Nowadays, given the great advance of new technologies, children, adolescents and young people have more and more contact with them. In fact, on numerous occasions, they are responsible for teaching the adults around them to use computers, tablets or mobile phones.
It is not possible to separate minors from these technologies, or at least, it is not easy. The use of the Internet has become something necessary in jobs and even in our everyday. The need to teach them how to use technological devices has become a fact and therefore, the need to integrate them into the education system has also been seen. They are, in fact, a fundamental pillar in their education and very useful when looking for information and performing school tasks. Many centers have already included platforms through which they offer online resources to their students, send them homework and even ask them to deliver their tasks through the platform. At this point in which keeping them away from information technologies is so difficult and even counterproductive, it seems appropriate to consider how to protect them.
There are multiple dangers that can affect children, teenagers and youth on the internet, starting with cyberbullying or sexting that can occur with people who they know and are around them (from their school or their neighborhood for instance), and even continuing with external threats, which are those coming from strangers. Unknown people have the possibility of collecting information about minors and contacting them, not always with the best intentions. In addition, technological tools such as mobile phones, laptops or computers give minors access to a large amount of web content that may be completely inappropriate such as violent content, pornography or radicalism. One of the aspects that concern parents the most and that can bring minors to any of the threats mentioned above are social networks. Social networks allow young people such as minors to access them, and, in addition, young people also enter below the age stipulated for their use, because they can easily lie and mark the desired age without any verification being made.
Before the emergence of new technologies, the whole process of curiosity, experimentation, the establishment of new relationships, etc. through which minors go, happened in front of the eyes of everyone else, it was more visible. This is why exercising parental control was much simpler and there were not so many complications to keep the dangers away. That is also why, today, the definition of parental control acquires new nuances and new media, but it still maintains its essence. Parental control is, therefore, defined as:
Definition
Parental Control
…the way in which parents supervise and intervene if necessary, to ensure that the experiences and processes of socialization and personal growth of their children occur adequately and without risks to them.
Risks faced by minors have not changed in essence, but the manner and means through which they may be threatened. New forms of risk lead to new forms and methods of parental control to ensure minors’ safety.
Example
For instance, children may suffer bullying in the form of insults, rejection, threats, ridicule or dissemination of hoaxes either face to face or through the Internet, spreading faster and further.
A parental control system is a tool that allows parents to control and / or limit the content to which their children can access the internet from their devices, be they computers, mobiles or tablets. There are many different parental tools and they can be used on the minors’ devices to stop some actions, pages or contents or to control them from the same device or even from the adults device.
Example
If parents are concerned about the safety of their children, they should consider what devices the child uses and their age. There are applications and softwares to control Internet use, but not all are available on all devices. The child’s age will also guide parents to choose one tool or another, as they can expect different things depending on their needs. For the little ones, it could be a suitable tool on the same device to stop content that is not made for children, while for adolescents, it may be necessary to monitor the time on the same device or what they see from the devices of the parents. Parental control tools are available on every device, but if you wanted something more specific, you could find other tools in online stores or app stores or tools offered by insurance and security companies and Internet providers.
In general, the parental control systems that we have today are used to guarantee minors’ safety in the network, thus avoiding possible threats and avoiding bad experiences. More specifically, parental control systems are tools that have been designed to block and filter access to different Internet points and to monitor their use. These tools offer more and more functionalities and can be customized and adapted to the needs of the parents. These functionalities can be divided into the following sections:
– Monitoring: To keep track of online activity. It enables the user to analyze where the child enters, generating warnings if he/she enters non-recommended websites.
– Controlling contact with other people: This functionality allows the user to avoid contact of his/her child with strangers, which according to INCIBE (Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad), occurs in 40% of minors.
– Limiting the time of use: It allows you to control both the maximum time that the child has access and the time at which he/she has permission to keep the device powered.
– Controlling access to inappropriate sites: It allows the user to control or block access to websites which contents are sensitive for early ages or that compromise their data.
