Dangers on the internet are on the rise. Digital wellbeing expert Georgie Powell explains the risks parents need to know aware of and what they can do about them to help keep their children safe.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\nMy work focuses on helping families build positive digital habits, on screen time management and on reclaiming control over their everyday interactions with tech. Finding digital balance is key to good mental health, relationships and child development.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also a mom.\u00a0So, as well as trying to find healthy tech balance at home, I also fear the threats of online harms firsthand. Over the past few months of social distancing and lockdowns there has been an\u00a0 increase in cyber criminals online, in the dissemination and demand for inappropriate content, including imagery of child abuse. File-sharing abuse<\/a> is also on the rise, as is the online grooming of children for sexual or criminal purposes. Whilst these online risks may at times seem distant, or too gruesome to think about, the reality is, none of us are immune, and we have a responsibility as parents to keep our families safe.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s not just a feeling. The statistics are clear. In the U.K., between March and April 2020, the BBC found that reports of obscene material online doubled to more than 4 million<\/strong> <\/a>in a month.\u00a0Also in the U.K., where 300,000 people are considered a threat to children and nearly 8.8 million attempts were made in April<\/a> to access child sexual abuse websites which had been previously blocked by the Internet Watch Foundation.<\/p>\nAccording to a recent submission by 5RightsFoundation<\/a> to the U.K. government\u2019s enquiry into online harms during COVID, the U.K. is not alone:<\/p>\n\n- The US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 4.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in April,<\/strong> an increase of nearly 3 million from the same month in 2019<\/li>\n
- InHope<\/a>, a network of 46 national “cyber tiplines”, states that reports of child sexual exploitation are up 30% globally <\/strong>during the pandemic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
As children spend more of their time stuck at home online, they are a captive audience for predators seeking to groom children for sexual or criminal purposes.\u00a0 Cut off from the safety net of school, where concerns can be more easily shared with teachers and friends, it may be harder for a child to come forward with any worries about interactions with bad actors online, which are often debilitating to confidence and sense of self-worth. This brief investigation provides some insight<\/a> into what it might feel like for a child to be groomed.<\/p>\nGrooming and bullying is on the rise.\u00a0 Australia\u2019s eSafety Commissioner reported a 50% increase in incidents of cyberbullying<\/a> during the first three weeks of lockdown. And an analysis of digital toxicity by AI start-up L1ght reported a 70% increase<\/a> in hateful and abusive language among children and teens in March 2020.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, technology companies and law enforcement bodies are struggling to keep up. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reported that the amount of child sexual abuse material that was flagged and then actually removed from the internet fell by 89%<\/a> over a four-week period during early lockdown \u2013 not because it wasn\u2019t harmful content, but due to understaffing.<\/p>\nSo, what can you do to help protect your child from dangers online?<\/strong><\/h3>\n1. Have a conversation with your child about the real risks of being online<\/strong>, including grooming, viewing harmful content and the theft of personal data.<\/p>\nMany young people may feel immune to these risks, but the reality is, we are all vulnerable online.<\/p>\n
2. Look out for signs that your child may be being exploited online<\/strong>.<\/p>\nThe Children\u2019s Society<\/a> recommends looking out for some of the following signs which may indicate that your child needs help:<\/p>\n\n- Talking about older\/new friends they\u2019ve met online<\/li>\n
- Talking about gifts\/money they\u2019ve received online<\/li>\n
- Becoming withdrawn and secretive<\/li>\n
- Having a new phone or more than one phone<\/li>\n
- Receiving a large number of calls or messages<\/li>\n
- Worried about being away from their phone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3. Understand the apps and games your child is using. <\/strong><\/p>\nRemember many games often have messaging functions or chat rooms, where your children can be contacted by strangers.\u00a0 Work with them to set appropriate privacy settings. Encourage them to keep location settings turned off.<\/p>\n
4. Use parental controls like Qustodio<\/a> to monitor your children\u2019s online activity<\/strong>.<\/p>\nUse insights on what they are watching or playing to encourage conversation as a family and to build healthy habits.<\/p>\n
5. Keep your family safe from scams<\/strong> by keeping on top of your privacy settings and using varied and strong passwords.<\/p>\nBe wary of unsolicited emails and update your devices security software. And trust your instincts. If something just doesn\u2019t feel right online, even if it \u201clooks okay\u201d, it probably isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\nFor further resources related to online safety:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- See the U.K. Government Online Safety summary<\/a> for staying safe online during COVID<\/li>\n
- The US Department of Justice Keeping Children Safe Online site<\/a><\/li>\n
- Anonymously and confidentially report Child sexual abuse content to the Internet Watch Foundation\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n
- Find out more by Thinkuknow<\/a> by National Crime Agency-CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection)<\/li>\n
