Introduction
Internet is a boundless space that provides an opportunity to gain knowledge, acquaintances, skills, and abilities which one does not possess at this life stage. Access technologies are enhancing, and the variety of content is constantly growing. Therefore, numerous people of different ages are becoming active users. Especially for children, social networks have become a whole world, as meaningful as the real one. Communicating with friends, browsing themed publishers, learning, and entertainment are inextricably linked with the worldwide web. Moreover, gadgets are the only means to learn due to the pandemic, and screen time has doubled. Unfortunately, in addition to valuable resources and content, the Internet is a place for aggression, sexual harassment, cheaters, addictions, and malware.
Therefore, restricting Internet access is a pressing issue and a challenge for parents and educational institutions. A kid at an early age cannot critically assess the array of data. Therefore, parental control is an essential restriction of some device functions to protect the child from disfavored content and applications and limit time spent at the screen. Rules help the youngsters make the enormous world predictable and safe, allowing them to build boundaries to feel comfortable. Every parent should control their children’s actions on the Internet because it is a way to protect them and make sure the Internet will not have a negative influence on a child’s forming personality.
Statistics of Children’s and Parent’s Internet Experience
There is a lot of valuable and exciting information on the Internet, and if handled properly, the World Wide Web can serve a kid’s most satisfactory welfare. However, according to a recent interview concerning gadgets, parents do not comprehend how to keep their children safe online. Meanwhile, 84% of them are concerned about the threats their youngster may encounter on social media (Cribb et al. 1770). The number of people addicted to virtual life is growing, and no one understands how to counteract this issue. Statistics reveal that 90 percent of juveniles ages 7 to 12 worldwide use smartphones and tablets with Internet access (Cribb et al. 1770). Parents worry about the numerous online hazards; however, most of them believe it is immoral to deprive children of the opportunity to go online.
Adults do not know how to interfere in a child’s personal space without losing trust, and most of them do not take any measures. Inactivity causes issues to worsen, and according to the interview, in 60% of families, kids have faced online threats or witnessed them (Cribb et al. 1770). In most cases, these incidents included violent materials and Internet addiction. Moreover, 13% were victims of bullying, and 14% suffered from data theft (Cribb et al. 1770). The number of cases when young people disclose their personal data is multiplying. Intruders, who frequently pretend to be other people and rub the children’s trust, operate this information for illegal purposes. Online threats are a fundamental safety issue, and youngsters cannot respond to such severe concerns on their own; therefore, adult intervention is crucial.
There are numerous further threats and dangers that Internet users can encounter. For example, intrusive advertising is a hardship, as there are countless stories of children spending a fortune on mobile app purchases without their parents’ permission. These incidents indicate that the World Wide Web can be operated diversely, and some of its functions are dangerous. Nevertheless, there is an opinion that the virtual world is a necessity as it is a primary source of helpful information, allowing to expand the child’s horizons (Shaji and Sebastian 133). It may indeed be considered valid, but it does not deprive adults of the responsibility for their children’s online activities. Parents are liable for the safety of children on the Net and therefore are obliged to control and expand their knowledge in this field constantly.
Studies have demonstrated that the younger generation spends many hours online uncontrollably. While the average parent expends only 46 minutes talking about online safety – and that is during all the years of a youngster’s childhood (Cribb et al. 1770). No matter what the kids are doing – whether they go to a sports club, learn to read, or work on an art project. They are always under the supervision of an experienced mentor, who guarantees that the kids are comprehensively aware of their actions. The exact approach is necessary when youngsters reach the virtual world. Parents should constantly monitor what children are doing on the Internet and manage their activities properly. It is equally significant to instruct children to take the virtual world exclusively as seriously as the real one.
Parents Control Applications
Parents worry that their children might be victims of phishing, doxing, or other malicious intent. Therefore, every effort should be made to protect youngsters from online threats. An effective cybersecurity system that filters content monitors app usage, and warns of potential hazards can be beneficial. Special applications for parental control on the Internet are designed to create a safe space for juveniles. They enable to leave free access only to those categories of appropriate sites for a particular age. Programs do not reduce the functionality of the devices and usually allow for individual settings. For example, one can prohibit access to specific content or Internet resources (Shaji and Sebastian 133). It may include profanity, sex scenes, violence, and information about drugs or gambling. Moreover, parents control applications enable control of the amount of screen time, location of the child, and the battery level on their devices. With the support of such programs, adults receive notifications about what the kids have Googled, what sites they have visited, and who wants to add them as a friend on social networks.
However, despite all the possibilities of parental control, software solitary is not enough. If a child’s behavior has altered after going online unsupervised, even the most advanced technology is no substitute for a trusted dialogue. Parents must not neglect regular conversations with children about the rules of behavior on the Internet and online threats (Tajuddin et al. 57). If one notices that the youngster is reticent after being online (or overly excited and irritable), something terrible has probably occurred to him – and it is worth talking about it. The role of a face-to-face dialogue cannot be overestimated. Knowledge is a power, and a parent must keep their children safe in the virtual and real worlds and make them aware of possible hazards.
