8 Tips On Teaching Data Privacy To Kids

Digitalization is a force to be reckoned with. It has impacted the way we thrive in today’s society, deal with communication, manage our books of business, develop teaching and learning methodologies, form friendships, and yes, even handle parenting. We are raising children in the digital age.

My children and I are no exception.

“From the moment hundreds of millions of children enter the world, they are steeped in a steady stream of digital communication and connection—from the way their medical care is managed and delivered, to the online pictures of their first precious moments,” says UNICEF’s digital report about The State of World’s Children 2017: Children in a Digital World.

According to the report, one in three internet users around the world is a minor.

Kids learn to use apps for their school projects and special tasks. As a matter of fact, my children are now reading novels, shorts, and fiction by accessing an “online library.” I can vividly remember a time when it was substantially difficult to find a book in our library (particularly fiction, because there’s only one copy), as well as how I rummaged through the index cards only to learn that the book I wanted was already rented out. Times have truly changed!

Plus, the kids of today don’t even have to wait for their playmates to go outside and play; games are now accessed through apps and online gaming communities.

While digital connectivity has been helping us to keep up with the changing times where most of our needs can be met with access to an app, a click of a button, or a scan of a QR code–my question is, as parents, how do we leverage the advantage of technology while keeping our children and their personal data safe from online risk?

Double-edged sword: what are the online risks?

Researchers qualify the risks as content, contact, and conduct:

Content (where the child gets access to inappropriate, sexual, dangerous, self-harm, suicidal content), contact (where the child enters into risky communication with online predator), and conduct (where the child behaves in a way that contributes to risky content or contact. This may be in forms of hate speech, hateful materials, passing around sexual images including the ones they produced themselves).

Additionally, the UNICEF report highlights the harms of life online which can be summarized in the following key points:

• Traditional dangers (bullying, for example) and new forms of child abuse and exploitation, such as made-to-order child, sexual abuse material, self-generated content, and broadcasting of live sex abuse;
• End-to-end encrypted platforms and the Dark Web;
• Loss of privacy. Children are vulnerable and less likely to understand the risks and when risk turns into actual harm for children;
• Without proper safeguards, the world’s most disadvantaged children who are trying the internet for the first time will face even greater risk

8 tips on teaching data privacy to kids

Common Sense Media, an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children, urges us that when kids start to use technology or go online, it's important to teach them the basics of online safety and data privacy.

1. Tell them how powerful the internet is.

Make your children aware of the far-reaching effects of the internet. According to a webinar, Talking to Kids about Privacy, parents tend to wait to talk about data privacy when kids are older but it is encouraged to talk to them about data privacy when they’re younger. Contrary to popular belief, children are concerned about data privacy.

As such, explain to them that the photos and information that they publicly share online could reach a lot of people across countries, even the people they do not personally know.

2. Teach them to be careful when sharing.

Photos, videos, location, passwords, personal information—these are things of value and should not be shared unless necessary like location to a parent or guardian. Children have to be careful of the photos that they share with their friends, especially in a group chat, as these images can be easily saved and forwarded.

3. Create strong and unique passwords.

Schools may require children to access different apps to supplement their learning. Advise them to create strong and unique passwords and never share them with their peers.

4. Teach them about secured URLs.

Does the URL begin with "https"? Let them know that the "s" at the end means most likely the website is secure. Make sure that "s" is there both before and after your kid signs in using that url.

5. Talk about phishing, scams, and apps that request access to photos and contact information.

Advise your child to come to you if they receive messages (on social media, in comments, via chats, text, or emails) that they perceive as scary or that make them uncomfortable, including those apps and ads that are requesting to access one's contact or gallery information just to continue with the free app. Additionally, give them an idea about phishing or techniques of attempting to acquire sensitive data.

6. Educate them to be wary of the things they click.

Younger kids are usually quick to click subscribe, install, or download. Things that they install or download on their gadgets might also provide access to their account information so as the adage goes, make them ‘think before they click.’

7. Teach children to spot red flags.

In online gaming apps, it’s difficult to determine if they are playing with same-age children or an adult preying on them. If they are talking to them inappropriately, or asking about personal information, tell them to shut the device and let you know immediately.

8. Talk about privacy in a language that they would understand.

Online safety  and data privacy is a profound topic for younger kids. Attempt to explain in a language that your kids would understand or you can learn a thing or two from the book, Eyemonger by Daniel J. Solove, a children’s book about privacy. The idea of the book is to start some conversations and get children to start thinking about privacy and its trade-offs. The book is intended for children as young as age 5.

Online safety: Shared responsibility

In the Philippines, the average age at which children first go online is 10 years old. But following the lockdown and restriction of movement outside our own homes at the height of the pandemic, not to mention the proliferation of smartphones and next-gen gadgets, children have been exposed to online media at a much younger age.

With younger kids who are more vulnerable and naive to digital danger, as parents, it is vital to educate them about data privacy but it is equally important to have a shared sense of responsibility when it comes to online safety. We can start with making sure that their privacy settings are according to our preferred measures. For starters, you can set parental controls so you can monitor and review games, apps, and social media sites before they are downloaded or used by your children. You can be strict with what they can access and you may periodically check their profiles and posts.

It is easy to pull the “I didn’t know that my child has access to that” card, but as parents raising children in a digital era, our accountability extends to what else is beyond the tips of their fingers.

Read this article on why parents need to take control of their kids' digital activity.