– Restricting applications: This functionality prevents the use or download of certain applications.
– Avoiding online purchases: It is possible to disable the purchase, whether intentional or not, of applications or other online items.
– Geolocation: It allows to know the exact location of the child.
– Second authentication factor: In addition to the password to unlock the device, a code that is sent to the parents is required to unlock the device. This way, parents are the ones who give access to minors at all times.
– Call blocking.
All these forms of parental control are used to guarantee the safety of minors, protecting them from strangers and inappropriate content or pages. They also help protect children and adolescents from their own or others’ improper use of the Internet, whether intentional or not. This protection can be carried out by monitoring children’s Internet use or by blocking and controlling different functions.
For the little ones, the parental control tools that are usually chosen are those that limit and prevent access to certain contents that are inappropriate for their age or limit the usage time of the different applications and devices. These tools use different techniques to achieve it. Most of them use lists where those sites that should not be seen (blacklists) are filtered or allow access only to those contents that are in the white lists, lists of suitable contents for the little ones. It is also possible to block access to content with certain keywords (pornography, drugs, shopping, etc.), which can result in blocking suitable pages for minors due to false positives. In addition, this kind of parental control tools also allow you to block access to specific applications, allow their use only without access to the Internet, disable the chat function or control the time and schedule in which they are given access.
On the other hand, and thinking of teenagers, there have also been created parental control tools that allow the use of electronic devices and activity monitoring. It comes to a point where children need to use their devices more freely, while their knowledge of these tools increases, and they are curious to know more and to contact other people. From these parental control tools that allow parents to monitor the activity, it is possible to know the services teenagers access, what they do, the people they contact and where they connect. The last is possible thanks to GPS and location techniques that all mobile devices include.
This parental control can be exercised from different points:
– Router and DNS servers (Domain Name System): The router is the digital access of a house and through it, it is possible to manage the navigation restrictions of all the devices that connect to it. From the router it is possible to control and filter the contents to which they have access and to which all these connected devices have already accessed, mark time limits regarding the connection and apply filters on the web pages. It can also be filtered by DNS servers.
Analysis
This is a good option to control all devices in the house but it may not be the best option if you wanted to set specific restrictions on each device. Also, it is not possible to control devices when they are not connected to the server.
– The device itself: All the devices we have at home (computers, tablets, mobile phones and even toys) include parental control packages and allow blocking access to content that is not suitable and control online activity.
Analysis
As it is included in the device, we do not need to look for other parental control systems and we avoid paying for this service. In addition, it allows us to apply control on each device individually. However, it is not usually possible to personalize and adapt the service to our needs.
– Software: In addition to computer control programs that protect against various dangers that we can find on the Internet such as viruses and malware, it is also possible to block websites, mark time limits or control online activity, receiving summaries or information about chats.
Analysis
It may be less intuitive than other tools, but it is possible to control both the content visited on the Internet and the use of the device itself.
– Internet browser: Through the browser, it is possible to set filters and prevent certain websites from opening and can even select domains that you want to block.
Analysis
It is very useful to block addresses that contain certain words, specific pages or all those pages that belong to certain categories. Although this tool is very useful to control the use of the Internet, it does not serve to control the device itself.
– APPs: They are suitable for any mobile device, through which minors are usually connected. With these applications it is possible to control the sites they visit, the time spent, avoid downloading other apps, avoid contact with strangers and prevent the disclosure of their data.
Analysis
This is a strong tool which can be chosen from a large number and which is easy to install and use. The only problem is that these apps are usually available for mobile phones and sometimes for tablets, but not always for other devices such as computers or laptops.
The supervision level these apps offer, especially this last group of tools, is very high, which may mean that they are perceived as intrusive. In addition, just as minors have the right to be protected against all forms of abuse that can be found on the network, they also have privacy rights. It is therefore advisable not to make abusive use of these parental control tools, evaluate their use and try to build relationships of trust with children that promote dialogue.