- Learn what to do help protect your child against bullying<\/a>, and what to do if they become a victim<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Remember, if you\u2019re worried that a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, you should call the police.<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile the statistics are daunting, we should use them to keep us informed, not to live in fear. Fortunately, we as parents do have many resources, from native and independent parental control features to privacy controls to speaking up and having conversations with our kids. Used together, they go a long way to keeping our children safe online today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dangers on the internet are on the rise. Digital wellbeing expert Georgie Powell explains the risks parents need to know aware of and what they can do about them to help keep their children safe. My work focuses on helping families build positive digital habits, on screen time management and on reclaiming control over their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
\n Dangers on the internet are on the rise. What risks parents need to know aware of and what they can do about them to help keep their children safe.<\/h2><\/div>\n My work focuses on helping families build positive digital habits, on screen time management and on reclaiming control over their everyday interactions with tech. Finding digital balance is key to good mental health, relationships and child development. <\/p>
I’m also a mom. So, as well as trying to find healthy tech balance at home, I also fear the threats of online harms firsthand. Over the past few months of social distancing and lockdowns there has been an increase in cyber criminals online, in the dissemination and demand for inappropriate content, including imagery of child abuse. File-sharing abuse<\/a> is also on the rise, as is the online grooming of children for sexual or criminal purposes. Whilst these online risks may at times seem distant, or too gruesome to think about, the reality is, none of us are immune, and we have a responsibility as parents to keep our families safe. <\/p>It’s not just a feeling. The statistics are clear. In the U.K., between March and April 2020, the BBC found that reports of obscene material online doubled to more than 4 million<\/strong> <\/a>in a month. Also in the U.K., where 300,000 people are considered a threat to children and nearly 8.8 million attempts were made in April<\/a> to access child sexual abuse websites which had been previously blocked by the Internet Watch Foundation. <\/p>According to a recent submission by 5RightsFoundation<\/a> to the U.K. government’s enquiry into online harms during COVID, the U.K. is not alone:<\/p>- The US National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 4.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation in April,<\/strong> an increase of nearly 3 million from the same month in 2019<\/li>
- InHope<\/a>, a network of 46 national ‘cybertiplines’, state that reports of child sexual exploitation are up 30% globally <\/strong>during the pandemic<\/li><\/ul>
As children spend more of their time stuck at home online, they are a captive audience for predators seeking to groom children for sexual or criminal purposes. Cut off from the safety net of school, where concerns can be more easily shared with teachers and friends, it may be harder for a child to come forward with any worries about interactions with bad actors online, which are often debilitating to confidence and sense of self-worth. This brief investigation provides some insight<\/a> into what it might feel like for a child to be groomed. <\/p>Grooming and bullying is on the rise. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner reported a 50% increase in incidents of cyberbullying<\/a> during the first three weeks of lockdown. And an analysis of digital toxicity by AI start-up L1ght reported a 70% increase<\/a> in hateful and abusive language among children and teens in March 2020. <\/p>Meanwhile, technology companies and law enforcement bodies are struggling to keep up. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reported that the amount of child sexual abuse material that was flag and then actually removed from the internet fell by 89%<\/a> over a four-week period during early lockdown – not because it wasn’t harmful content, but due to understaffing.<\/p>So, what can you do to help protect your child from dangers online?<\/strong><\/h3>1. Have a conversation with your child about the real risks of being online<\/strong>, including grooming, viewing harmful content and the theft of personal data. Many young people may feel immune to these risks, but the reality is, we are all vulnerable online. <\/p>2. Look out for signs that your child may be being exploited online<\/strong>. The Children’s Society<\/a> recommends looking out for some of the following signs which may indicate that your child needs help:<\/p>- Talking about older\/new friends they’ve met online<\/li>
- Talking about gifts\/money they’ve received online<\/li>
- Becoming withdrawn and secretive<\/li>
- Having a new phone or more than one phone<\/li>
- Receiving a large number of calls or messages<\/li>
- Worried about being away from their phone<\/li><\/ul>
3. Understand the apps and games your child is using. <\/strong>Remember many games often have messaging functions or chat rooms, where your children can be contacted by strangers. Work with them to set appropriate privacy settings. Encourage them to keep location settings turned off. <\/p>4. Use parental controls like Qustodio<\/a> to monitor your children’s online activity<\/strong>. Use insights on what they are watching or playing to encourage conversation as a family and to build healthy habits. <\/p>5. Keep your family safe from scams<\/strong> by keeping on top of your privacy settings and using varied and strong passwords. Be wary of unsolicited emails and update your devices security software. And trust your instincts. If something just doesn’t feel right online, even if it “looks okay”, it probably isn’t. <\/p> <\/p><\/div>
\n ![](\"https:\/\/www.qustodio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/bb6608c4-b842-42ba-bc71-4b0209f822ed_SPT_July%202020_en.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n For further resources related to online safety: <\/strong><\/h3>- See the U.K. Government Online Safety summary<\/a> for staying safe online during COVID<\/li>
- The US Department of Justice Keeping Children Safe Online site<\/a><\/li>
