If there is such a thing as safe social networking for children, Brightfilter internet security solutions think they have cracked it.<\/p>\n
The company have come up with ten tips for parents to help protect their children from potentially serious dangers whilst online.
\n1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Educate \u2013 speak to your child about the potential dangers associated with the internet. It is important they understand that a stranger approaching them online is just as hazardous as being approached in real life. Make sure they realise that online \u2018friends\u2019 could easily be dangerous individuals that have created a false identity.<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take control \u2013 if your child has not yet set up a profile on a social networking site and wants to join one, then take charge and create the profile for them. This will enable you to control the privacy settings and what information is on view.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Check privacy \u2013 if a child already has a profile on a social networking site, check that they have the privacy correctly set up. An easy way to check if their profile is private is to type in their name on a search engine. If their details are listed in the results then the highest level of privacy is not enabled, meaning that anyone can view certain information.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amend privacy \u2013 to prevent your child\u2019s profile from being seen by people they are not friends with, it\u2019s advisable to spend time investigating the site\u2019s privacy settings. Each social network has different ways of managing these, so make sure you check each one. If stuck, instructions can often be found in the site\u2019s help section or by searching online. Other parents who are familiar with the site will also be able to offer help too.<\/p>\n
5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Limit friends \u2013 limit the number of friends that your child is allowed on the site.\u00a0 This number is dependent on individual circumstances, but as a guide our suggestion is 40. This will help children carefully consider each person before befriending them online and prevents them accepting friend requests from strangers.<\/p>\n
6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Monitor friends \u2013 make sure that your child genuinely knows all of their online friends to prevent strangers or people they don\u2019t know that well from accessing their profile.<\/p>\n
7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Create your own account \u2013 if you haven\u2019t already, set up your own account on the sites your child uses. Not only will this enable you to see how they work and the sort of things kids use them for, but you will also be able to see who they are friends with, what photos they are uploading and who is writing what on their profile.<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keep the PC public \u2013 only allow your child to use the internet in the presence of someone else, not shut away in their bedroom. Make sure the family computer is used in a public place such as the living room, where people can see the screen.<\/p>\n
9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Accompany them \u2013 if your child insists on meeting a new online friend, ask for full details about them, including any message exchanges and photos. However, this does not necessarily prove their true identity, so if you decide to allow the meeting to go ahead, go with your child and meet the person in a public place.<\/p>\n
10.\u00a0\u00a0 Use parental control software \u2013 if you have children younger than 13, or do not want social networks to be used at all, you can install software that will block access to the sites completely. Brightfilter Parental Control software can be used to do this, as well as restrict internet access according to the time of day, preventing kids from engaging with strangers online late at night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If there is such a thing as safe social networking for children, Brightfilter internet security solutions think they have cracked<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n