Why is E-safety important in Schools

With the rise of social media, the questions surrounding online safety lingers. As much as it may sound as a cliché or an unasked for advice, safely using social media applications is a must, and parents must keenly observe their children’s activities on the internet. Children have impressionable minds and what they see on internet can have major effects on them both positively and negatively. Cyber bullying is one of the biggest threats on the internet for children and adults alike but children tend to be much more affected than a grown adult. Ensuring that your child is not being bullied online is as important as ensuring that your child does not participate in bullying someone else. Using slurs against someone, posting pictures without the concerned person’s permission, making jokes about someone that could harm them mentally or emotionally are just few of the aspects of cyber bullying. If your child is subjected to any of these, it is important to inform the authority. And if you witness your child participating in any of these, it is important to confront them immediately.
It is also crucial to note who your child interacts with on the internet. Stranger danger applies online too. Who they message, or chat with should be regularly monitored along with the sites they visit. It is also important to ensure that you or your children do not click on random pop ups on screen and refrain from clicking dubious links. Another important point we want to bring through this blog is the amount and the kind of information that is uploaded online. Once you share something online it is there to stay. Therefore ensure your child does not over share online. Also, what is shared on the internet becomes your digital footprint. When applying for universities, internships, or jobs, the committee that picks will go through your online history, and therefore it is important to maintain a clean digital footprint.
Apart from these, schools must also closely monitor the activities that occur in the computer labs. It would also be better to regulate rules against teachers or children using phones in the classroom or anywhere else in the campus. Schools can also install hardware equipment’s like cameras to ensure that students are safe all time, and that the systems that are used are free of virus. These workshops on e-safety can be conducted with the participation of both parents and teachers, who can also review the online environment their children are part of, regularly.