Choose to be safe in your Digital Home

All of us have been suitably taught when it comes to our everyday safety & welfare. Be it parents, teachers, or grandparents, we were thoroughly given lessons on how important being safe is. We grew up hearing the same precautions in cartoons and soap operas and news, and we have all accepted and interpreted our role in our own safety. 

But the danger doesn’t end here! The internet can be an insecure place if we don’t heed caution.

In the contemporary world, defense against peril doesn’t just end in the street. You can be at a place where you feel the safest and surrounded and still be watched by the demons online. Such use of electronic communication to bully or threaten a person comes under cyberbullying or cybercrime. 

Internet access in today’s world is not limited. Kids are given mobile phones as an alternative to deal with them. Social media is way too normal for children in 4th grade. A child can reach porn or harmful content in a matter of 3 clicks. How can we expect to give kids such tools at such an age without any education on how to use them? This is the new normal that society is willingly accepting without even giving it a second glance. And this is where the risks of unlimited internet exposure (with a lack of proper education) begin. When a child is on the world wide web, they are not in the confined space of their bedroom but rather being watched by the online world. Giving permission to unknown websites to invade personal data can be a very common consequence of such exposure. It might not matter at that very time but as and when the realization may hit, tracing back can become extremely difficult. Therefore, it becomes crucial for every household to have a set of do’s and don’t on the world wide web. 

These sets of rules are no different from the ones that we grew up hearing. For example: 

Do not answer the door when you are alone. 

Just as effectively as it works in the real life, it works in the online world as well. Do not answer any mail or call you receive from an unknown or suspicious person. Always ask an adult for supervision & guidance. 

Do not leave the door unlocked. 

Recall how we always check if the door is locked before we go to bed, this gives us a sense of the credibility of being safe. Similarly, when you log in to unknown websites or apps, they ask for permissions such as to enable the camera, connect calls, verify location, etc, and sometimes in a state hurry, we seem to overlook such scenarios, and later we might find that our data is being used publicly or given to different website for the wrong use. Therefore, one must always keep the habit of logging out from any such websites and denying permissions that we feel are unsafe and have the capacity to harm us and our data in any possible way. 

Do not go to unfamiliar streets or places

We don’t wander around alone in the unknown streets as it is extremely dangerous. In the same way, when we are on the world wide web, we should not explore anonymous websites or connect with them in any sort. One example of such a website is called “the dark web”. Children often have the curiosity to unravel the dark web, what kind of people are there, and what they do or sell and it is very normal to have such questions. But remember that one should not be naive enough to simply fulfill their curiosity as such webs are filled with illegal stuff. There may be smuggling of Drugs, substances, or any other illegal activity. Hence, children need to take precautions or take guidance from an adult before going online.

Always keep the key in a safe place 

Just like we hang our keys in a secure place and do not give away our keys just to anyone, we should always be very cautious about our passwords. Every other website we use asks for a password and remembering them can be difficult at a time, therefore one should always write down passwords or better, have apps such as Lastpass, Dashlane or  logMeOnce. These apps give you the ability to store passwords, info, and credentials and allow you to sync them to your mobile or browsers whenever you need. Doing such would discourage people to avoid sharing their important details.

Now try to recall the last time you were on the internet, did you open any unauthorized websites? Did you share your credentials or login info with a strange party? Or maybe you opened an unknown attachment of any sort. If your answer is yes to any one of the questions above, the next tip is for you. 

Ever seen in a horror movie how a random package awaits on someone’s doorstep, and they OPEN IT! Do not be this careless. When you use the internet, you might receive an unknown attachment or any files, never open them unless you are sure about the sender. It can not only contain viruses but also an illegal entitiy. The most basic rule from the book, do not talk to people you don’t know. On the internet, children can connect to anyone regardless of age or gender, they can even be naive enough to meet them in person. Such meetings can go wrong in uncountable ways. Always be smart and informed on the internet. 

Now, lets’ do an activity: Using the learning from Home Analogy, Design your own Do’s & Don’t’s for your Digital Home & Life

These are some of the most important rules that children must know while using the world wide web. In this age, as much as informed we get from the internet, it can also leave us in the most vulnerable space. Always check children's safety. Cybercrime and bullying is not new anymore, it’s happening and will continue to happen unless children are well taught and educated about the crimes, the resources, and the help from responsible stakeholders like teachers, parents, educators & cyber crime departments, etc. 

‘What goes/happens online, stays online’. The internet is a public & permanent space.

In conclusion, use technology wisely, and help yourself and the people around you. Get smart and learn. It can be the most disastrous way to fall or the most amazing one to grow. The choice is yours & the way you use it! 

-Aanya Rawat & Rijul Arora