The risks associated with growing up in a hyper-connected world are giving parents a headache.
According to a recent research by Kaspersky Lab, one in 10 under-18-year-olds are addicted to the Internet. The inability of children to distance themselves from the online world, alongside them viewing inappropriate or explicit content (36 percent) and communicating with strangers online (32 percent) are fast becoming the key concerns for parents.
With over half of parents feeling that online threats to their children are increasing, 33 percent of moms and dads resort in enforcing restrictions on how long their children can spend on the Internet.
But this move doesn’t protect kids from online threats, according to Kaspersky Lab, a global cybersecurity company.
“Parents want to keep their children safe, but simply restricting access to the online world isn’t necessarily the best way to do this,” says Dmitry Aleshin, vice president for product marketing at Kaspersky Lab.
In a 12-month period, 44 percent of children faced at least one online threat, with one in 10 kids accessing inappropriate content or coming into contact with malicious software and viruses.
Therefore, the cybersecurity company posits that the best alternative option for parents is to concentrate on supporting their children in other ways, such as through education.
Aleshin says, “Education and communication both play a huge part in ensuring children use the Internet responsibly and safely.”
Over a third of parents regularly talk to their kids to teach them about online threats while others try to supervise their children when they are online, potentially offering opportunities to highlight any threats that may appear and supplement the education effort.
But aside from education, Aleshin says using software to bolster defenses can help parents shield their kids from online threats.
“Technology can help reduce the risks, enabling children to safely explore all the positive aspects of the Internet and develop their digital skills without having to worry about cyber threats,” he shares.
The company offers Kaspersky Safe Kids which is designed to help parents take a more effective approach to shielding their children from the dangers that lurk online. Through the solution, parents can choose to either block children’s access to certain apps and websites, or to help kids become more aware of the dangers for themselves, by warning them that the sites or apps they are about to access are risky and may contain dangerous content.