Risks of Children's Internet Use and Advice to Parents

In the age we live in, it is observed that the use of the internet is increasing in child users every year. from the Internet; education, entertainment, etc. Children who want to benefit from many areas closely follow this technology, which also supports their development. The internet is very accessible with devices such as phones, tablets and computers. In terms of accessibility of all information, the internet environment is not only beneficial but also contains risks. In the guide published by the World Health Organization in 2019, it is stated that babies under the age of 1 should not be exposed to electronic screens in any way, and that children between the ages of 2 and 4 should not spend more than one hour a day in front of the screen. It is said that limiting and in some cases eliminating screen time for children under the age of 5 will contribute to children becoming healthier adults.

Children can come across images that are not suitable for their age, as they can easily access websites. The fact that your children are easily accessible on the internet also causes them to be exposed to a lot of bad content, especially violence, alcohol, substance use and sexuality, which they should not watch due to their age, if they are left free and unsupervised. Deception, fraud, leaking of personal and family information, abuse, harassment, kidnapping by friendly malicious users are also possible situations.

Another important issue is the intimidation of children by malicious people on social media, which we call cyberbullying, exposure to embarrassing elements, hijacking of social media accounts, sending virus-containing mail or messages, etc. are situations.

Another issue that poses a risk for children is that internet use negatively affects their physical, social, psychological and mental development. Using devices such as computers, phones, tablets for a long time; It causes disruption of eating and sleeping patterns. The increase in the time spent on the Internet also causes a decrease in the time spent in face-to-face communication. It should not be forgotten that this situation negatively affects the communication of children with family members and friends.

Advice to Parents

• Controlling the use of communication tools, obtaining filtering and restriction applications in terms of security are among the factors that reduce the risks.
• Time and usage restrictions should be determined by taking into account the age and developmental level of the child.
• With the support of your children's teachers, save the addresses of safe internet sites that will be determined together according to the ages of your children in the "favorites" section of your computer.
• Pictures of family members, home addresses, phone numbers, credit card information, etc. requested from your child on the sites he visits. indicate that he should not give important information and immediately inform his family members.
• In order to control your child's internet usage, you can use social media together, spend quality and useful time on the internet, open joint accounts in social media and make friends with your child in these environments.
• If the use of the Internet has begun to seriously affect your child's daily life, consult the school counselor or a relevant specialist for help on how to cope with the situation.
• Make sure that your children spend time playing games, reading books, doing sports and art in order to support their socialization and personal development, apart from internet usage times.
• In this regard, which can affect the emotional, social, mental, psychological and physical development of children in many ways, it is very important for parents to be good role models in the digital world of children and to inculcate the use of the Internet towards children.

https://www.yedam.org.tr/cocuklarin-internet-egitiminin-barindirdigi-riskler-ve-ebeveynlere-oneriler