The digital age has ushered in unprecedented opportunities for communication, relationships, entertainment, and learning. However, along with these benefits come a new set of dangers, especially for our children. Online predators, cyberbullying, drugs, anxiety, and depression have become pressing concerns for parents, guardians, and educators. In this blog post, we will explore these threats, understand their impact on children, and discuss ways to safeguard our kids and teens in the virtual world.
According to the Arc of Hope for Children, 4.5 million trafficked persons are sexually exploited, and up to 300,000 American children under the age of 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every year.
Online Predators
Online predators are individuals who seek to exploit, manipulate or harm children through online social media platforms. They often disguise their true identity and intentions, making it challenging to identify them.
Here are some key points to consider:
Grooming: Predators may establish a seemingly innocent online relationship with a child and gradually manipulate them into sharing personal information, explicit photos or even meeting in person.
Protecting Your Child: Encourage open communication with your child about their online activities. Monitor their online interactions, use parental control software such as the Bark Parental Monitoring System, and educate them about the dangers of sharing personal information.
Reporting: Teach your child to recognize inappropriate or predatory behavior and report it to a trusted adult immediately.
How Does Human Trafficking Affect Our Elementary and Secondary Schools?
"Trafficking can involve school-age youth, particularly those made vulnerable by challenging family situations, and can take a variety of forms including forced labor, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation.
The children at risk are not just high school students—pimps or traffickers are known to prey on victims as young as 9. Traffickers may target minor victims through social media websites, telephone chat lines, after-school programs, at shopping malls and bus depots, in clubs, or through friends or acquaintances who recruit students on school campuses.”
Social Media Pitfalls
Social media platforms offer children opportunities to connect with friends, share experiences, and express themselves. However, they also expose them to various risks:
Cyberbullying: The anonymity of the internet can embolden bullies to target victims online, causing emotional distress and psychological harm, sometimes leading to child and teen depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.
Privacy Concerns: Children often overshare personal information, making them vulnerable to identity theft, trafficking, cyberbullying or unwanted attention.
Protecting Your Child: Encourage responsible social media use by setting privacy settings, limiting screen time, and discussing appropriate online behavior. The Bark Parental Monitoring subscriptions can help parents keep their kids safe by alerting caregivers immediately of potential dangers!
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a pervasive problem in the digital age. It involves the use of technology, such as social media, messaging apps, or email to harass, intimidate, or harm others. Here’s what you need to know:
Impact on Children: Cyberbullying can have severe consequences for a child or teenager’s mental and emotional well-being; leading to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts.
Signs of Cyberbullying: Be vigilant for signs such as sudden changes in your child’s behavior, reluctance to use their devices, or withdrawal from social activities.
Intervention: Encourage your child to report incidents of cyberbullying, document evidence, and seek help from school authorities or law enforcement if necessary.
What Else Can We Do? Meet Bark:
It’s our responsibility as parents and guardians to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our children in the digital age. Online predators, cyberbullying, drug abuse, pornography, and child trafficking are real and prevalent threats. But with vigilance, open communication, and education, we can help protect our kids from these dangers by empowering our kids to use technology responsibly and safely. Stay informed, ask questions, and create a safe online environment for your children to thrive in the digital world.
As a twin mom of school-aged kids, my anxiety can be on overdrive. I’m constantly worried about the safety of my children when I can’t be with them. That’s why I recommend the Bark Parental Monitoring Apps for your kids' smart phones or tablets.
Bark uses advanced technology to monitor kids’ online activities for signs of danger and immediately alert parents to make sure everything is OK. For example, this could look like a suicide note in a Google Doc, a text message with nudity from a stranger, or aggressive cyberbullying in an email.
Fully customizable, the Bark advanced monitoring app allows parents to manage their child’s entire digital experience, from approving contact requests to managing screen time during the school day.
BARK offers two apps - a premium one for older kids which includes content monitoring, screen time management, web filtering, and location alerts. And a junior app for the younger kids who aren’t using social media or texting yet. That one provides screen time management, web filtering, and location alerts for a low monthly cost.
Bark uses advanced algorithms to detect and proactively alert parents to issues their children face online, such as bullying, online predators, suicidal ideation, sexual content, and signs of depression. Bark covers text messages, YouTube, email, and 30+ social media platforms and apps.
Bark’s GPS-powered location tracking allows you to follow your child in near-real time on a digital map. Keep in mind that it may take a few minutes to see the latest location of your child in the location map (depending on their GPS and internet).
With their location alerts feature, you can add frequently visited locations (like school, home, or your child’s best friend’s house) and get a notification whenever they arrive or leave. You’ll get peace of mind straight to your phone whenever their location changes.
Both apps work with iOS devices such as— iPhone, iPad, & iPod, Android, Chromebooks and Amazon Fire!
Because I love what Bark is doing to keep kids safe, Twinsanity Life has teamed up with them to offer you 15% off of their app monitoring services for the lifetime of your subscription! Just use my custom link to shop and enter TWINSANITY15 at checkout.
Click here to learn more about identifying child trafficking victims and how to report a suspected human trafficking incident to authorities.
Share to spread the work and help keep our children safe and share our Bark discount code TWINSANITY15 with anyone who could benefit from this amazing app!
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