Safety First

Cyber safety for children

Cynthia Sheeley
Posted 10/12/23

Children are now raised in a world of technology. Unlike older generations, most will not know a time when their lives were not impacted by technology in some way.

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Safety First

Cyber safety for children

Posted

TORRINGTON – Technology can be a useful tool to provide better access to information and foster new skills, but it can also carry serious risks, especially for children. While technology can be good, the cyber world can pose many dangers to children who don’t know how to recognize them. 

Children are now raised in a world of technology. Unlike older generations, most will not know a time when their lives were not impacted by technology in some way. 

“Technology is something that kids are much more comfortable with than their parents are,” Chief of Police Matt Johnson told the Telegram in an interview discussing cyber safety. “I think we’re slowly moving away from that generational standpoint where we have parents that are now young enough to be fairly comfortable with technology. But in most cases, a kid with a cell phone is more competent and comfortable with a cell phone than their parents are.”

However, unlike adults, children do not have the tools to navigate the cyber world. They do not have the proper tools to safeguard them against the dangers. They develop these tools by either experiences or learning from the adults around them. 

“When you’re talking about cyber threats or even scam threats, you look at two overall categories, exploitive and financial,” Johnson said. “From the standpoint of talking about our young people, specifically teenagers, we’re really more concerned about the exploitive threats.”

If a child falls victim to an exploitive threat, most of the time they are convinced to engage in mature conversation and then to share inappropriate photos. In some cases, this person is someone the child knows, however, in most online cases it is not. These people, or predators, then share the explicit photos with others. 

In some situations, these incidents will then turn into financial threats called catfishing. When this happens, the person blackmails the child with the inappropriate content. They then threaten them that if they don’t pay them, they will share the images with their family. 

The major problems that have led to this threat, are the accessibility provided with cell phones and other technology and the fact that certain behaviors have been normalized. 

As Johnson pointed out, 15 to 20 years ago junior and high school students didn’t text inappropriate photos to people. The technology simply didn’t allow it. In theory, someone could have taken a photo on a Polaroid camera and given it to someone that way, but the potential consequence wasn’t the same. 

In addition, the idea of having online friends, whom you have never met, was unthinkable. The closest people got to the idea was pen pals. 

“The kids I talk to today have more electronic friends than they have face to face, flesh and blood friends,” Johnson said. “When I was a kid, we would have never considered having a friend that we couldn’t see face to face or talk on the phone with.”

Another issue is the intentional and unintentional sharing of information with strangers. Without understanding the risks, children will often share their age, address and contact information. Certain devices will also share exact locations and steal other information. In the wrong hands, any of this information can be dangerous. 

“All of these things start to stack up to a place where our kids are more and more risk now than they have ever been, from an online safety/cyber threat standpoint,” Johnson explained. “I think the number one thing that parents need to know is that their kids are at risk. Unfettered access to any electronic device is probably not good for any of us, but it’s especially not good for kids.”

“To me, it’s the equivalent of a kiddo being loose in traffic, like running across the busy four-lane road,” he continued. “It’s a different type of risk, but still has the potential of causing a lifelong emotional wound or lifelong trauma.”

Johnson said just like we teach children how to cross the street safely, parents also must teach their children how to use technology safely. A cell phone in a kid’s hand can be just as dangerous as it can be useful. 

“We can’t just give kiddos that much responsibility and that much autonomy all at once,” Johnson said. 

Instead, he suggested that parents take certain steps when introducing devices to their children. These steps typically include no devices, different levels of parental locks and then eventually full access. These steps can help keep children safe until they have developed the proper tools to navigate the cyber world and a complete awareness of its dangers. 

“It’s really hard for our younger folks to believe that there are bad guys out there because they haven’t experienced that,” Johnson said. “They haven’t seen some of the really awful things that happen in the world. It’s a little sad to say, but as we grow up, we get those experiences and become more jaundiced, critical and suspicious.”

In his opinion and from cyber safety resources, Johnson suggested that parents have an honest conversation with their kids. Explain to them the dangers and tell them, “We love you too much, to turn you loose in a place where you can get hit by a truck.”

“[Create more of a partnership] and talk to kids honestly about what things you can see as risks,” he said. “Give examples [from real news stories]. It’ll help them see the full picture.”

As they gain more knowledge, understanding and maturity, begin to release the reins little bit by bit. Most of all, be honest with them about their boundaries and why they are in place. Just telling a teenager that they aren’t allowed to do something ‘because I said so,’ isn’t going to be compelling in the long run.

It is also important that children are taught proper conduct for communicating online, to help reduce online bullying. As a result of the anonymity and the lack of accountability, it is common for people to say things they normally wouldn’t do on social media. 

“We can convince ourselves that almost anything is right when we’re anonymous and not accountable,” Johnson said. “When we’re having conversations with kids about this topic, that’s one of the biggest things we need to talk about. We should make them think about what their behavior is doing to the person on the other end.”

Another risk to discuss is the danger of following or doing trends on social media for likes and follows. 

Furthermore, parents should remember to be good role models for their kids and demonstrate healthy habits with technology.

“I would just encourage parents to keep fighting the fight,” Johnson said. “Because ultimately, that’s what keeps kids safe and will help them get to adulthood without having visible and invisible injuries that will go with them for the rest of their lives.”