The UN Human Rights experts have prepared a report on the right to privacy in the digital age. It says that mass surveillance by governments is a violation of freedoms, including the right to privacy. However, the all-seeing deity of special services is not the only thing internet users should think about. Permanently being “online” involves a lot of risks that most people still have not totally realized. Of course, children are the most vulnerable on the Internet. According to the representative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Carl Lichchiardelo, cyber-bullying, aggression, identity theft, violation of the right to privacy, sexting, pornography are online risks that children are not prepared for.
Nowadays, children start using the Internet at an early age – since they are 5-6-years-old. According to the results of studies almost half of the European children can go on-line in their rooms, and a quarter of children aged 12 to 15 have their own tablets, not to mention mobile phones.
The majority of students do not even have the slightest idea about how to protect their information, to restrict access to their pages on social networks, and more than that, not even suspect that such a need exists. Experts report that this situation is more common in developing countries:
“Many developed countries already have the infrastructure that allows to restrict digital risks for children, while in developing countries it does not exist. On the other hand, children living in developing countries do not have access to the big quantity of electronic devices. However, they can use the network in public places, in an internet cafe for free.”
Parents are primarily responsible for the safety of their children on the World Wide Web. However, according to the statistics, there is an interesting contradiction. 92% of parents claim that they have established clear rules of online children behavior, whereas 34% of children report that parents have established no rules.
And it is true that most parents do not even realize what their children do on the Internet and they should not be criticized because most of them simply do not have time for doing this. According to specialists, it would not also be pedagogically to create the system of a total children control. Especially, taking into account that technological solutions – such as the use of special filters on computers – are not always effective.
Sometimes it is much more important to explain a child what risks are connected with the use of the Internet, why there is a need for the protection of personal data and what consequences may entail while visiting websites with questionable content. According to Carl Lichchiardelo, if parents do not explain their children which risks they can face on the Internet they can always go to, for example, their classmates and there they can still encounter the same problems.
The International Telecommunication Union talk about the need for training and support for parents and teachers – particularly in the framework of the ITU Child Online Protection initiatives. After all, the digital disjuncture between generations is very large. Sometimes it is difficult for adults to talk about the Internet and technology to children who have learned to use smartphones earlier than writing.
Source: Радио ООН