- Anonymously and confidentially report Child sexual abuse content to the Internet Watch Foundation <\/a><\/li>
- Find out more by Thinkuknow<\/a> by National Crime Agency-CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection)<\/li>
- Learn what to do help protect your child against bullying<\/a>, and what to do if they become a victim<\/li><\/ul>
Remember, if you’re worried that a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, you should call the police.<\/strong><\/h3>While the statistics are daunting, we should use them to keep us informed, not to live in fear. Fortunately, we as parents do have many resources, from native and independent parental control features to privacy controls to speaking up and having conversations with our kids. Used together, they go a long way to keeping our children safe online today.<\/p>
<\/p><\/div>
\n More great online safety and digital wellbeing articles from Qustodio:<\/strong><\/h3>- 4 Simple Steps to Digital Wellbeing<\/a><\/li>
- Digital Wellbeing: Are today’s families worried enough about the effect of tech on their health and happiness?<\/a><\/li>
- Got a love-hate relationship with YouTube?<\/a><\/li>
- Is there a right age to give your child their first phone?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
How to protect your child from the increasing risk of harm online | Qustodio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.qustodio.com\/en\/blog\/protect-your-child-from-online-harm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to protect your child from the increasing risk of harm online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.qustodio.com\/en\/blog\/protect-your-child-from-online-harm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Qustodio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-09T22:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-24T13:30:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" 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My work focuses on helping families build positive digital habits, on screen time management and on reclaiming control over their everyday interactions with tech. Finding digital balance is key to good mental health, relationships and child development.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also a mom.\u00a0So, as well as trying to find healthy tech balance at home, I also fear the threats of online harms firsthand. Over the past few months of social distancing and lockdowns there has been an\u00a0 increase in cyber criminals online, in the dissemination and demand for inappropriate content, including imagery of child abuse. File-sharing abuse<\/a> is also on the rise, as is the online grooming of children for sexual or criminal purposes. Whilst these online risks may at times seem distant, or too gruesome to think about, the reality is, none of us are immune, and we have a responsibility as parents to keep our families safe.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just a feeling. The statistics are clear. In the U.K., between March and April 2020, the BBC found that reports of obscene material online doubled to more than 4 million<\/strong> <\/a>in a month.\u00a0Also in the U.K., where 300,000 people are considered a threat to children and nearly 8.8 million attempts were made in April<\/a> to access child sexual abuse websites which had been previously blocked by the Internet Watch Foundation.<\/p>\n According to a recent submission by 5RightsFoundation<\/a> to the U.K. government\u2019s enquiry into online harms during COVID, the U.K. is not alone:<\/p>\n As children spend more of their time stuck at home online, they are a captive audience for predators seeking to groom children for sexual or criminal purposes.\u00a0 Cut off from the safety net of school, where concerns can be more easily shared with teachers and friends, it may be harder for a child to come forward with any worries about interactions with bad actors online, which are often debilitating to confidence and sense of self-worth. This brief investigation provides some insight<\/a> into what it might feel like for a child to be groomed.<\/p>\n Grooming and bullying is on the rise.\u00a0 Australia\u2019s eSafety Commissioner reported a 50% increase in incidents of cyberbullying<\/a> during the first three weeks of lockdown. And an analysis of digital toxicity by AI start-up L1ght reported a 70% increase<\/a> in hateful and abusive language among children and teens in March 2020.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, technology companies and law enforcement bodies are struggling to keep up. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reported that the amount of child sexual abuse material that was flagged and then actually removed from the internet fell by 89%<\/a> over a four-week period during early lockdown \u2013 not because it wasn\u2019t harmful content, but due to understaffing.<\/p>\n 1. Have a conversation with your child about the real risks of being online<\/strong>, including grooming, viewing harmful content and the theft of personal data.<\/p>\n Many young people may feel immune to these risks, but the reality is, we are all vulnerable online.<\/p>\n 2. Look out for signs that your child may be being exploited online<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Children\u2019s Society<\/a> recommends looking out for some of the following signs which may indicate that your child needs help:<\/p>\n 3. Understand the apps and games your child is using. <\/strong><\/p>\n Remember many games often have messaging functions or chat rooms, where your children can be contacted by strangers.\u00a0 Work with them to set appropriate privacy settings. Encourage them to keep location settings turned off.<\/p>\n 4. Use parental controls like Qustodio<\/a> to monitor your children\u2019s online activity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Use insights on what they are watching or playing to encourage conversation as a family and to build healthy habits.<\/p>\n 5. Keep your family safe from scams<\/strong> by keeping on top of your privacy settings and using varied and strong passwords.