Kids crave community online, but are we keeping them safe?
There's a question I sometimes ask myself as a mother of two: what would my teenage years have looked like if everything I said had been permanently archived and searchable?
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And would this have changed the person I am today?
In some ways, this is a healthy move, a private space to be themselves without the pressure of a permanent online record. But the same privacy that protects them from public scrutiny also means their parents and guardians don’t have visibility into what their kids are sharing online, or who they’re sharing this with.
Nowadays kids know they’re being watched, and some are already actively censoring themselves.
But humans are social creatures who crave community, and our kids are no different.
They want to share online, and they want to be seen and heard – they’re just evolving how they do this. For example, some are creating a “Finsta” (a secondary fake Instagram profile for those of us not down with the slang), or a “dump account”, where they can share unfiltered content with close friends.
AI is also creating another challenge for parents to navigate. Over a third are already noticing their children are turning to AI for companionship and emotional support, but seeing AI as a substitute for real relationships can only lead to emotional dependence on something that is unable to show true empathy.
Again, it comes back to wanting to be seen and heard, with children looking to the digital playground to satisfy this need.
A recent ICO survey found that nearly a quarter of children have shared their real name or address online, with eight and nine-year-olds most at risk.
The desire for connection is powerful. But without the right guidance, it can lead children into connecting with strangers in spaces no parent would sanction.
With scam artists waiting in the wings to exploit this increasing level of trust, do we as parents have the knowledge to help guide our children?
Digital resilience and the ability to engage with the online world safely and confidently is now a necessary life skill. Our desire to connect with a community is inherent, but our security systems have not kept pace with our digitally native kids.
Tools and solutions exist to help protect families from scams, manipulation and online threats, and we need to make sure the whole family understands their importance and is using them.
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Leyla Bilge is the Global Head of Scam Research at Norton
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