Technological progress has been undeniable and unstoppable over the past few decades. Hundreds of new apps are released around the world every day; most startups now operate exclusively in the digital realm; and the number of online businesses is growing dramatically. More and more platforms are being created where we can promote influencers and celebrities, even though the world hadn’t even heard of them just two days earlier.
It is particularly important to understand exactly how all of this affects our child’s life, how to recognize if they are a victim of cyberbullying, and what kind of image our child presents of themselves online.
Every Other Kid Wants to be an Influencer
It’s no coincidence that, according to a survey, 75 percent of children aged 6-17 see becoming a YouTuber as a career path! And one in five children envisions their future as a blogger or vlogger; which is a huge proportion.
It’s natural for children to want to be singers, actresses, or dancers, so the new attractive career path is becoming an influencer or YouTuber. Success, fame, money, travel, and the chance to express their creativity all draw children toward this kind of career.
To ensure our children’s safety in the digital world, we need to be extremely attentive and cautious. Only as parents can we truly raise our children to navigate the digital world, so let’s take a look at how we can protect them in the digital world!
The Jungle of the Digital World
The digital world is like a jungle: it seems endless, we can go in any direction, it’s unpredictable, and it’s as if we don’t really know how to get out of it. We just go deeper and deeper, instead of finding our way out. The moment we put a smartphone in the hands of a child of any age, they immediately become hooked: colorful images, flashing lights, and sounds that never end, just as on online casino sites such as Amunra Casino.
According to a 2013 survey, 39 percent of the families surveyed are media-centered, meaning they spend more than 11 hours a day in front of a screen. Of those 11 hours, 81 percent are spent plugging children in front of the TV to keep them occupied. Meanwhile, 45 percent of those surveyed are moderate media consumers, spending an average of about 5 hours a day in front of a screen.
These are staggering numbers, so it’s no surprise that we have reason to worry about our children. On top of all this, these days our children, and we ourselves, are no longer just looking at a single screen at a time: the TV is constantly on as a sort of background noise while a child watches a cartoon on a tablet, and the parents may be looking at an online casino on their phone.
In the digital world, we can never know where our children are or what they’re doing, what websites they’re visiting, or what kinds of stimuli, comments, and remarks they’re exposed to. The younger they are, the easier it is to supervise them, and most importantly, the easier it is to resist their desire to have their own smartphone. The biggest challenge, in fact, is that it’s very easy to plop them in front of a screen because that keeps them occupied.
Finally, there’s a little peace and quiet, because they’re watching a story on the tablet; at age 5, they’re playing with our phone while sitting in the doctor’s office, and that way they wait patiently. Meanwhile, we’re teaching them that they always have to keep themselves occupied with something, just as many parents do the same with Amunra Casino or other online casino sites.
How to Survive in this World?
Before we get into how we can help our child ourselves, let’s take a little time for self-reflection as well. Time and again, we see mothers pushing strollers who listen to music, chat, or talk on the phone for the entire duration of their walk. All of this increases the likelihood that they won’t be able to sense their baby’s needs, since they aren’t paying attention.
It can become a problem, however, when we spend more time with these gadgets than with our child, and the child often feels that the gadget is more important. Even as infants, children soak up knowledge, experiences, and insights like sponges, so they pick up on these signals. Let’s ask ourselves: How much do we use them each day, and exactly for what? We’ll only be able to set limits for our children if they see us behaving the same way.
It’s no use telling them they can only play for two hours a day if we’re tapping away on our phones on Amunra Casino for five or six hours. They’ll feel it’s unfair, they won’t understand it, and most importantly, it can undermine our credibility as parents and as people. It’s worth following the rules of the game ourselves, just as strictly.