Kaspersky’s new Safe Kids study has recommended five important steps that will help parents ensure their children have a positive online experience.
This is coming as Kaspersky believes that modern children grow up with gadgets in their hands from a very young age, which allows them to adapt to the digital space and master new technologies much faster.
For instance, TikTok has become one of the main trendsetters among children in a short time and continues to keep their attention. At the same time, YouTube hasn’t lost ground and remains the leader in popularity among children, in part due to the huge variety of videos, ranging from ‘let-plays’, documenting the playthrough of a video game, to educational lectures and clips.
“Understanding and analysing the interests of children on the Internet helps us to pay attention to the issue of safety. By knowing what kind of music a child listens to, who their favorite bloggers are or what games they play, parents can strengthen their trusted relations with kids. For instance, they could film a TikTok video together. This will also let parents help their kids to protect themselves from potential hazards online,” comments Anna Larkina, web content analysis expert at Kaspersky.
The five recommendations are:
- Learn more about your children’s interests.
- Surf and learn together. See where children spend their time online and explore how to best keep them safe.
- Explain that sensitive information should only be shared via messengers and only with people they know in real life.
- Consider downloading parental control apps and discuss this topic with your child to explain how such apps work and why they need them to stay safe online.
- Spend more time communicating with children about online safety measures. Tell your children what must not, under any circumstances, be published on the Internet and why.