This paper will discuss the ways to keep children to stay safe while online and to help with the concerns of the parents of children online. There is a lot of online user vulnerability, a concern from parents about children’s online safety is due to the lack face to face interaction and their unknown façade of the individual user. Bioecological theory will be incorporated in the paper to give examples and better understanding of the topic at hand.
Majority of the children of today’s society uses some type of technology resource to get on the internet. The internet can be a great place for entrainment, learning, information about news worldwide, and connecting with peers and family from all parts of the world. But the internet is full with a lot of bad like for instance cyberbullying/trolling, online predators, catfishing, and inappropriate content that is all over the internet. With those in references, the purpose of this paper is to address the issues with dangers on the internet to help understand why parents protect children from cyberbullying, online predator’s, and the inappropriate content that is all over the internet.
Cyberbullying has been an enormous problem throughout the years of the technological advanced era. Cyberbullying is just as harmful as regular face to face bullying. Cyberbullying is harmful to a child’s self-esteem due to the fact that everyone in the world, like their parents and community, can see them being ridiculed and humiliated by their peers. Cyberbullying is along the lines of using any technology resource to purposely harm or cause deep distress to an individual (Nicol.S,2012). A study has been shown due to the involvement of cyberbully and bully it deeply affect children’s self-esteem, trust, and peer acceptance (Betts, L.R., Spenser, K. A., & Gardner, S. E. 2017).
There are steps to handle a cyberbully: Try to ignore the bully for your social media, block the bully from your social media networks, tell a trusted adult and if it persists and if the comments become nasty and violate print them off and keep as evidence, and file a police report. The microsystem is the center of a person’s world. It’s the immediate environment and relationships of a person’s related activities in their direct interaction. The micro system pertains to Cyberbullying because the immediate interaction a child has with the microsystem is the peers, parents, and school. The child has deal with his bully at home on the internet and at school every day which can and will affect his development.
The number one concern of parents in the regards of their children being on the internet, like social media, is the risk of their child being in danger of sexual solicitation. An online sexual solicitation is online communication where one-person attempts to persuade another person in to talking about sex or to engage in sexual activity (Jodi L. Whitaker and Brad J. Bushman, 2009). Due to the advancement in technology there all different types communication like FaceTime, podcasting, and multiplayer online video games. The technology advancement has made it fairly easy for any person or predator to get in contact with whomever. Online predators can be linked to the Bioecological theory mesosystem because the child can’t see the personal intent of the online predator and any outside surrounding environment can be very influential on a child’s development and this can have effect on the child without them even knowing.
The majority of children in today’s society are unaware of the consequences that can occur from putting out inappropriate content online. Adolescents uses the internet as a tool to express themselves by documenting and sharing information with other. Adolescents who feel they have lost their voice or are unheard by authority figures in their personal lives can channel their energy and need for attention into their online journal, versus feeling confused, worried, negative, misunderstood, or physically acting out (Williams, A. L., & Merten, M. J. 2008). Even through self-expression is good for the development of a young person, but posting a certain type self-expression it can be damaging to their future.
Many adolescents feel that the content, they post will not have them to receive a “real” punishment like grounding or don’t realize it could affect with their future. The bioecological theory exsosystem is the link between settings where in a least one setting the child is not involved or have a say or control over what’s happening. The exsosystem can pertain to inappropriate online content because if the adolescent parent can’t afford the internet anymore or doesn’t allow the child to be on the internet anymore due to the content on the internet it can force the child to explore a new way to express themselves in real life and develop more into their identity.
The chronosystem is the dimension of time growth within an individual or in events the chronosystem also pertains to inappropriate online content because in life when major thing happens in a child’s life like divorce, puberty, or school issues, the majority uses the internet is their escape and way to express those emotions.
As I explored in the research the internet can be a be dangerous and full of risks for imperishable adolescents and it could be great tool for adolescents if used appropriately. This paper discussed the dangers of online and why parents should monitor their children internet content. The paper also incorporated the bioecological theory by giving a clear description from the topics on how the system could be linked to each other.
