The moment that a child logs on to the Internet is the moment that they are exposed to a number of risks. While the Internet is designed to help us all accomplish tasks, learn new information, and even do business, there are potential threats that lurk as well, particularly for children. Mobile and Internet child safety is an important topic to learn about.
The Driving Risks
With smartphones becoming a primary means of accessing the Internet, children are even more in danger of getting themselves in trouble while driving. Texting or surfing the Internet on one's phone while driving is a serious danger to the driver and anyone who happens to be around them. Gcflearnfree.org explains why this can be a problem,
Even if the teen just looks down for a second, they could easily get into a serious accident. The safest thing for them to do is to wait until they can stop the car before typing a text message.
Why even take that risk? It is important to explain to the child that they have the potential to do great harm by simply answering a text message and you should enforce that they do not do this.
Sexting
This word may not be familiar to you, but think of it as sex and texting combined. It is the use of text messaging on a phone to send images or other content of a sexual nature. Obviously, there are real dangers when children are involved in this kind of activity. For one thing, the possession of pictures of an underage child in a sexual act or without clothing is a crime. There is also the danger that pictures can be shared with those who were never intended to see it, and things can escalate out of control from there.
Tracking
Some websites will allow information to be stored on those who use the service. Children may agree to have their information tracked without really exploring what that will mean for them. This too can be a danger if the information falls into the wrong hands. Informing children about this is vital to keeping them safe online.
