You probably heard from other parents that the internet is a dangerous place for kids. Yes and No. Internet if approached correctly can bring enormous and positive benefits to your child’s knowledge and development. Why the internet is dangerous for kids actually has to do with the fact that bad guys can easily hide their identify and have easy access to your kids online, without even knocking on your front door.
Here I will outline some of the dangers your kids may encounter on the internet.
Cyberbullying is when another child or teen on the internet is harassing your child. Similar to the bullying that happen in school, the only difference is all the bullying activity is happening online with your child staying in their room. The other child or teen can humiliate, threaten, and embarrass your child using harsh words, offensive photos that can affect your child’s self-esteem, or simply calling them names.
This is when a sexual predators try to lure your kids into offline meetings by using persuasive tactics online. They can sometimes offer gifts to your kids (usually something that you can’t afford or refuse to buy for your kids), try to show them something they don’t have (raises their anxiety and interest level), or offering them cash advance for a promised job. Once you kids defenses are low, their anxiety and interest level are high, there is high probability that they may consider meeting the predators offline. Other parents may not be able to give you specific examples why the internet is dangerous for kids, they just tell you that “the internet is dangerous, keep your child away from it”.
Cyberstalking is when the stalker relentlessly pursuing their victim online and is much more likely lead to some offline attacks. When the attacks moved from online to offline, this is where the situation gets more serious as they can include some form of physical contacts. Therefore, it is always crucial for your child not to reveal any personal identifiable information to anyone online. This include your home address, their school name and places where they hang out often.
These are just few examples of why the internet is dangerous for kids. Apart of guiding your kids to behave online, you may also want to consider taking additional measure in order to stay more vigilant. One of the effective approach most parents take today is to install a parental control software. Net Nanny Parental Control software is one such software and has the ability to block unwanted and harmful sites from reaching your children.
Click here to learn more about Net Nanny Parental Control software now and start protect your kids safety online.