Why Are Parental Control Software Necessary?

 

Why Are Parental Control Software Necessary?

The North American writer and lecturer Marc Prensky coined the term digital natives in 2001 to refer to the generations that from a very early age live surrounded by and interact with technology: desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, video game consoles, tablets.

Digital natives have incorporated these devices into their day-to-day lives with an astonishing naturalness and it is common for them to be 'connected' to the environment that surrounds them. A study by the S2 Group firm indicates that 16% of them access their first mobile phone before they are 10 years old and that 22% use social networks. How to assess this early contact with ICT? In the words of Marta Bermejo, psychologist and technical director of the Psycho-master psychology center: "It is a dangerous situation, since they do not have the degree of maturity necessary to make good use of them."

Foster increased awareness

The question arises, therefore, when it comes to ensuring safe navigation, both at home and at school. This is where parental control programs appear, tools that facilitate access control and content to the Internet by minors. “It is important that parents become aware of its use due to the risks it entails: Cyberbullying, danger of addiction, low tolerance for frustration, search for sensations and self-identity…” says Óscar González from Escuela de Padres con Talento.

The latest report ' Cyber ​​Security Insights ' by Norton not only shows some of the concerns of Spanish families about their children's activities on the Internet, it also shows worrying data: while 68% of parents do not limit their children's access to certain web pages, 57% let them navigate without any supervision. "We spend a large amount of money on antivirus programs to keep our computer clean, but it is difficult for us to see the usefulness and the need to invest in a good tool that helps us in the supervision of what our minors do on the Internet", Bermejo sentence . In this sense, the function of the parents would not be to spy on them, but to supervise. "The key is beyond the tools: trust and communication. You have to educate from the early years and beyond new technologies, "he adds.

Social and mobile networks

Two of the main concerns that are manifested when talking about minors and the Internet are related to social networks and the use of mobile phones. In the first case, because in Spain the minimum legal age for a young person to have a profile on social networks (cases of Facebook and Instagram) is 14 years, and in the second because there are several investigations that affirm that they begin to use your first terminal between 9 and 12 years old. "As the function of these programs is to protect, they should be used until the child acquires a level of responsibility and maturity that allows a certain control to be removed," says González.

For his part, Bermejo regrets that "we started our children in the use of mobile phones at a very early age, creating that need for them." Thus, and on many occasions, the only control exercised by families is that of spending and they are unaware of the true use they make of it.

Parental control functionalities

When using a parental control program, it is not enough to install it on the device in question (computers, mobiles or tablets) and forget about it ; you have to dedicate time if you want it to be effective. In general, these types of solutions include age- inappropriate web page filtering functionalities based on themes or types of content; establishment of schedules to connect; or maximum time they can stay connected.

Some of them even have application control (for example social networks or messaging programs), geolocation, call blocking, search supervision function or notification and monitoring services to see what student activity has been during the time that has stayed connected . “Parental control helps to set an important limit, but it doesn't have to be the only one. There must be others such as family dialogue, promoting hobbies and social activities ”, suggests González.

The risks of free navigation

Setting these limits is important because. otherwise, the risks faced by schoolchildren would be even greater, such as, for example, changes that could affect their way of being, sleep schedules, tendency to isolation, a notable decrease in academic performance ... They need us to guide and accompany them through the streets and parks of the Internet, in that virtual world that has as many or more dangers than the real one: sexting, grooming or Cyberbullying. These are problems that we must address from our supervision, support and guidance”, concludes Bermejo.