<\/p>\n Be wary of unsolicited emails and update your devices security software. And trust your instincts. If something just doesn\u2019t feel right online, even if it \u201clooks okay\u201d, it probably isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While the statistics are daunting, we should use them to keep us informed, not to live in fear. Fortunately, we as parents do have many resources, from native and independent parental control features to privacy controls to speaking up and having conversations with our kids. Used together, they go a long way to keeping our children safe online today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dangers on the internet are on the rise. Digital wellbeing expert Georgie Powell explains the risks parents need to know aware of and what they can do about them to help keep their children safe. My work focuses on helping families build positive digital habits, on screen time management and on reclaiming control over their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" My work focuses on helping families build positive digital habits, on screen time management and on reclaiming control over their everyday interactions with tech. Finding digital balance is key to good mental health, relationships and child development. <\/p> I’m also a mom. So, as well as trying to find healthy tech balance at home, I also fear the threats of online harms firsthand. Over the past few months of social distancing and lockdowns there has been an increase in cyber criminals online, in the dissemination and demand for inappropriate content, including imagery of child abuse. File-sharing abuse<\/a> is also on the rise, as is the online grooming of children for sexual or criminal purposes. Whilst these online risks may at times seem distant, or too gruesome to think about, the reality is, none of us are immune, and we have a responsibility as parents to keep our families safe. <\/p> It’s not just a feeling. The statistics are clear. In the U.K., between March and April 2020, the BBC found that reports of obscene material online doubled to more than 4 million<\/strong> <\/a>in a month. Also in the U.K., where 300,000 people are considered a threat to children and nearly 8.8 million attempts were made in April<\/a> to access child sexual abuse websites which had been previously blocked by the Internet Watch Foundation. <\/p> According to a recent submission by 5RightsFoundation<\/a> to the U.K. government’s enquiry into online harms during COVID, the U.K. is not alone:<\/p> As children spend more of their time stuck at home online, they are a captive audience for predators seeking to groom children for sexual or criminal purposes. Cut off from the safety net of school, where concerns can be more easily shared with teachers and friends, it may be harder for a child to come forward with any worries about interactions with bad actors online, which are often debilitating to confidence and sense of self-worth. This brief investigation provides some insight<\/a> into what it might feel like for a child to be groomed. <\/p> Grooming and bullying is on the rise. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner reported a 50% increase in incidents of cyberbullying<\/a> during the first three weeks of lockdown. And an analysis of digital toxicity by AI start-up L1ght reported a 70% increase<\/a> in hateful and abusive language among children and teens in March 2020. <\/p> Meanwhile, technology companies and law enforcement bodies are struggling to keep up. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) reported that the amount of child sexual abuse material that was flag and then actually removed from the internet fell by 89%<\/a> over a four-week period during early lockdown – not because it wasn’t harmful content, but due to understaffing.<\/p> 1. Have a conversation with your child about the real risks of being online<\/strong>, including grooming, viewing harmful content and the theft of personal data. Many young people may feel immune to these risks, but the reality is, we are all vulnerable online. <\/p> 2. Look out for signs that your child may be being exploited online<\/strong>. The Children’s Society<\/a> recommends looking out for some of the following signs which may indicate that your child needs help:<\/p> 3. Understand the apps and games your child is using. <\/strong>Remember many games often have messaging functions or chat rooms, where your children can be contacted by strangers. Work with them to set appropriate privacy settings. Encourage them to keep location settings turned off. <\/p> 4. Use parental controls like Qustodio<\/a> to monitor your children’s online activity<\/strong>. Use insights on what they are watching or playing to encourage conversation as a family and to build healthy habits. <\/p> 5. Keep your family safe from scams<\/strong> by keeping on top of your privacy settings and using varied and strong passwords. Be wary of unsolicited emails and update your devices security software. And trust your instincts. If something just doesn’t feel right online, even if it “looks okay”, it probably isn’t. <\/p> <\/p><\/div> While the statistics are daunting, we should use them to keep us informed, not to live in fear. Fortunately, we as parents do have many resources, from native and independent parental control features to privacy controls to speaking up and having conversations with our kids. Used together, they go a long way to keeping our children safe online today.<\/p> <\/p><\/div>\n
So, what can you do to help protect your child from dangers online?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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For further resources related to online safety:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Remember, if you\u2019re worried that a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, you should call the police.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dangers on the internet are on the rise. What risks parents need to know aware of and what they can do about them to help keep their children safe.<\/h2><\/div>
So, what can you do to help protect your child from dangers online?<\/strong><\/h3>
\n<\/div>For further resources related to online safety: <\/strong><\/h3>
Remember, if you’re worried that a child or young person is at immediate risk of harm, you should call the police.<\/strong><\/h3>
More great online safety and digital wellbeing articles from Qustodio:<\/strong><\/h3>