Digital tools to control the contents that children see on the internet

Virtual classes, homework and leisure time have caused minors to spend much more time on electronic devices and surfing the internet. Although they can access a great deal of information for their education, they are also exposed to dangerous content.

“Although the internet has been key for tele-education in times of pandemic, access to the thousands of possibilities it allows, such as: viewing of all kinds of videos, virtual tours, online games, digital books, virtual libraries, among others… it requires having greater control over its use, especially for the youngest members of the household. They could inadvertently end up on a site with adult content, enter personal information to promote a cyber attack, among other dangers, ”explains John Holguin, an expert at HughesNet.

The Internet is a world practically without borders, where any information or tool can be accessed, and for this reason it is important that parents are aware of the risks that the Internet has for minors, and how to control what they consume.

In Ecuador, only 37 percent of households have internet access, this according to data from UNICEF. In addition, the specialized cybersecurity site Gaptain explains that every day millions of children are exposed to physical and sexual violence, pedophiles, communities that promote eating disorders, extremist thoughts, dangerous viral challenges.

Recommendations for the safe use of the internet:

• Filter and block violent or pornographic content: This process is easy to carry out, since in search engines (Google Chrome, Firefox, Kiddle) there are options to choose the information allowed for searches. For example, in the Google Chrome settings you must select “apply filter controls” and activate the item “allow only some sites”.
• Browser and software update: Updates for browsers or operating systems have security patches that can prevent damage, so accepting the updates is the best, since they include updated maintenance of antivirus and firewalls.
• Set time limits of use: For children under two years of age, it is best to establish the occasional use of screens accompanied by their parents at appropriate times. From two to five years, set a maximum of one hour a day and; From five years onwards (up to adolescence), the ideal is not to exceed 4 hours, without counting the time of virtual classes.
• Social media monitoring: In many cases, dangerous content can be found directly on children’s social media.
• Establish profiles for each user: Another alternative is to create accounts for each user of the computer, in order to establish access to specific content for each one. Parental control must be configured in the search engines of each profile.

In addition, there are other practical tools to control or block access to content.

• Web control: These types of tools allow you to limit the web pages that children access. The easiest way is to enable “Google SafeSearch” in whatever browser they use.
• Access to applications: Limiting access to Google Play or the App Store will prevent children from accessing inappropriate apps and will even prevent them from making any kind of online purchase.
• Geolocation: Currently cell phones and computers allow access to the location of the device in real time, this tool helps to know the exact place of the person and can be used as a preventive security measure.
• Google Family Link: It is a free application that allows you to know the information that children see on the internet and on their devices.
• Windows Live Family Safety: It is free and is included in all Windows devices, in the same way it allows to verify the content to which children are exposed. (I)