𝟲𝟯 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀.
If, like me, you work on online child safety, then the figures from the recent Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) survey (link in the comments) wouldn’t surprise you.
But like me, I hope they worry you. Especially if you are a fellow parent.
In the 7 years since we started our cyber parenting and cyber safety programmes, the digital landscape has only grown more complex. Covid-19 and GenAI have precipitated technology use to levels far beyond what is healthy or recommended for young people. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱.
What started in 2018 as an effort to keep my tween safe online, grew into a core part of our
Cyber awareness work. In the beginning, it wasn’t easy, despite my academic expertise – so I wanted to make the journey easier for other parents.
Cyber awareness is a regular part of my family routine. Yes, I don’t always get it right, but my teens and I communicate and calibrate as we go along. That is, after all, what parenting is about – being prepared to learn from our mistakes and do what is best for our child, including the difficult parts.
Parents are overwhelmed. I understand this all too well. Yet, it is our primary responsibility to keep our kids safe – especially in online spaces in increasingly digital societies.
The government, private sector, schools, and community organisations all play a role, providing support and ample resources. My experience shows that in age of information overload 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. In our sessions, we discuss the basics of parenting – amid all the chaos of the digital, parenting basics sometimes are forgotten. 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 in the digital age.
My partner organisations and I invite 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱 and empower themselves to keep their families safer online. Together, we can make the internet a safer and kinder place for our children 💪🌟
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