Nic Wetton, head teacher at JH Godwin Primary School, Chester, says that parents believe their child is safe online because they are quiet and don’t know what they’re seeing.
She warns that their silence can be misleading. The head teacher, who cares for 180 children aged four-and-a half to eleven years old, says that online videos can traumatize children.
Ms. Wetton claims that she has seen children as young six play online computer games rated 12-rated. “We have had children who need medication to go to sleep. This is extremely worrying.
Children who have been playing on their phones or tablets all night may not be able to pay attention in school because they aren’t paying attention. A WhatsApp group was recently experimenting with a new way to test who could stay up longer. The winner then sent a message at 04.00.
Children who surf the internet unsupervised may be at risk of being exposed to inappropriate content or staying up late.
Rachel O’Connell is familiar with these issues. Rachel O’Connell has worked on statistical methods to identify those who abuse children online.
She posed online as an eight year old child, pretending to be a friend at school. She has a deep understanding of predators’ mindset, and it is chilling. For example, she states that friendless children are often targets.
Ms O’Connell visits schools to find that many parents don’t know which apps their children have access to. She says, “Putting naked selfies online seems like a right of passage now.” “Parents can feel helpless if they feel that they don’t know how ‘digitally” parent. We need supervision.”
Children can be targeted when they browse sites that are not allowed for them.
This would be a solution to the problem.
TrustElevate is the business that Ms O’Connell founded. It’s based on Zero Data. This principle allows you to determine if a child should be allowed access to a service, but not give out any personal information about that child.
Ms O’Connell is currently testing Zero Data techniques with mobile operator, EE. She hopes to create a family access application that screens users for age and gets parental approval.
TrustElevate software generates tokens that contain only the child’s age and no personal data. This allows service providers to verify a new user.
The service provider may block access but details that don’t match the permissions on the system can be blocked. However, the token can’t be used to push any other products or services to the child.
These tools can be a great help but schools must also fight back.
Ms. Wetton, JH Godwin School, offers online safety workshops where parents can bring their laptops to download parental controls and safety apps.
She is frustrated that parents are not always willing to engage with her. One parent, out of 150 parents who have children at the school, has attended workshops.
Technology for business:
Ms. Wetton even tried a tactic approach by putting online safety talks before popular events like the Easter or Christmas bingo sessions. She has received a lot of criticism from those who feel they shouldn’t be lecturing on their evening out.
The school must now come up with practical ways to protect its students from online threats.
She suggests, for example, that children not wear school-branded jumpers while using TikTok. “If children do this, anyone who watches them knows where they will be at 0800 and 1600.”
She believes that online safety apps should always be available on any device that a child may use.
“Surely that’s better than waiting to see a mental health epidemic in the very young?” Computer games can also be addictive. We can’t protect them. It’s like trying not to give life to an empty vessel.
She would like to see tech companies feel more responsible for protecting their users through age verification software.
TrustElevate’s Ms O’Connell says that the government should do more to regulate children’s online access to websites and games.
“There is no oversight in that at the moment. There’s no oversight into its impact.”
In 2019, a UK government Online Harms White Paper reported that children aged 12-15 spend more than 20 hours per week online. Ofcom, the regulator, stated that 79% had suffered at least one potentially dangerous experience online during the past year.
The Online Safety Bill is currently in Parliament and will establish a duty to protect children against harmful or inappropriate material.
Although the Bill doesn’t specify which technology tools should to be used, Ofcom could respond to any failure to protect children by recommending age verification systems.
Chris Philp, Minister of Tech and the Digital Economy, spoke to BBC News and outlined what he believes will create a more restrictive operating environment for online platforms.
Platforms that want children to use their services will have to prevent them from accessing inappropriate or harmful content. They will have to restrict access for underage users if their services are intended for adults.
He claims that strict government measures will assist parents and schools dealing with online threats. “Those who do not comply will be subject to severe fines and could lose access to the UK’s services.
JH Godwin School would welcome tougher protection measures. Ms. Wetton describes the gap between the positive portrayal of big tech’s role in society and its unintended consequences in real life as a positive.
“Live streaming services are supposed bring together ‘like-minded persons’, but in reality, it means predators using search words such as ‘girls dance’.
She is familiar with the tactics used by paedophiles, including matching their pace to their victims. “These people are patient and work hard on children, so we have to open our eyes [to possible dangers].