Dependence of Age and Control Levels
It is evident that there are numerous methods to hurt the juvenile on the Internet, and parental multilateral intervention is critical. However, the degree of adult involvement in a minor’s online life should vary depending on the latter’s age. Children have often been introduced to the first gadget at the age of three, and it is apparent that the participation of parents in the online life of the baby is enormous. All actions are performed by adults, who limit the functionality of the gadgets and thus guarantee protection (Tajuddin et al. 57). Explaining the finer points of online safety with young children has several peculiarities. It is impossible to get them interested in the intricacies of cybersecurity. Therefore, it is enough to explain to kids that adults comprehend how to use gadgets better, and their only desire is to help and save them from inappropriate things.
As kids get older, they will show more reasonable gadget skills, and they will not need adult help anymore. By this time (age 6-7), online safety should be familiar in every family (Soh 232). If parents talk about rules of safe behavior on the Internet regularly, the child will treat this topic the same as discussing rules of conduct on the street, in the subway, and at shopping malls. It is essential to be interested in what the child is doing on his smartphone, discuss his claims, and try to make sense of modern culture, blogging what modern youngsters live by.
Parental involvement in children’s online activities depends significantly on numerous factors, such as the attitudes and rules of a specific family and the age of the children. Whereas one principle is valuable to all: the older a child gets, the fewer control zones mom and dad have. Over time, the most significant thing becomes how much the kids trust parents, whether they will turn to them for help in a challenging situation, and whether they are able to make the proper decision themselves. This is why it is vital to maintain a balance between parental authority and the personal boundaries of young users (Soh 232). It is crucial to control and limit youngsters’ actions at the proper time, and then they will be able to understand which activities on the Internet are allowed and which are harmful.
The Internet allows one to get tons of information in an instant. However, there is also the other side of the coin – the content on the web is not always intended for the youth’s psyche, and parents need to take measures. It would be sufficient if they would not maniacally control all of the child’s social networks, especially reading the correspondence. The older the son or daughter is, the more acutely they perceive the invasion of personal space (Soh 232). Excessive control over safety on the web can alienate children from parents. It is significant to build a relationship on trust, teach the rules of safe online behavior and follow them. Keeping kids safe online is essential, but one has to be realistic. No one can ever create a magic bubble and protect kids from everything immoral. Eventually, children on the Internet will encounter disfavored content, scary movies, and trauma. It is necessary to control their activities, but doing it in a manner that enables them to assess their actions in the future independently.
Control over Video Games
Parents must be able to keep in touch with their children, not let them drift away, and behave appropriately as youngsters are quick to recognize double standards. Adults may need to be firm in restricting access to violent materials since some children like them the best (Soh 232). Although there is often no connection between observing brutality on the Internet and being violent in real life, inappropriate adult graphics and themes may still resonate emotionally with the child, causing nightmares, fears, and anxiety. Moreover, teens are often addicted to online multiplayer games. They can play with friends and meet new people with similar interests anywhere.
In these cases, parents should remind their children to be careful when sharing personal information to keep track of what times they are playing. Some games take place in different time zones, which can mean that a teenager is playing at a time when he should be sleeping. When kids and teens spend a lot of time playing games, they spend less time doing slower, more time-consuming tasks like reading books or doing homework. Video games are not suitable for development, and every adult should limit the time to play so that the child can accomplish more valuable things.
Conclusion
Nowadays, kids learn to use the Internet almost before they are able to talk. Therefore, it is natural that parents want to limit their children from viewing undesired content. Adults need to be sure that youngsters will not be in danger while letting them out on their journey through the expanses of the world wide web. Only constant parental supervision can guarantee children’s safety on the Internet. Therefore, parents should have an opportunity to control their kids’ activities and teach the rules of proper Internet use. If all family members are aware of the potential risks, they will be able to use all the advantages of the technologies without threatening safety. The level of control may vary at various periods of maturation, but it is nonetheless the principal guarantee of the child’s protection.
Works Cited
Cribb, Serena, Lorcan Kenny, and Elizabeth Pellicano. “‘I Definitely Feel more in Control of Children Life’: The Interviews of Young People and their Parents on Gadgets Control.” Journal of Contemporary Issues and Thought, vol. 23, no. 7, 2019, pp. 1765-1781.
Shaji, Maria, and Thara Sebastian. “Parental Mediation of Adolescents’ Internet Use.” International Journal of Behavioral Sciences, vol. 14, no. 3, 2020, pp. 131-135.
Soh, Patrick. “Parents vs Peers’ Influence on Teenagers’ Internet Addiction and Risky Online Activities.” Telematics and Informatics, vol. 35, no. 1, 2018, pp. 225-236.
Tajuddin, Jaslina Mohd, Raden Ajeng Kartini Nazam Nazam, and Sharifah Dayana Al-Sahab Wan Abu. “Challenges of Online Learning Faced by Working Parents in Urban Areas.” Journal of Contemporary Issues and Thought vol. 12, no. 1, 2022, pp. 55-64.