How can you support your child in a digital world?

The year is 2016. You are in living in the "Information age" (Harper Collins Publisher, 2016; Hanewald & Ng, 2010); so is your child. Their entire life is immersed in information and communication technologies (ICT). Great! Or is it? This particular post will acknowledge that ICT can be used in many positive ways, but it still comes with risks and dangers; especially when considering our young digital users. So, what is the advantage? Well, when young people are equipped with the skills, knowledge and defence mechanisms to safely navigate the digital universe, they can unlock the doors to an exciting, fast-paced and ever changing forum of global citizenship. It is important for parents and teachers to promote safety, responsibility and ethics within our young digital citizens.

What is a digital citizen?
When we talk about children and 'digital citizenship,' we are talking about a teaching strategy used to develop digital behaviours in young Australians who are members of a digital community (as defined by O'Brien & Stavert, 2011). An active digital citizen will both receive from, and contribute to the digital world; with this comes so much potential as well as a great deal of risk. If you are still unsure about exactly what a digital citizen is, Childnet International give an excellent description of what they believe it to be; you can view their video here.

With young Australians spending more and more time on their electronic devices (figure 1), it is important to equip them with skills, knowledge and understanding to safely and constructively navigate their digital spaces (O'Brien & Stavert, 2011). In this way, a good digital citizen will behave safely, responsibly and ethically (O'Brien & Stavert, 2011; Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2014). This concept is recognised nationally throughout Australia in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2014), as a 'general capability' which each Australian student should develop throughout their schooling. With only some of their time spent at school however, it is important that parents support their child's digital development in the home space too. 

Figure 1: The average hours spent online for personal use (not including school or work use) per week by age group. Data from 2014-2015.
'Internet Users, mean number of hours by age group, 2014-15' by Australian Bureau of Statistics is licensed under CC BY 2.5 AU. 

What can you do?
It is important not to scare our children with all of the dangers of the internet. Rather, making them conscious of potential dangers as well as giving them the tools to protect themselves will empower them to keep themselves (and others) safe, while being positive and constructive digital citizens (key idea by O'Brien & Stavert, 2011). This will not be achieved over night, as it requires time, discussions and instruction between parent and child. There is also a need to implement some cybersafety strategies also. Dr. Tanya Byron (United Kingdom clinical psychologist for children) summarised this idea perfectly:

"Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe ... Children will be children - pushing boundaries and taking risks. At a public swimming pool we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we also teach children how to swim." (Byron, 2008, p.2)

Gates, signs & lifeguards..
Methods which can keep you and your family safe! 
There are parental control tools available on many communication technologies including smartphones (Andoird & Apple iOS), game consoles (Wii, Xbox & Playstation) and tablets. Many online platforms offer security and privacy settings; it is just a matter of navigating to them and selecting all of the options which you feel are important. One example of this could be ensuring 'safe search' settings are enabled on search engines such as Google Chrome. iParent is an initiative lead by the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, and it has many tips and suggestions like these. I highly recommend looking over their pages to feel better equipped to support your child as a digital citizen. Below is their top '7 ways' to safely manage your home devices (Figure 2).

Figure 2: '7 ways to manage web-connected devices at in the home' 
Downloaded 23rd September 2016 from https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources/iparent/7-ways-infographic

*Note: by the end of year 8, students should be able to identify and value the rights to identity, privacy and emotional for themselves and others (ACARA, 2014), but this understanding will vary between learners and it would not hurt to place your own protection methods in place. Plus, investing in safety measures is one way to set a good example of your own digital citizenship; something important to do as a role model.

While we are talking about cyber safety, I think it is critical to be aware of age restrictions across the digital network. Knowing these restrictions will empower your child to make responsible decisions for themselves. For example, any sexually explicit image of a person who is under 18 years of age and which is kept on your child's device can be considered as possession of child pornography. Knowing the legal facts is essential to empower your child to make informed and responsible decisions about their and other's safety. To get to know the facts in your state, look at Lawstuff Australia; a great, easy to understand resource for you (and your kids!).

'The Art of Social Media' by mkhmarketing is licensed under CC BY 2.0

As we know, ICT can be invaluable when it comes to learning, communicating, creating and interacting with local and global communities. But there are some risks that young people are more susceptible to than others. iParent have identified these, and they make up important discussion starters to have with your child. These include:
> Cyberbullying
> Digital Reputation
> Social Networking
> Unwanted Contact
> Online Gaming
> Inappropriate, offensive or illegal content
> Sexting
> Protecting your information
> Trolling
> Photos, videos and social media

Please follow any, or all, of the links listed above to gain understanding of, and specific tips to combat, each risk factor. These have been identified as the 'big issues' (by the Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner, 2016) and overcoming them begins with education. Education involving you, and your child.

The year is 2016. Your child is learning to navigate themselves in the Information Age. Their success as a digital citizen begins with your support. The risks are out there; but they can be managed and minimised with adequate education, discussion and safety strategies.


Further Reading

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). Household Use of Information Technology, Australia 2014-15: Key Findings. Accessed 19th September 2016, from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0Main+Features12014-15?OpenDocument 

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability. Accessed 20th September 2016, from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/generalcapabilities/information-and-communication-technology-capability/introduction/introduction

Byron, T. (2008). Safer children in a digital world: The report of the Byron Review: Be safe, be aware, have fun. Accessed 20th September 2016, from http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/7332/7/Final%20Report%20Bookmarked_Redacted.pdf 

Hanewald, R., & Ng, W. (2010). The Digital Revolution in Education: Digital Citizenship and Multi. Mobile Technologies and Handheld Devices for Ubiquitous Learning: Research and Pedagogy: Research and Pedagogy, 1.

O’Brien, T., & Stavert, B. (2011). Creating good digital citizens. Education in a technological world: Communicating current and emerging research and technological efforts, 115-119.