Nowadays, given the great advance of new technologies, children, adolescents and young people have more and more contact with them. In fact, on numerous occasions, they are responsible for teaching the adults around them to use computers, tablets or mobile phones.
It is not possible to separate minors from these technologies, or at least, it is not easy. The use of the Internet has become something necessary in jobs and even in our everyday. The need to teach them how to use technological devices has become a fact and therefore, the need to integrate them into the education system has also been seen. They are, in fact, a fundamental pillar in their education and very useful when looking for information and performing school tasks. Many centers have already included platforms through which they offer online resources to their students, send them homework and even ask them to deliver their tasks through the platform. At this point in which keeping them away from information technologies is so difficult and even counterproductive, it seems appropriate to consider how to protect them.
There are multiple dangers that can affect children, teenagers and youth on the internet, starting with cyberbullying or sexting that can occur with people who they know and are around them (from their school or their neighborhood for instance), and even continuing with external threats, which are those coming from strangers. Unknown people have the possibility of collecting information about minors and contacting them, not always with the best intentions. In addition, technological tools such as mobile phones, laptops or computers give minors access to a large amount of web content that may be completely inappropriate such as violent content, pornography or radicalism. One of the aspects that concern parents the most and that can bring minors to any of the threats mentioned above are social networks. Social networks allow young people such as minors to access them, and, in addition, young people also enter below the age stipulated for their use, because they can easily lie and mark the desired age without any verification being made.
Before the emergence of new technologies, the whole process of curiosity, experimentation, the establishment of new relationships, etc. through which minors go, happened in front of the eyes of everyone else, it was more visible. This is why exercising parental control was much simpler and there were not so many complications to keep the dangers away. That is also why, today, the definition of parental control acquires new nuances and new media, but it still maintains its essence. Parental control is, therefore, defined as:
Definition
Parental Control
…the way in which parents supervise and intervene if necessary, to ensure that the experiences and processes of socialization and personal growth of their children occur adequately and without risks to them.
Risks faced by minors have not changed in essence, but the manner and means through which they may be threatened. New forms of risk lead to new forms and methods of parental control to ensure minors’ safety.
Example
For instance, children may suffer bullying in the form of insults, rejection, threats, ridicule or dissemination of hoaxes either face to face or through the Internet, spreading faster and further.
A parental control system is a tool that allows parents to control and / or limit the content to which their children can access the internet from their devices, be they computers, mobiles or tablets. There are many different parental tools and they can be used on the minors’ devices to stop some actions, pages or contents or to control them from the same device or even from the adults device.
Example
If parents are concerned about the safety of their children, they should consider what devices the child uses and their age. There are applications and softwares to control Internet use, but not all are available on all devices. The child’s age will also guide parents to choose one tool or another, as they can expect different things depending on their needs. For the little ones, it could be a suitable tool on the same device to stop content that is not made for children, while for adolescents, it may be necessary to monitor the time on the same device or what they see from the devices of the parents. Parental control tools are available on every device, but if you wanted something more specific, you could find other tools in online stores or app stores or tools offered by insurance and security companies and Internet providers.
In general, the parental control systems that we have today are used to guarantee minors’ safety in the network, thus avoiding possible threats and avoiding bad experiences. More specifically, parental control systems are tools that have been designed to block and filter access to different Internet points and to monitor their use. These tools offer more and more functionalities and can be customized and adapted to the needs of the parents. These functionalities can be divided into the following sections:
– Monitoring: To keep track of online activity. It enables the user to analyze where the child enters, generating warnings if he/she enters non-recommended websites.
– Controlling contact with other people: This functionality allows the user to avoid contact of his/her child with strangers, which according to INCIBE (Instituto Nacional de Ciberseguridad), occurs in 40% of minors.
– Limiting the time of use: It allows you to control both the maximum time that the child has access and the time at which he/she has permission to keep the device powered.
– Controlling access to inappropriate sites: It allows the user to control or block access to websites which contents are sensitive for early ages or that compromise their data.
