My daughter is nine-years old and has never known a world without wifi. The first thing she asked after we booked a holiday to Portugal last year was “does the hotel have wifi?”
Two years ago she used YouTube while writing her letter to Father Christmas. She didn’t want to put down a Lego set unless she had watched some video reviews to make sure other children found it fun.
I was blown away and secretly proud that without any help she had discovered how the internet can do clever things like help you choose presents.
We have had chats about internet safety but as she doesn’t have a Facebook or Twitter account issues like privacy or sharing information haven’t come up. In the back of mind I remember Facebook having a minimum age of 13 but had never thought about other sites having similar recommended minimum ages.
The NSPCC’s Net Aware guide
A few weeks ago the NSPCC asked me to check out their updated Net Aware guide which helps parents like me understand what their children are doing online and help us talk to our children about the online world. The site has a simple layout so you simply type in the name of the social network, app or game and a load of easy-to-understand advice appears.
NSPCC research suggests that although many parents are talking to their children there may be an element of false confidence; that they have covered everything but in fact missed out some key elements such as privacy settings on games and the new social networks that young people are frequently using like video chat sites.
My daughter watches Minecraft videos on YouTube and, at times, I have heard swearing and have had to click stop. While using Net Aware it took me seconds to learn the recommended age for YouTube and Minecraft is 13 and over.
Stuff I didn’t know
Although eight out of ten parents told the NSPCC in a YouGov poll that they knew what to say to their child to keep them safe online, only 28% had actually mentioned privacy settings to them and just 20% discussed location settings. The latest websites, apps and games featured in Net Aware were reviewed by a panel of parents and all were rated poorly in terms of how easy it was to change privacy settings, report concerns about abuse or bullying, and find safety advice.
Research by the NSPCC matched my own views before checking out Net Aware. On sites like Facebook Messenger and SnapChat parents viewed bad language and sexual content as the main worry. But children in the survey said their main worry was being talked to by stranger. Net Aware gives advice on location settings, privacy and rates how easy it is for an 11-year-old to set up an account.
Claire Lilley, NSPCC head of child safety online, said: “It’s important parents have the knowledge to talk in detail with children about safety settings. Minecraft is one game that is much safer for children once the privacy settings have been adjusted. Our updated Net Aware guide is packed with straightforward advice that will help parents stay up to date with their children’s digital lives.”
Cwmbran Life’s verdict on Net Aware
It is such a simple site to use and contains really useful information such as: what kind of content you’re likely to come across and votes on the ‘right age’ for various social media sites from parents, giving you some handy information to use when chatting to your internet-addicted children about safe use. The top key issues for me are now privacy and location settings.
NSPCC campaign
The NSPCC is calling for all social networking sites, apps and games used by children to provide easy ways for children and parents to report abuse, attempts at grooming or concerns about content.
The charity also wants to see all online accounts for under-16s:
· block messages from strangers,
· prevent users making their location or contact details public,
· set profiles as private by default on sign-up,
· alert children to the risks if they choose make their profile public.
