How to Teach Kids The Importance of Digital Privacy

IF You haven't seen it, there is a two -minute disorder video circulating online called “A message from Ella.“A young girl anxiously looks at the camera while she explains to her parents how identity thieves destroyed her credit, the crooks clone her voice to commit fraud, and a depth generated by Aie featuring her face swept by her school, destroying her reputation. Ella is not real – the clip is part of a European online privilege campaign – but it is not badly indisputable.

In a simpler America, “The Talk” was a right of way – an awkward discussion but necessary to prepare children for the realities of adulthood. Today, parents are facing a new conversation: teaching children to protect their privacy in a world where each misstep can be recorded, reshaped and made permanent. The dangers of sexing and the sharing of intimate photos are the old news for the most part. But Ai Deepfakes, digital identity theft and Financial sextrotion systems target minors at alarming rates. By 2030, watch dogs Predict two thirds of identity thefts will result from “sharing”. In other words, parents overshadow their children's lives online.

Modern confidentiality threats are not theoretical. The risks are real and actively shape the future of our child because the future of our child is largely linked to the data that exists about them in the world. Tackling these new dangers means putting on a needle between being proactive and practical.

But don't panic. Start small. A good first step is to cover the webcams on each computer that your family has. A pack of tiny plastic cursors costs around $ 4, they are discreet, take place in a few seconds and offer robust protection against webcam hacking – a increasingly current crime. Think of some of the most private things you or your children can do in front of your laptops when they are alone. Now imagine receiving an email containing a video of your child doing exactly that, with a request that you cuddle $ 8,000 somewhere where the video is sent to your contacts on social networks and classmates of your child. It happens all the time. It happened to the old Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf. And it's incredibly easy to prevent.

Then consider using devices and platforms that offer parental checks specifically suited to children's privacy. You probably already have one. Big Tech knows that parents are worried – and they are more and more eager to take advantage of this concern by offering friendly products. But do not presume that you are covered by the default settings of your device. Spend a few minutes to examine and refine confidentiality checks on all family devices and social media accounts (there are many online videos that can help you). In addition, configure a Google alert for the name of your child, the email address and other personal details so that you immediately know if the sensitive information starts to appear where it should not.

And take stock of your sharing, the amount of life of your child you put online and which can see it exactly. The law professor and lawyer for the defense of children Stacey Steinberg, a leading outing on Sharenting which regularly confronts the benefits that children were compromised, radically reduced the online presence of his own children ago years ago. “I am an adult, and when I put my own life, I am finally responsible for the results,” she said. “But, my young children – they did not get the choice. They had a digital identity long before they could speak their own words. ”

You may not want to stop sharing photos of your children entirely. But when you do it, limit publications to private and closely controlled accounts accessible only to family and trusted friends. Identity thieves thrive precisely on public profiles because they provide detailed and easy -to -access information on your children.

But although filters and surveillance help a lot, they do not replace real conversations on confidentiality. The modern confidentiality crisis requires a new type of partnership between parents and children, built on an honest dialogue and practical thought. This means first of all reconciling with the fact that the type of intimacy that we appreciated as a child is no longer achievable. Society simply will not suddenly abandon our devices and go and live in the woods somewhere. And so the forward path comes down to the attenuation of risks, which is sad and frustrating. But the way you mitigate the risks at hand can make the difference between fear and scar.

Today, children exist simultaneously as an individual flesh and blood and digital self, the latter often having an excessive influence on their real opportunities. Children must understand that control of their digital imprint is equal to the control of the joy they will live in the future. Each element of online information – whether published by themselves, friends or even their parents – can influence everything, social circles to employment prospects.

The trick is not to make your children feel paranoid. Make them feel autonomous. Convince them that this empowers to have their own reputation instead of passively allowing others to define who they are.

You can achieve this by making the privacy real and tangible. One way to do it is to play an open source intelligence game together. Imagine that you are foreigners who try to reconstruct the life of people you know using only what is accessible to the public online: names, user names, tagged photos, friends, school websites. You will quickly find detailed information on their hobbies, their favorite places, their daily routines, their birthdays and even personal addresses. The objective is not to frighten your children, it is to illustrate very well how dispersed digital crumbs can form a surprisingly complete portrait. More importantly, this allows your children to see their data as precious – something they have and control.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended Creation of a “family media use plan” to explicitly describe the values ​​of your family around confidentiality and technology. The goal is not as much the definition of rules as to cultivate sustainable confidentiality instincts. Older generations have integrated these instincts naturally, but young people today require deliberate advice.

The ultimate objective is to get them mentally to a place where they plan to share online each time, they do it deliberately, in a thoughtful way and with natural reluctance – no more insane sharing. Just as important, they should learn to respect the privacy of others, intuitively understanding that something shared by a friend does not equal to share elsewhere.

Maybe the most crucial thing to teach your children is what you need to do when something is wrong or seems to be off. Children should speak when they suspect that their intimacy has been compromised, whether through an unexpected message, a shared photo or even a vague feeling, something is wrong. The problems identified early often remain minor and manageable, but small problems can quickly degenerate. Parents should also know what to do if something problematic happens with your children's data. The federal law, through the law on online privacy (COPPA), offers solid protections for children under the age of 13. After 13 years, the protections become more unequaled and vary largely state by state. If you think that your child's rights have been raped, you must immediately contact your state prosecutor's office and he can explain the options available to you.