eSafety Bulleting – 31st March 2021

Using Easter to break bad habits created during lockdown

Lockdown easing starts this week.  Many children have had increased time on their computer screens and the Easter holiday would be a great time to try to break the habits created throughout lockdown? For some students it may be a great opportunity to get them off their computers or to limit their internet time. Most routers allow parents to specify the time that internet connections are available for each device. 

Social Media – ‘What the right age to start using social media’?

This is the question we are most frequently asked, and clearly the one that causes parents most anxiety.  

The short answer is that everyone is different…there is no one size (or time) fits all.  Here is what the UK Safer Internet Centre have to say.

“Users will now need to be 16 to use WhatsApp. Nearly all other social media services require users to be at least 13 years of age to access and use their services. This includes Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Musical.ly and Skype.

Whilst there is no age restriction for watching videos on YouTube, users need to be 13 or older to have their own YouTube account (enabling them to subscribe to other channels, like videos, post comments, share their own content and flag inappropriate content).

The reason most social media services use an age limit of 13 or over is in part because of a law in the USA. The COPPA law or Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act states that any organisations or people operating online services (including social media services) are not allowed to collect the personal information of anyone under the age of 13 without parental permission.

To avoid the necessity of obtaining parental permission for any user under the age of 13, most services have instead chosen to place an age restriction of 13 to their services. 

What do we advise?

Our advice with regard to age restrictions is that it is always better to wait until the required age to join any social media service. These rules around age relate to privacy, but also are relevant to safety. Some services offer additional protection for users who are registered as under 18, and by supplying a fake age young people can potentially lose some of this protection. Young people also risk being exposed to content, which is intended for older users when they use sites that are not designed for people their age.

We know that social media services are popular with young people of all ages. Parents have an important role in helping prepare their children to go online before they start to use social media platforms. Together you can look at the key things they need to know about staying safe online, critical thinking, and the safety settings that are available to them.

When looking at creating a profile online with your child, have a discussion as a family and make this decision together – talk about why they want the account and ensure that any family members using social media know what tools are available to help them stay safe. “

Excerpts taken from: 

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/age-restrictions-social-media-services#:~:text=Users%20will%20now%20need%20to,%2C%20Musical.ly%20and%20Skype

Anonymous Messaging Services

Over the years we have had a small number of instances of cyber bullying that has arisen through the use of such apps as Sarahah, which has thankfully now been removed from the App Store.  

Some parents have let us know that the Tellonym app may have gained some traction with pupils in Year 8.  Tellonym is a17+ age rated app that lets users ask and answer questions about each other anonymously. Questions and comments that are not suitable for young people are frequently posted.

We do have frequent discussions with students regarding their use of apps and one question we will ask them is, ‘do they really need the app?’ We will address online safety and the potential dangers of some apps. Engaging with children about their apps is a helpful and supportive discussion to have.

For Safer Internet Day this year we are taking a look at fake news, deciding if we trust or check content and thinking about what we should do in a number of internet based scenarios.

With pupils online at home, we can’t explore fake news and the impact it can have in too much depth without a conversation and questions and answers in the classroom. Instead, I’m using the video below to introduce the idea of trust online, what to do and how we check things if we aren’t sure.

Trust online – trust it or check it.

Pupils then have a go at answering questions in a quiz to make them think through some common scenarios before opting for an action. The questions are simplistic in scope, but do provide a foundation for discussion around these issues which we will tackle in greater depth when pupils return to school based learning.

Feel free to have a go at the Fake or Fact quiz yourself. Perhaps even complete it with your child as a basis for further discussion and the chance for you to assess and enhance their understanding.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSded5mzj3ivMuGqRUAPCQk_XhxYyrE0pVxCZKA7oOcXxBBOMw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Two weeks ago BBC Panorama aired its programme investigating safety concerns relating to TikTok; the social media sensation of lockdown.

Tik Tok on the surface seems like a very light-hearted app with users posting videos of lip-synching, dancing and chatting.  However, the Panorama report uncovered some very inappropriate conversations and lots of potential grooming issues taking place via the app.  This takes the ongoing concerns about children being exposed to swearing and sexual content to another level.

Bearing in mind TikTok’s acceptable minimum user age is 13, John Carr from the UK Children’s Charity Coalition on Internet safety, says that TikTok is ”a completely inappropriate environment for children”.  Common Sense Media (very useful site if you need advice about suitability of content for children) suggests 15+ is a more suitable age.