– Restricting applications: This functionality prevents the use or download of certain applications.
– Avoiding online purchases: It is possible to disable the purchase, whether intentional or not, of applications or other online items.
– Geolocation: It allows to know the exact location of the child.
– Second authentication factor: In addition to the password to unlock the device, a code that is sent to the parents is required to unlock the device. This way, parents are the ones who give access to minors at all times.
– Call blocking.
All these forms of parental control are used to guarantee the safety of minors, protecting them from strangers and inappropriate content or pages. They also help protect children and adolescents from their own or others’ improper use of the Internet, whether intentional or not. This protection can be carried out by monitoring children’s Internet use or by blocking and controlling different functions.
For the little ones, the parental control tools that are usually chosen are those that limit and prevent access to certain contents that are inappropriate for their age or limit the usage time of the different applications and devices. These tools use different techniques to achieve it. Most of them use lists where those sites that should not be seen (blacklists) are filtered or allow access only to those contents that are in the white lists, lists of suitable contents for the little ones. It is also possible to block access to content with certain keywords (pornography, drugs, shopping, etc.), which can result in blocking suitable pages for minors due to false positives. In addition, this kind of parental control tools also allow you to block access to specific applications, allow their use only without access to the Internet, disable the chat function or control the time and schedule in which they are given access.
On the other hand, and thinking of teenagers, there have also been created parental control tools that allow the use of electronic devices and activity monitoring. It comes to a point where children need to use their devices more freely, while their knowledge of these tools increases, and they are curious to know more and to contact other people. From these parental control tools that allow parents to monitor the activity, it is possible to know the services teenagers access, what they do, the people they contact and where they connect. The last is possible thanks to GPS and location techniques that all mobile devices include.
This parental control can be exercised from different points:
– Router and DNS servers (Domain Name System): The router is the digital access of a house and through it, it is possible to manage the navigation restrictions of all the devices that connect to it. From the router it is possible to control and filter the contents to which they have access and to which all these connected devices have already accessed, mark time limits regarding the connection and apply filters on the web pages. It can also be filtered by DNS servers.
Analysis
This is a good option to control all devices in the house but it may not be the best option if you wanted to set specific restrictions on each device. Also, it is not possible to control devices when they are not connected to the server.
– The device itself: All the devices we have at home (computers, tablets, mobile phones and even toys) include parental control packages and allow blocking access to content that is not suitable and control online activity.
Analysis
As it is included in the device, we do not need to look for other parental control systems and we avoid paying for this service. In addition, it allows us to apply control on each device individually. However, it is not usually possible to personalize and adapt the service to our needs.
– Software: In addition to computer control programs that protect against various dangers that we can find on the Internet such as viruses and malware, it is also possible to block websites, mark time limits or control online activity, receiving summaries or information about chats.
Analysis
It may be less intuitive than other tools, but it is possible to control both the content visited on the Internet and the use of the device itself.
– Internet browser: Through the browser, it is possible to set filters and prevent certain websites from opening and can even select domains that you want to block.
Analysis
It is very useful to block addresses that contain certain words, specific pages or all those pages that belong to certain categories. Although this tool is very useful to control the use of the Internet, it does not serve to control the device itself.
– APPs: They are suitable for any mobile device, through which minors are usually connected. With these applications it is possible to control the sites they visit, the time spent, avoid downloading other apps, avoid contact with strangers and prevent the disclosure of their data.
Analysis
This is a strong tool which can be chosen from a large number and which is easy to install and use. The only problem is that these apps are usually available for mobile phones and sometimes for tablets, but not always for other devices such as computers or laptops.
The supervision level these apps offer, especially this last group of tools, is very high, which may mean that they are perceived as intrusive. In addition, just as minors have the right to be protected against all forms of abuse that can be found on the network, they also have privacy rights. It is therefore advisable not to make abusive use of these parental control tools, evaluate their use and try to build relationships of trust with children that promote dialogue.
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