Who are your children texting?
JOBURG – Children are more exposed to the Internet and vulnerable to predators.
Holiday season is around the corner and children will be on their phones more than usual.
Phone applications are being launched by the numbers and it’s hard for parents to keep up with what their children are posting and who they are speaking to. Almost 97 per cent of the youth in South Africa have access to the Internet. According to director of Childline Gauteng Lynne Cawood, in 2015, 21 cases were reported where children were exposed to pornography – this is when someone older deliberately exposes a minor to pornography. She also added that 17 cases were reported where children where exploited to pornography by adults who would take pictures of the children and distribute them.
Cawood said that child safety on the Internet has become a big issue and has made children very vulnerable. “There have been cases where children were lured into unsafe situations which led to them being raped or murdered,” said Cawood. She went further and said that it is important that parents monitor their children’s online activities and that they must communicate and engage with their children. “Parents should negotiate with their children upfront when they buy them phones and tell them that they will be monitoring their phone activity,” said Cawood. She also said that parents should warn their children about which sites are not safe, what they should stay away from and that all computers should be kept in a public space of the house.
There are some apps like Tinder which are dating apps. Parents should be especially aware of this. Other apps that parents should look out for should be photo sharing apps – predators could target your children and use their pictures for unforeseen and dubious reasons.
Apps parents should monitor:
- Snapchat
- Tumblr
Apps that can be used to track phones which can come in handy when you are trying to know the whereabouts of your child:
- Family Tracker
- Plan B
- SeekDroid Lite
- Antidroid Theft
- Cerberus
Apps that your children should not have:
- Tinder
- Browse Matches
- Hinge
- Match.com
- PlentyOfFish
or any dating apps.
Childline urges children and parents to contact them on their 24/7 hotline 0800 555 55.
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