Top tips for online safety

By Wilmie van Tonder (Social Worker and Family Therapist)

When it comes to information technology, one needs to think quickly in order to stay safe. Our children get exposed to new information and new services daily and while this creates new opportunities, it also creates new risks.

Here are a few tips that we can teach our children, that will (if nothing else) create an awareness of how to be safe when using cellphone or the internet:

Beware of the wolves

Dangers related to online instant messaging and chat services all boil down to “people are not always who they say they are”. The person you think is young, vibrant and friendly may in fact be a very disturbed person – a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This applies to adults as well, that email from your bank might in fact be an email from a fraudster.

No friend, No favour

Children should refrain from doing things online for people they do not know personally. In the event where a so-called friend or relative asks them to do sexual favours (pictures, poses, words, video clips), reassure your child that it is against the Law of South Africa to take part in such activities and that this ‘friend’ is not doing them any kind of ‘favour’ by asking him/her to get involved. For teenagers this can result in a permanent criminal record.

Less is more

Your child should not give out his/her name, age, address, school, phone number, picture of himself or anyone else without your permission or (if they are older) without making sure it is safe to do so. This includes chat rooms, instant messages, email, surfing the net and even entering contests or registering for clubs online. Teach them to be wary of those who want to know too much.

Real-life friends have real lives

Children should avoid chat rooms or discussion areas that look sketchy or provocative, and shouldn’t let people online trick them into thinking of them as real-life friends if they have never met them in person.

Better safe than sorry

If they get suspicious e-mails, files or pictures from someone they don’t know and trust, trash them like any other junk mail. They could have a lot to lose by trusting someone they have never even met. The same goes for clicking links or URLs that look suspicious – just don’t do it.

Put these short messages up next to your computer or where your child can see it. This could save their life!

*I Hereby give recognition to Mrs. Carmia Crause for her contribution to this article.