The program looked at how the A.I. algorithms that determine what to display on the user’s feed, actually work.  And how just lingering on a posted video can result in similar videos finding their way to your feeds.  

I encourage you to watch the programme (27mins), especially to watch it with your children if they have TikTok installed on their phone.  Watching it together will stimulate rich and essential safety discussions about their own use of the app and technology in general.  As this app is for 13+ years old, this should only apply to the few Year 8s, however I know that lots of children in school are using the app at a much younger age!  If you do have younger children you might want to be selective about which parts of the programme you show them.  That said, if they are using the app, they are being exposed to this stuff already, so it’s probably even more important that they see some of the tougher aspects of the program.

BBC iPlayer –  Panorama “Is TikTok Safe?”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000p3p9/panorama-is-tiktok-safe

If you don’t have the time to watch the Panorama programme, at least watch Common Sense Media’s 1 minute video guide to TikTok.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/parents-ultimate-guide-to-tiktok

NEW PARENTAL CONTROLS

In the last week, TikTok has announced better parental controls as part of the Family Pairing facility.

The original features of placing limits on the types of content the child sees, restricting their use of private chats, and limiting how much time they spend in the app are being extended to let parents alter their child’s account to:

• prevent comments being posted to their videos, or only accepting comments from their friends
• turn off the search function for content, users, hashtags and/or sounds
• limit who can see videos the child has liked

Children can “unpair” their device from their parent’s.  But doing so sends the adult an alert and gives them 48 hours to restore the link before the child can turn off the restrictions.

You can read the BBC’s full article here.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54974813

A few parents have asked for access to the WhatsApp video assembly I did for Years 6, 7 & 8 pupils just before the half term break. (We can’t have main school assemblies in the hall at the moment because of Covid safety procedures.)

In the video I talk about how WhatsApp is by far the main cause of relationship issues in school, because of some of the ill-considered ways it is often used. I also give some key advice for pupils about what to do if things start to go wrong.

The video details some background info about WhatsApp and Facebook and also considers some of the setting that pupils may wish to change in order to have better control over their WhatsApp experience.

If you are a new parent to St Michael’s welcome to the St Michael’s eSafety guidance bulletin for parents.  If your child has left St Michael’s, please unsubscribe below.

THE BLUE WHALE CHALLENGE

We have become aware that a game called The Blue Whale Challenge which started off as a hoax, has become a talking point on social media and some children may have become involved in participating and spreading the game. We have taken the decision to only inform parents of the nature of the game, because investigation into the content could be upsetting and disturbing for children and we do not want to draw their attention to it. Police and local authorities have advised that we inform parents as the aim of the game is to encourage self-harm.  The game is thought to consist of completing 50 challenges, one per day, with it culminating in the 50^th challenge to commit suicide.

This article by the BBC details the origins and evolution of the Blue Whale hoax exceptionally well. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-46505722.  Unfortunately hoaxes and fake news have a way of taking on a life of their own these days, so please read the advice below.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

• Be aware of the Blue Whale hoax and pay attention to what your child is doing online, especially if you start to come across images of Blue Whales, pictures of a boy with his face painted like Disney’s Goofy/Mikey Mouse, changes in mood or self-harming or taking photographs of activities and uploading them.
• Talk regularly about how they use technology, and find out what their digital life is like, including what their favourite sites and services are and how being online makes them feel.
• Tell them not to open any messages from unrecognised sources and not to participate in any daily challenges that they come across without talking it through with you first. Let them know they can come to you if something they do not like happens online – whatever that is.
• If you have any concerns about the welfare of a child, call the Dorset Child Safeguarding team on 01305 228866, or police on 101. Always dial 999 if a child or an adult is in immediate danger. · Check out the UK Safer Internet Centre website for conversation starters and other information.

ANONYMOUS MESSAGING APPS

We have also been notified by the Dorset Safeguarding Team about two new anonymous messaging apps: KIK and MEGA.

Anonymous messaging apps have NO place on children’s phones.  They lead to hurt and mistrust.

Again, we have not mentioned these apps by name to students for fear of advertising them. Fortunately, KIK has now been removed from the app store, however this doesn’t mean it cannot be installed

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

Every couple of weeks, check through your child’s phone to review what they are doing, who they are messaging and what apps are installed.

