Almost 72% of minors recognize that their parents do not check their mobile
As much as they are called digital natives and seem to know new technologies at an early age, it is one thing to know how to manage one of these devices and another to manage the content that is in them. The world of Internet not only offers information, it also means a portal through which numerous dangers can arrive, especially through social networks and instant messaging applications.
Cyberbullying, grooming, blackmail, sexting, these are just some of the examples of risks that can be found by children while browsing Internet. To avoid them nothing better than monitoring the activity of minors on devices such as smartphones, but is it something that parents do? On this subject is the Ciberastur Project, where the aim is to raise awareness about the responsible use of the network.
Presence of smartphones
The first fact that draws attention to this study is that of the 25,582 participants of this study, 95.7% have a smartphone. It should be noted that of all the respondents, 89% were students between 10 and 12 years old. Some numbers that demonstrate the expansion that these technologies have had in the present and the number of minors that access the internet privately.
33.2% of respondents point out that they use their smartphones more than 5 hours a day and 20.2% realize this consumption from Monday to Friday. Of all of them almost 4% have abusive behaviors of these devices. Although perhaps the most surprising percentage is that 71.3% of the minors surveyed report that their parents do not check their cell phones.
On the situation of the problems derived from the use of smartphones, this report highlights that while 2.4% of students are victims of situations of serious traditional harassment, in the case of cybernullying the percentage grows to 3.25%. In addition, the role of serious aggressor does not reach 1% in traditional harassment and is 2.3% in cyber-aggression.
Advice for parents
New technologies can be a mystery to parents. Many adults do not know how to proceed to prevent all the dangers lurking online, for all of them these tips They can be great help:
- The computer always in the living room. That there is one of these terminals in the room favors that it can be navigated without the knowledge of the parents.
- Profiles in social networks. The parents of minor children should open a profile on social networks to find out what happens daily in the children's account.
- Review of smartphones. Mobile phones with an internet connection favor the concealment of evidence, both from the victims and from the executioners. Checking these terminals will help to know if there is a problem.
- Instruments of parental control. Cutting off access to certain websites will help numerous problems appear.
- Remember the trust. Parents should let their children know that whenever there is a problem, they can count on your help and support for situations that overwhelm them.
- Instill the levels of intrafamilial communication. These levels have to be already consolidated, and not be created when necessary, that is, when this situation of bullying arises, as much as if it is the victim or the harasser.
- Promote the training of skills and strategies in families to have good levels of education.
- Educate in sensitivity, make children understand the right and respect for the victim and put themselves in their place to avoid situations of violence and isolation of certain minors.
- Create a collaborative model of solving problems between family and school as a way to address the problems of cyberbullying.
- Failure to respond to the provocation: faced with a situation of cyberbullying, it is essential not to respond to the provocations and make it clear that the actions of the harasser can constitute a crime and that action will be taken accordingly.
Damián Montero
