Online child abuse:
Online predators are always looking for their prey. Reporting such accounts and taking measures against these by public, media and companies can be a little effective, but can’t stop such people totally from reaching innocent children, as nowadays different kind of social media platforms are emerging and thus such people get east chances to reach children, especially teenagers who are always curious to explore social media. Not always obscene content is sent personally by the abuser, nowadays such content is easily available in the online world and your child can easily reach to it.
But what can we do? As a parent/ teacher/ elder of a child, one should educate and aware the child about such activities on social media and take some important steps to save the minor from getting victimized.
? Maintain dialogue with your child about his/her daily activities.
? Be more understanding so that the child doesn’t hesitate to inform anything to you.
? Tell your child about the rights and wrongs, tell what is permissable and right, inform them what is appropriate for their age and what is not. Deal with it sensitively as the child may ask many questions, answer each of them keeping in mind the maturity level of the child.
? Share your views about pros and cons of everything (social media in this case) and cultivate the environment of awareness.
?Teach your child to not post anything bad/offensive/abusive about anyone and not to participate in such activities online as it can affect the other person badly.
? Put healthy restrictions on the use of technology.
? Know your kid’s online world. Check their postings and the websites/platforms child visits, and be aware of how they spend their time online.
? Talk to them about the importance of privacy especially on Social media and what is the limit for sharing photos, ideas, thoughts, address or whereabouts when out and about in the internet.
? Educate them about the need to put strong passwords and why is it important not to share it with anyone.
Very well articulated post!