Many families will be encouraging their children to make good use of technology whilst in lockdown.   With no opportunities to see their classmates “in real life” social interaction opportunities are few and far between for our children.  Technology can help us all stay in touch, but parents and carers will want to make sure that their children use the technology as safely as possible.

The last home learning ICT task was (hopefully) an engaging eSafety task to try to make children think about the time they are spending online and to encourage them to use their technology wisely and safely.  There is an overwhelming amount of material being published to help support parents and carers at the moment, I have tried to summarise much of it in an accessible way below.

Parental Controls

Almost all devices allow parental controls to be set.  These can be adjusted depending on the ages of the children.  They can:-

• Stop children putting new apps on a device until the parents approve them
• Reduce the chance of a child accidentally spending money on virtual goods
• Limit the time that children use a device without having a break

A good starting point is the internet matters website   https://www.internetmatters.org/  Go to the SETTING CONTROLS section at the top!

Talking

Probably the best thing you can do to help your son or daughter is to talk to them regularly about how they use technology, which apps and sites they use and who their online friends are.  Some children struggle with online relationships perhaps either sending or receiving hurtful messages.  Parents and carers will be able to help guide youngsters through this difficult area.

If children receive unpleasant messages these can usually be reported within the messaging service.  Each app or site will have a different way of doing this.  The best course of action for is to block the sender and discuss it with parents straight away.

Apps and Sites

The list of apps and websites children are using grows by the minute so printed advice is likely to be out of date.  In the UK the NSPCC have a site called Net-Aware https://www.net-aware.org.uk/ which explains many current apps , the risks and the benefits of their use.  More apps are listed on the American site Common Sense Media https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

I will be setting some more eSafety tasks and games whilst we are on lockdown, but if your child does run into difficulties, they can call Childline on 0800 1111  for advice on anything that is worrying them.  The Police can be contacted by phone or from the Thinkuknow website.  https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/

This concise advice for parents from the Children’s Commissioner summarises most of the issues affecting our children at the moment and offers succinct advice on what you can do as a parent.   cco-parents-digital-safety-wellbeing-kit

Finally, do please take the opportunities presented by the nice weather we are currently experiencing to get your children away from electronic devices and outside for some fresh air and exercise.  Balancing screen time with other activities, especially ones where they have to interact with others has never been so important.

Productive and healthy use of our digital devices

Back in September we had a Digital Detox Week to help raise pupils’ (and parents’) awareness about just how much they use and depend upon their phones.  Next week as part of Lent (w/c 2/3/20), rather than encouraging abstinence from digital devices we are having a Digital Wellness Week to promote healthy living alongside our digital devices.

Our digital devices are an integral part of our lives today.  Understanding how to manage them in a healthy way is key to a productive and successful future for our children.

 

Technology and our daily lives

Recently published medical research indicates that childhood brain development is affected by too much screen time.  The research which is based upon yearly brain scans over three years of children of various ages, indicates that no issues were detected with children using their devices for 2 hours or less per day.  Scans of the students with more than two hours screen time (on top of online school related work) indicated brain development issues in proportion to the amount of time spent on their devices above and beyond the 2 hour mark.

There’s nothing particularly surprising there, but it is good to finally have some hard evidence and some numbers to work with.  The research findings did not distinguish between different types of usage such as social media, online gaming or watching video content.

Find Balance as Family

At some point during our “Digital Wellness Week” could I encourage you to think about your child’s use of technology and their screen time and discuss this with them?  They will be expecting it as I will be talking about it in assembly.

Here are some suggestions and links to help get you started.

Action points for parents – What to do

• develop a plan with your child for screen time and try to stick to it (use a usage monitor to help)
• ensure children have a balance of activities in the day, with physical activity, face-to-face conversation and tech-free times
• encourage mealtimes to be tech free
• try to ensure there are no screens in the bedroom at night
• talk to your children about their tech usage, staying safe online and what sort of things they are accessing and communicating

Have the tech talk

Start a conversation with your kids on how to be smart, safe, and kind on the Internet

Useful links

https://wellbeing.google/

https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us

 

 

 

Another eventful week in the world of eSafety; Ofcom are going to get some extra powers to help hold social media giants to account over inappropriate material. Today, Friday 14^th Feb, is not just Valentine’s Day, it’s also Safer Internet Day.  The one day each year when we ought to review our successes and failures, the benefits and our worries, about our online lives.  This year Safer Internet Day (SID) is about considering our online identities.

