Recent headlines regarding children’s safety online have detailed harrowing reports of abuse and caught the attention of the nation. Is it time to be more strict over what children and teenagers can access online?
Today’s front page news ran disturbing headlines; online abusers targeting young children and blackmailing them into performing disturbing acts on webcam. This comes just days after the ‘Letzgo Hunting’ scandal, where the group, who pose as teenage girls online then meet up with suspected paedophiles under the ruse, were partly blamed for the suicide of Gary Cleary, who the group contacted online posing as a 14-year-old girl.
There have been cases of cyber bullying from teenagers’ peers leading to devastating stories of suicide and the easy accessibility of harmful or offensive websites has become an issue for parents and malware protection companies alike.
So, can we do more to protect our children when they use the internet? Would it be viable to keep tabs on everything children and teenagers access online? Should parents, charities or organisations be able to monitor the online activity of children?
Teenagers would obviously find this to be an invasion of their privacy, but for parents, security and safety comes first. If a parent had been able to keep an eye on what their child or teenager was doing online, could some of these tragedies have been avoided?
Maybe the answers lie with schools. If children were taught about the safety online, what behaviour is right and wrong, and how to make the most of the internet and having lots of fun online without any risks, these awful news headlines about abuse and cyber bullying come become a thing of the past.
Do you think we should start monitoring children’s internet usage? Or do teachers and parents need to do more to increase the awareness of online safety amongst youngsters? Let us know in the comments below.
