The world we live in can sometimes feel large, overwhelming, and ridden with danger for a caregiver trying to protect their child. The thought of managing the world we live and navigate in every day, and in addition, the online world that kids and teens have access to too, is a daunting task. Governments, technology institutions, and caregivers have a role in protecting youth from online harm in different ways. Knowing the ways that our systems, organizations, and ourselves can work to promote healthy relationships with the internet can ease some of the burden. In some ways, these roles can intertwine.
The Role of Governments and Law
The widespread nature of the internet and social media indicates that this issue can be addressed in some ways by governments and policymakers. In an ideal world, policy makers can strive to strengthen safety regulations and provide guidelines for technology companies to make the internet a safer place for youth. Some areas that could be addressed by the government could be implementing strategies to further protect children’s privacy, supporting programs that encourage greater media literacy, and fund research on healthy engagement with the internet so we can learn more about online risk prevention.
An example of a law that the U.S Government passed and enforces along these lines is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA is a product of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that takes precautions to ensure that children under the age of 13 do not share their personal information on the internet without express approval from parental figures, which was passed in 1998 and revised in 2012. As a result of this law, the FTC can take action against companies who fail to comply. Precautions can also be taken on a state level. For example, since 2023, Utah has been working on implementing policies that can require age verification, supervisory tools on sites, and restrictions on user engagement, among other things.
The Role of Technology Platforms and Institutions
Technology companies can play a role in protecting youth online by being proactive in designing platforms with safety in mind. There are some common tools that we see across platforms, including age-verification features, reporting tools that let users flag harmful content for review, and privacy settings that allow users to personalize data sharing. On a larger scope, technology companies can work to develop comprehensive privacy and content policies, so that explicit harmful content or activity can be challenged by the institution when misconduct occurs. Policies often require frequent updating as our world changes quickly, so attentiveness to these policies can account for shifts in online threat and activity.
The Role of the Caregivers, and Useful Strategies
While support from governments and companies can make caregivers lives easier, a lot of the management of risk and promotion of healthy internet use can start at home. In our past blog, Parenting in the Age of Social Media and Screentime, we explore some starting strategies for building open communication and healthy relationships with screentime at home. These tips remain true, and let’s build upon them with some more solid actions caregivers can take to promote online safety.
Online Protection Tools
Many devices come with built-in parental control options in the settings of the phone. iPhones and iPads allow caregivers to limit screentime on different apps, block certain websites from being accessed, and report on screentime. Within app settings, there may be options to limit contact from unfollowed accounts, and block content that may be inappropriate, sexual, or violent and nature. These tools may vary by app or device, but it can be useful for parents to manage these settings prior to child or teen use. It can also provide an opportunity to have a conversation about what these limits mean, and why you are putting them in place so that they can understand your reasoning.
Setting Guidelines for Online Behavior
When using online tools for parental control of screen and media use, having an open conversation can help set expectations for your child and create a shared understanding of the importance of online safety. Even without the addition of online tools, openly discussing guidelines for online behavior can communicate to your child your values, your reasoning for limits you may set, and set the stage for an ongoing conversation. If you put protections, passwords, and screentime limits in place without discussing it openly with your child could easily lead to conflict and confrontation. The internet is a place that kids and teens want access to and they might be more receptive to respecting limits if they can understand where parents are coming from.
Here are some sample guidelines you can use to set expectations for your family’s internet use:
- Don’t respond to any messages from unknown accounts, and if you are contacted by an unknown account, notify a trusted adult.
- Tell a trusted adult about any conversation or content that was scary or hurtful to see. Let your child know that they will not be in trouble for sharing this information.
- Don’t trade any personal pictures, addresses, phone numbers, or school information with people on the internet, and tell a trusted adult if someone asks you to do so.
- Tell a trusted adult if someone that contacts you online wants to meet up. Only meet up with the person if your parent approves and/or supervises the interaction.
You can add any guidelines that fit your family values into this conversation, but it’s important to make sure that your child still feels comfortable telling a trusted adult about internet activity even if they break one of these guidelines. Ensuring that a child or teen feels comfortable enough to disclose if something unpleasant occurred online is important for being able to respond in an appropriate and timely manner to the incident if needed.
Strategies for Caregiver Supervision
It can be hard to know what exactly to watch out for, or how to monitor your child’s internet use, especially if your child is more digital and media literate than you may be. First and foremost, be curious about the apps and sites that your child is using. Ask them to teach you how to use them, and you can even make it fun by engaging with them to do video trends with them, play the same games, or talk about online content you see. Make space to spend time online with them and use that time to model appropriate online behavior. If they’re going to be using the internet, you might as well use it together! You can also pay attention to the websites and apps they tend to visit and check on them yourself to stay aware of the kind of content that they may be exposed to. Making your own account on these sites and following their activity can be a good way to stay in the loop as well.
Importantly, take your child seriously if they report any inappropriate online exchange, even if it seems unlikely. Children and teens are very unlikely to report things that did not happen, and responding to a child with belief and support can be an indicator of future well-being. If your child can trust that you will respond in the way that they need, they will be more likely to come to you with issues in the future.