The UK Safer Internet Centre have created some really useful resources for parents that can be found at https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2020/i-am-parent-or-carer.  I particularly like the Family Internet Safety Plan as a way of starting and focusing a family conversation around some key issues.

I’ve also added a page of useful links to the eSafety Blog https://stmms-esafety.home.blog/useful-links/.   It’s a little more focused and relevant than the one from the Safer Internet Centre.

Try the NetAware or Common Sense Media links!

Whilst today’s children are growing up in a digitally connected world, a world where phones, tablets and computers have been an integral part of their lives from birth, the reality is that we are still at the wild frontier of the digital age. New frontiers always present a challenge because we don’t instantly know how the complex dynamics of human interaction, needs, desires and aspirations will translate given the new dynamic.  As such laws tend to emerge from immoral deeds then socially unacceptable behaviours enacted by individuals or groups for their own gain or gratification.  For the digital world, these laws started to be created in the late 80s / early 90s and have gradually been refined and supplemented to help alleviate exploitation and protect the innocent.

Last month the Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham announced a new code of practice to specifically help protect and reduce the exploitation of children accessing online services.  The Information Commissioner says, online platforms must be designed in a way that makes them safe for children and if they are not, children must be barred.

Rules will bar Facebook, Google and other tech giants from serving children content that is detrimental to their physical or mental health or well-being.  The code requires companies to safeguard children’s privacy, to curb addictive features and to restrict the use of personal information for commercial ends.  The code of practice should become law in the summer, after which companies will have a year’s grace to prepare to comply with it.

Mrs Denham said: “There are laws to protect children in the real world – films ratings, car seats, age restrictions on drinking and smoking.  We need our laws to protect children in the digital world too!  This is a first step towards online digital services taking responsibility for the users’ experience.”

AGE APPROPRIATE DESIGN CODE – main points in practice

• New default settings for children – ‘HIGH PRIVACY’
  Apps with tools and features such as profiling, geolocation, continuous scrolling, auto play and reward loops, must have these settings turned off by default.
• Addictive reward manipulation designed to keep children online for hours is also tackled with requirements for pause buttons and pop up warnings.
• Profiling where algorithms use a child’s online history to target them with content they might like should be turned off unless a compelling reason for it not to be can be specified.

The code is designed to protect children from the tech sector’s insatiable appetite for data.  App developers must act in the child’s best interest, not their own commercial interest. Society is starting to realise the safety and well-being of our children must be given precedence over mechanisms to make profit from data gathering.

“The code is the first in the world to prevent children’s data being exploited in ways that undermine safety.”

The full consultation paper can be found at

https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/consultations/2614762/age-appropriate-design-code-for-public-consultation.pdf

Click to access age-appropriate-design-code-for-public-consultation.pdf

This infographic from the UK Safer Internet Centre is a little easier to access

Lots of scientific research into the use and effects of digital devices and the digital world has been ongoing over the last few years and the results and key findings are now being published.  The results are not necessarily unexpected or surprising, but the levels of the effects are eye-opening.  I will talk about the research, findings, and implications in forthcoming posts, but for the moment I am going to draw your attention to some responsive summary advice from British medical institutions, namely the NHS,  the RCPCH (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health) and this below from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Guidance for Parents

For children under the age of one:

• avoid screen time

For two- to five-year-olds:

• ensure any screen time is part of a varied and balanced day, including physical activity and face-to-face conversation
• spend at least three hours a day on physical activity
• children should spend no more than one hour sitting watching or playing with screens

For five- to 11-year-olds:

• develop a plan with your child for screen time and try to stick to it
• ensure children have a balance of activities in the day, with physical activity, face-to-face conversation and tech-free times
• encourage mealtimes to be tech free
• ensure you have spoken to your children about how to keep safe online, check they are keeping safe and make it clear you will support them if they feel unsafe or upset online
• try to ensure there are no screens in the bedroom at night

For 11- to 16-year- olds:

• develop a plan or check your existing one is still appropriate
• encourage a balance of physical activity, face-to-face social time, schoolwork and family time
• encourage mealtimes to be tech free
• keep having conversations about keeping safe online and offer space to talk about upsetting things teenagers might see online
• make it clear you will support them if they feel unsafe or upset online
• try to ensure there are no screens in the bedroom at night

Click to access college-report-cr225.pdf

Click to access rcpch_screen_time_guide_-_final.pdf