CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Children’s increased time on the internet equates to increased threat on their safety and security in cyberspace.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region III shared that the prolonged community quarantine brought by the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the time of the children to use social media.
DSWD Family Development Session (FDS) Focal Person Ronsan Pelariza said that the internet is vast, and children who are using it are at risk with the different forms of abuse.
“Nowadays, children are using the internet for communicating with others, for recreation, or for online learning. Now that they have the time and the luxury to use their gadgets, and engage on social media, they are at a great risk of cyberbullying or other cyber abuses,” she stated.
Given the dangers, she said it is important for parents to make sure their children are safe when exposed to surfing online.
As such, DSWD advocates digital parenting among parents and child carers as guidance for a cautious and responsible use of cyberspace.
“It is important that the parents, as digital parents, guide their children when browsing online. We started the campaign last year as one of the Family Development Session On-Air topics under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. We are teaching the guardians on how to regulate their children’s use of gadgets,” she explained.
Pelariza said that they are educating parents on the features to restrict or block malicious sites on the Internet, and how to check sites visited by their children.
Moreover, DSWD reiterates to the parents the importance of establishing an open line of communication between parents and children, and within the family.
“Despite the guidelines that we are teaching them, the most important thing is to have a strong relationship with their children to prevent the risk in the use of gadgets and the Internet. It is vital that the children are able to share and talk about their problems to their parents,” she added.
She said that parents could lessen the exposure of the children to gadgets by allowing them to do physical activities that would also serve as bonding time for the family.
National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children says that 43.8 percent or almost half of Filipino children have experienced cyberviolence or online violence. –Jag Lyra D. Costamero