"My child loves to play games in the phone. But I'm not sure what games is he playing."
"Are you sure that Roblox has inappropriate content?"
"Ya, she chats with people online. But I don't know who they are."
Digital technology has brought us so much benefits: It helps us function more effectively and productively at work. Social media is a great way to connect with others, especially with those who are geographically far. Not to forget, games and videos provide us with entertainment and more learning opportunities. Digital technology has become a necessary communicative tool for both our work and social needs in today's globalised world.
To keep up to the trends in society and prepare our future generation for the 21st century, children in Singapore are exposed to computer and/or touch screens use early in school: They learn how to surf the net (for information), present their findings (Microsoft Powerpoint), engage in interactive virtual games to learn academic content. The benefits of technology are undeniable!
For all things come with pros and cons. Although technological devices have greatly improved our lives, they have also added a tremendous number of concerns: Addiction (i.e. gaming, gambling), violence, cyberbullying, sexual-related and more. There are also rising concerns of technology use on children and adolescents' ability to socialise in real life, their physical and mental health, as well as their ability to focus off-screen. What tops this never-ending list is children's online safety.
A 2022 study by Google involving 500 Singaporean parents showed that their top 3 concerns on children's online safety were the risks of online grooming, privacy and security, and cyberbullying. How can we protect our children or adolescents, or teach them to protect themselves in the virtual world?
Tips To Consider
It is unavoidable for children to want to play games or watch videos - it is a big conversation topic for them with their friends! If we can't stop it, we can manage the use and manage ourselves :D
Join your children in their games! Firstly, this helps you to know what they are playing and allows you to scan through the contents of the games if they are age-appropriate for your child. Popular game applications, such as Roblox, may have inappropriate amount of violence, instillation of focus on looks and appearances, or may be sexually harassing too. Therefore, it is important to know what your children are playing! Secondly, it can enhance your relationship with your child! Playing games together adds another conversation topic between you and your child to discuss strategies and reflections.
Research and learn if your child's games have internal parental controls available. In addition to parental controls in video-streaming platforms such as Youtube, many games have such controls for parents too! It can range from managing the amount of time in the game application to access to social features within the games to purchases online.
Set some ground rules on usage. It can be in terms of time limits, type of use or usage instructions.
We know of many parents who set rules such as no devices during school days - if this works for your child, great! But if you are trying to incorporate this into their routine, start by reducing the amount of time allowed (such as reducing 10mins) before removing it entirely. A sudden, entire removal may deprive children and make them angry because they will not be able to understand the rationale of this sudden change. (Imagine us being disallowed of use suddenly?!) Hence, it is important to make this a gradual change and incorporate other activities such as family board games or reading time to replace digital use!
Another good suggestion would be to manage the type of use - for example, limiting to only TV time on weekdays and mobile games over the weekends.
To manage your child's expectations and yours, it will be good to give constant reminders before the end of TV or game time happens. We love the idea of setting alarms in intervals so that children are prepared that time is running out, instead of telling them to keep their devices immediately.
Usage instructions. This refers to how your child uses and interacts with 'online friends'. For example, your child loves to upload Youtube videos. Have him/her share the videos that he/she is intending to post to ensure the content is regarded as safe. Expose and explain what kind of content is fine to share online and the risks of oversharing personal information to strangers. This might be a challenging task but fret not! The study by Google in 2022 found most parents not knowing or having the tools to educate their children on cyber safety and use. Therefore, they have since launched an online game for children, called InterLand, as well as curriculums for families and educators to take on. We have tried playing these games - they are pretty interesting and informative for children!
Be aware of your child's online friends. Are these "friends" real-life friends from school or community, or are they "friends" from online platforms? If it's the latter, it would be imperative to share and discuss the possible intentions of these "friends" with your child. They may truly just be fun gaming friends, but we wouldn't want them to be strangers who are "online grooming" your child!