What could possibly go wrong when your children are online? Scammers, cyberbullies, and the worst nightmare of all families, sexual predators! Yet, many parents are clueless, letting their children go online without any protection or supervision.
With the way the Internet dangers children like today, parents can’t be ignorant about this anymore! Or else, your own children can become victims of those online dangers. Understanding the threats children face online can solve 50% of the problem, and parents can go from CLUELESS to CAUTIOUS with this article!
Sexual predators
What are sexual predators?
Among the online dangers for children, these people can be the most dangerous. Sexual predators are adults who use the Internet to take advantage of a child or young adult for sexual abuse. Understanding children’s psychology very well, sexual predators can easily blend in youth-centered platforms such as Facebook and Instagram or gaming sites like Stream and Twitch to find targets.
Even though they communicate with your children through a screen, sexual offenders can easily manipulate victims into providing sexually explicit images or videos. They can also coerce or blackmail children to meet up and do sexual acts with them.
According to ABC News, in 2019, 16 alleged child predators were arrested in New Jersey. Using social media websites, chat apps, and gaming apps, they engaged with underage boys and girls, making conversations about sex, and making arrangements to meet them for sex. Eventually, those perverts were charged with 5 to 10 years in prison with a fine of up to $150,000.
How sexual predators do harm to your children?
From the case above, we can see how the Internet dangers children. And if not prevented soon, it can leave devastating consequences for children. Once children’s sexually explicit images are leaked on the Internet, It is extremely hard to completely remove them from the Internet. As a result, kids will always be insecure, have low esteem, and start to isolate themselves from others.
The effects of those haunting experiences do not stop there. Children may suffer from mental illnesses such as social anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), etc. To cope with this, they may reach out for stimulants, leading to substance abuse. Worse, some teenagers may self-harm or even commit suicide, thinking it is the way to stop the agony once and for all.
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Identity theft
What is identity theft?
When a thief gathers information about you and uses it to impersonate or defraud you, the action can be considered identity theft. Identity theft is happening at an alarming rate in various platforms, from social media, and gaming to scam sites.
According to the National Council On Identity theft Protection, the 3 most common cases of identity theft are:
- Starting a new financial account with the victim’s information to achieve monetary gains.
- Information theft such as Social Security identity theft for financial gains.
- Account takeover (ATO, or misusing a user’s account information for personal gains.
Experts point out that every 22 seconds, an identity theft case happens. It means that identity can happen to anyone, especially to children who do not have enough Internet safety knowledge. Among millions of identity theft cases, credit card fraud is most commonly committed with 2.8 million reports in 2021.
How can identity theft do harm to your children?
Without education about Internet safety skills, children can easily fall into the trap of those cybercriminals. By clicking scam links, using parents’ credit cards to buy goods on a fake gaming site, or accidentally sharing credit card information on social media, kids create a perfect opportunity for those thieves to commit illegal acts.
Once it happened, being stolen identity can lead to serious consequences. With credit cards and other banking information, cybercriminals can cause severe financial loss for families. Worse, they can even use the identity of parents or kids to deceive others, which not only damages the family’s reputation but also causes the family to be charged with illegal acts.
Cyberbullying
What is cyberbullying?
This is one of the most common threats children face online. Cyberbullying (online bullying) is bullying that occurs in cyberspace such as social media platforms, online forums, gaming sites, etc. Nowadays, with the development of the Internet, many types of cyberbullying can be very complex, making it hard for kids and parents to deal with.
When a child’s psyche is not stable, being cyberbullied can ruin their life. The story of 16-year-old Jessica Laney is an example. The unfortunate girl was found to have committed suicide at her home in Florida after being bullied on social media sites. They called her ‘fat’, ‘sl*t’ and belittled her for her appearance and relationship.
How cyberbullying can do harm to your children?
The case above has shown the detrimental effects of cyberbullying on children. They start to become unconfident and retreat from their social life and hobbies. Children who are cyberbullied will always feel anxious and stressful, thereby, unable to focus on studying or any of their hobbies.
Both their mental and physical health is at risk. They may have to deal with insomnia, eating disorders, depression, etc. Unable to eat or sleep well, kids may lose weight, have a weaker immune system and digestive disorders. Worse, they may reach out for self-harm or abuse substances to escape from negative feelings. When they find doing so can’t help, they may even attempt to suicide and end all of their sorrow.
How to prevent the Internet dangers children are exposed to
The Internet is full of cyber threats, waiting for a chance to attack your kids. After understanding how Internet dangers children, it is time parents took action now before it is too late!
- Using an online content filtering tool
If you have ever been:
- Anxious when letting children go online, afraid they will be exposed to toxic content?
- Exhausted when you have to count their screen time and constantly remind them to turn off the device?
- Weary when they keep begging for “5 more mins” but it always lasts more than 30 mins?
We need to end this! With CyberPurify Egg, when it’s studying time, all access to games, social media, and movies will be automatically blocked on every device your child uses.
Stay truly peace of mind when your kids are less distracted, less dependent on devices. Also, they are 24/7 protected from all harmful sites, minimizing the risk of porn addiction and dangerous behaviors.
Be one of the first parents to own a CyberPurify Egg!
- Spend time talking and bonding with your children
The closer parents are to kids, the more likely they will tell parents about their problems. Therefore, whenever they run into any online dangers for children, they will report it to you immediately and discuss with you to find solutions. - Educate children about how Internet dangers children and safety tips
Before letting children go online, parents should prepare children with threats children face online. Along with that, parents need to instruct necessary online safety tips for children so that they will know what to do, even when parents are not there.
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