As the world grapples with the impact of the pandemic COVID-19, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given some tutorials to parents and caregivers on how to keep their children and wards safe while online.
To this end, the NCC has advised parents to contend with the overwhelming and scary possibility of their children being hurt by faceless individuals while surfing the internet.
The advice is contained in a document released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)) and made available to DigitalTimesNG.
Nations are presently grappling with the impact of COVID-19, including the fact that young people are compelled to spend more time at home which implies, more screen time (offline and online), this has brought to bear, a shift in the norms, putting more activities, including education of children, online.
“This has leapfrogged Nigerian children into the future. Online activities have acquired a new meaning and become the reality of Nigerian parents and children. Screen time and screen activities are the new normal. Parents are constantly searching for online learning platforms,
“TV stations are providing more child-based educational content and schools are teaching via Zoom, Google Classroom and YouTube. Cyberspace, the internet and online activities are here to stay. The future has arrived, welcome!,” the NCC said in the document.
The Commission said in the document titled: ‘Keeping children safe online: Advice to parents and caregivers’ that the fusion of children and the internet has not given birth to new concerns as is widely perceived, rather, it has magnified the critical need for parents and caregivers to step up to the new norms of Online Life for Children, thus the need for Online Parenting.
“Concerns of safety and privacy have been with us from the beginning of time. What has changed, however, is the invisible and borderless nature of these concerns and the magnitude of the consequences when they occur.
“The good news is that the internet is not all gloom and doom. The internet is a world of endless possibilities waiting to be explored by young, adventurous and impressionable minds.
“Undoubtedly, there are many great ways children can use connected devices to learn and play, but there are also risks. With the right tools and strategy, parents and caregivers have the opportunity to support and guide children to avoid online risks and have safer experiences,” the NCC noted.
The telecoms regulator believes that COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant change in the mode of operation has compelled all stakeholders, parents, caregivers, governments and industry players, to actively pursue, create and promote a safe online environment for children.
While maintaining that Child online abuse is a societal concern which is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCC believes countries are developing measures to address and provide significant assurance of online safety for children, their families, and society at large.
According to the NCC, “online safety is not the non-existence of harm or risk; rather it is creating the atmosphere or opportunity to overcome the risks while enjoying the inherent benefits of using the internet.”
In creating a balance in this situation, the Commission noted that educating young children about cyber safety is complicated, as young children often do not understand the social and technical complexities of the internet, adding that this difficulty in understanding arises because the internet is virtual and cannot be experienced first-hand by the sense.
“As computers are usually in a place children perceive as safe, the risks are not readily apparent to them. They do not understand that the computer can be networked and connected beyond the safe place to a world that can be both risky and dangerous. Young children and most adults, do not realize that materials posted on the internet oftentimes, do not have external controls or standards to subscribe to,” the NCC said in the document.