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Page Last Updated:
Friday, 17 May 2013
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Home>Council Services>Community Safety>Cyber Safety - keeping your child safe in a digital age
In today's technology-driven world everyone is accessing the internet, including our children. However it is not always a safe place to be.
Parents need to take precautions and openly discuss the use of the digital technologies, in particular social networking sites. It is important for parents to become aware of how young people use the internet, some of the risks they face and the strategies to manage these risks.
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| Precautions you can take |
 | Set the computer up in a public area of the home
| | Block access to inappropriate sites
| | Mark favourite sites for easy access
| | Talk about 'netiquette' and treating others as you would in the real world
| | Discuss things that are written on social networking sites
| | Keep their minds open to the fact the information on the internet is not always right
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| Keep personal information safe | | Ensure that personal details, such as address, phone numbers, date of birth, photos, etc are kept private.
Children are not always aware of how far information can spread and who may be watching.
Remember always ensure passwords are protected.
Talk to your children about inviting friends-of- friends to social networking sites, and the dangers of uploading personal photos.
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| Cyber bullying | | Cyber bullying is when a person is threatened, harassed, humiliated, teased or tormented by another person using the Internet, digital technologies or a mobile phone.
Examples of cyber bullying behaviour include:
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| Teasing and making fun of another person
| | Spreading of rumors online
| | Sending unwanted messages
| | Defamation
| | Threatening
| | Misuse of photo images
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| The effects of Cyber Bullying | | Just like bullying in real life, there can be hurtful effects on those who experience cyber bullying.
Being bullied can lower a child's self-esteem and make them feel alone, sad, angry and scared.
It may be hard to know if your child is being cyber bullied. They might keep it to themselves and not tell you directly. You need to look at other behaviour, such as:
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| Are they receiving more SMS messages than normal? | | Are they unhappy after they have been on the computer or received a text message? | | Have they lost interest in school, friends or social activities? | | Do they avoid chatting or spending as much time as they used to on the computer? | | Are there changes in their sleep pattern?
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| What if you suspect your child is being bullied? | | If you suspect your child is being bullied, it is important to let them know it is not their fault and there is nothing wrong with them. Encourage them to talk to you or someone else about the situation.
There are many ways to deal with bullying and they are not alone.
Don’t punish your child by removing computer use, talk to them about sharing information to people they do not know. REMEMBER: Once information or photo images are posted on the internet they can never be removed.
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| What else can you do? | | Report it:
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| School - they should have policies in place about bullying and cyber bullying. | | ISP and/or phone provider - there are actions they can take to help. | | Police - if there is a threat made to someone's safety, the police will help.
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| Nasty messages should be saved with time and date details.
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| Contact numbers and websites | | Victoria Police:
Boronia: 9760 6600
Knox: 9881 7000
Rowville: 9764 0996
Cybersafety Contact Centre
Tel: 1800 880 176
www.cybersmart.gov.au
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