target another person. It happens on devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, and gaming systems. One in five teens have been a victim of cyberbullying and the length of time that the bullying persists is often much longer than any other form of bullying.
Social Media
Social Media sites like Snapchat, X, and Tiktok all allow children to sign up for an account with parental permission so long as they are at least 13 years of age. It is normal to want to express themselves through social media, but it can leave them exposed to Cyberbullying.
Being aware of how your child is using Social Media and giving them a safe place to be heard if they are experiencing any online negativity is a good place to start in protecting them from Cyberbullying.It is often difficult for children to report cyberbullying to their parents or guardians - for fear of losing access to the device or account that they are experiencing the bullying at - thus being punished for being bullied.
- Let them know it isn’t their fault
- Don’t respond or retaliate against the offender
- Save any evidence (screenshots/logs)
- Report it when you see it
Texting
Similar to social media bullying - text bullying is another form of cyberbullying that is becoming more and more prevalent. This kind of bullying can have devastating consequences on children especially because like social media bullying - they will not often report this kind of bullying to their parents or guardians. Approximately 9 out of 10 teens have a cell phone, and about 1 in 5 will be victims of a text bully.
- They may not know who is the sender
- Don’t respond or retaliate against the offender
- Save any evidence (Screenshots, phone number, text message logs)
- Block the number on the phone
- If it gets serious - contact our Corporate Security department for assistance
Gaming
Like any other Online platform that has some anonymity - people can forget they are dealing with another human being on the other side of the screen. This social distance can make it easier for someone to feel ‘safe’ in being abusive. Be aware of what games your children are playing online and with whom - and establish rules with children with regards to times they can spend online gaming & about safe online behaviour.
When a child is harassed in this way sometimes it is difficult to understand that the situation is not occurring because of the game or type of game they are playing - but because they are being harassed, bullied and ganged up on.
- Tell the player who is bullying to stop.
- Block the player who is bullying from within the game
- Unfriend them on social media and other online communities.
- Report the player who is bullying to the game group, team, platform, community, or developers.
Don’t share your passwords
It is important to teach our childrengood account security habits while they are young. Password sharing is one of the key contributors to account compromisation.When a password is shared between multiple people, there is no way of ensuring it stays secure. Each device that connects using that password is another potential access point to your account & privacy.
Enable 2 factor authentication (2FA) where you can - this is an extra layer of security for your accounts. You can use an authentication software on a mobile device for websites and software; you can use verification SMS or emails.
Password managers are another great tool for keeping the plethora of passwords we use in our online lives organized.Tbaytel does not make any recommendations as to what software to get - and recommends doing research into each to find one that will work for your family.
Be aware of downloading software
When childrenare exploring the world wide web - just as we are - they will come across links to websites that may or may not be legitimate advertising a great new game or service for free. They may not realize that links they click on or free software opportunities can contain malicious or harmful content.
Parental Control/Child Safety software
Parental controls can be added to children’s computers - some are built into the operating system. They can limit screen time, file sharing or requiring parental permission to download and install software.
You can get software to assist in protecting your children from inappropriate content - We recommend doing research into the different Parental Control software available to find one that suits your family’s needs. If you have the ConnectedHome+ modem, in using the TbaytelWifi App - you can enable protections that are age based.