The Ministry of Family and Social Services has prepared a guide that explains the problems that children may encounter in the digital world in terms of social, academic, psychological and security, and includes necessary information for parents to protect their children from the dangers in digital environments.
The Ministry of Family and Social Services carries out training and awareness activities for all segments of the society within the scope of protective and preventive services, as well as social assistance and social services. In this context, a guide booklet titled "Parent's Guide to Protecting Children from Digital Risks" was prepared for parents on how to protect their children against risky content in the digital world, what they should pay attention to and what security measures they should take, and how to raise "digital privacy awareness" to children.
Emphasizing that information technologies include risks as well as advantages, the guide emphasized the importance of parents' guidance to children in this regard.
In the guide, where the concept of "digital parenting" has emerged in recent years, families were warned not to leave their children alone on the internet.
Risky content in the digital environment
Pointing out that the unsupervised use of technology leaves children vulnerable to many dangers, the guide states that children are not exposed to “illegal content, suicide, drug use, etc. It was pointed out that they could face situations, negative characters, subliminal messages, online abuse and cyberbullying, malicious people.
In addition, the uncontrolled use of digital tools can cause psychological disorders, eating-drinking and obesity problems, sleep disorders in children; It has been stated that it can cause musculoskeletal disorders and addiction.
In the guide, which pointed out that children's academic success at school, social relations, and healthy communication skills in real life would be negatively affected, "Isolation from society, feeling lonely, depression, personality disorders, alienation from real emotions, moral problems, behavioral disorders" were listed among the problems that children may experience. .
The following suggestions and warnings were given to families in the guide:
- Avoid preventive and prohibitive measures in your child's use of the Internet; Take an awareness-raising, supportive attitude.
- Inform your child that when he/she encounters a disturbing situation in the digital environment, he/she should not reply when he/she receives offensive messages from people they do not know, and should not hesitate to share it with you.
- Get to know the people your child communicates with on the internet and their friends on social media, track which sites they visit and keep it private.
- Many websites and social media platforms offer the opportunity to report and block offending people. Teach your child how to do this.
- Child Profile/Family Profile offered within the scope of Safe Internet Service can be used in all electronic devices (tablets, phones, computers, etc.) used by children.
- Do not expose children to the screen, especially under the age of 3 years. 0-3 years is a critical period.
Recommendations for giving children “digital privacy”
In the guide, suggestions for providing digital privacy to children are listed as follows:
- Teach children not to open e-mails received from unknown people, not to click on every link published on the internet and social media, not to click on links that appear as advertisements, not to download unknown programs/files, not to register and subscribe to unknown sites.
- Emphasize that he should not include more than necessary information about himself, pictures and videos of himself and his family on his profile page.
- Ask your child who wants to join a social network to contact you first and check if there is an age limit.
- Teach children to have personal boundaries and to say no to requests that violate boundaries and privacy.
- Teach your child not to engage in behavior that may harm others on social networks and to be mindful of the privacy of others' information.
Images that should not be shared on social media
In the guide, it was emphasized that children's photographs and visuals were shared extensively on social media, and the following warnings were included:
“Our responsibility to protect children continues on social media. Images of children should never be shared in a way that everyone can see. It is not possible to control who can use a publicly shared photo and for what purpose. Children's personal information, contact information, information that can be reached physically or through social media should not be shared on social media. Privacy settings in social networks must be made, regularly checked and updated. It is almost impossible to delete pictures and videos from the moment they are shared in virtual environments via computer and mobile phone. It should not be forgotten that the shares made on the Internet create a digital footprint.
Images of children showing their private parts and being naked, personal photos such as toilet and bathing, photos and videos of children when they are sick, videos of their crying and difficult moments should not be shared. When sharing images of children, it should be taken into account how this will make the child feel in the future. It is important to think about the effects of sharing after years and to avoid sharing the moments that may be humiliating in the future, even if it seems sensitive, negative and funny that it would not be appropriate to share with others. Limits should be observed when sharing photos. It should be taken into account that a child who is photographed and shared constantly, exaggeratedly, every moment of his daily life may have difficulty in gaining an awareness of privacy. Images belonging not only to our own child, but also to other children should not be shared publicly without permission.”
Addiction risk in digital games
Suggestions were also made in the guide on digital game selection. In the guide, it was emphasized that correctly selected computer games develop some abilities and skills such as evaluating, information processing, logical thinking, considering options, planning, creativity and critical thinking, and using strategy.
“Gaming can have positive effects as well as negative effects. The most important is the risk of addiction. For this reason, parents should limit the playing time for their children's health. It should be checked whether the games are suitable for the age, physical and spiritual development of the children. Instead of preventing their children from playing computer games, parents should take measures to enable them to use the computer efficiently. Game types and which games are popular should be researched. Games should not be used as a means of reward and punishment. Otherwise, games may begin to take on much more importance in the child's life.”
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