Back to school time: good digital practices for your children

The start of the new school year is the ideal time to take some good new habits on board – including online. Don’t be afraid to talk to your children about the risk they run when using their devices – and remember to mention the harmful attitudes they might unwittingly have with regard to others: most of the time kids are simply not aware of the effect their acts can have on others.

Here’s a list of advice to enable your child to understand the basics of good, safe practices online:

• Limit their interaction on social media to real friends and refuse requests from people they don’t know.
• Don’t share details that are too personal, such as a telephone number, home address or what parents do for a living.
• Switch off the geolocation feature on their smartphone, especially for social media.
• Think carefully before sharing a photo - particularly if other people are in the shot.
• Don’t get dragged into accepting challenges in order to ‘big note’ themselves and show others that they exist.
• Always remember that “the web never forgets” and that, despite appearances, there is no such thing as anonymity.

Depending on your child’s age, there may be other problems that they have to deal with, too: illegal downloads, plagiarism, pornography, etc. You will find more detailed information by clicking on the link below.