As parents, security and safety of your kids is naturally of paramount importance. However, ensuring those two things can become a bit complicated as your youngsters are pretty much active in cyber space round the clock, courtesy of smartphones, thus remaining exposed to the many well-documented digital threats. The only viable option that you have with you is to supervise and secure their smartphone usage, something that can be achieved quite easily through the help of parental controls. Although this option has been around for many years now, it is only recently that its role in keeping the smartphone generation safe has started to gain recognition. Let’s take a detailed look at why parental controls have become a necessity in the modern day and how they can help you protect your kids from major online threats.
Cyberbullies and Online Predators
Most children are obsessed with smartphones mainly because it gives them easy access to social media, like Facebook and Instagram for instance. Remaining active on these platforms have never been easier for them. Unfortunately, this constant access has also increased their susceptibility to menaces likes cyberbullying and predators, both of which are rampant in the unpoliced social media space. You can’t afford to sit idle or stay ignorant while your kids find themselves subjected to insults, ridicule, and intimidation at the hands of cyberbullies, or they gradually fall deeper into the trap set by some cunning online predator who’s got some pretty nasty plans for your youngsters in store. Rather than expecting the social media companies to protect young users from such dangers, you need to take matter into your own hands, and for that, third-party parental control apps like SecureTeen are ideal. These apps have features like Facebook and Instagram monitoring, and even SMS monitoring, in their arsenal, thus giving you vision of your kids’ online social lives. Every time they’re confronted with a challenging situation or approached by a potentially dangerous person, you get to know about it right away and are therefore able to step in to do what’s necessary to keep them safe.
Pornographic Content
Another digital danger that the smartphone generation can become a victim of is porn addiction. What may start off as curiosity or an accidental exposure to something inappropriate may eventually develop into a full-fledged habit. This is certainly not something that you should allow to continue, or even happen in the first place, as it can lead to all sorts of psychological and even physical problems. Again, parental controls serve as a best solution to this issue. Two of their most basic features, namely web history logging and internet filtering, empower you to keep tabs on the kind of websites and content your kids are accessing on their smartphones, and block those websites and content that you deem inappropriate.
Revealing Photos and Videos
Smartphones typically come with built-in cameras, which kids simply love as it allows them to easily take pictures and make videos, which they can then share with their friends. However, they have a tendency to take things a bit too far and upload revealing pictures and videos of themselves in order to attract attention in the crowded social media space. These pictures and videos, once uploaded, are often available for general public to see, who can then download them and use them in any way they want. There’s a very big chance of these pictures and videos going viral and taking a toll on kids’ reputation, and perhaps haunting them for years to come. Parental controls allow you to mitigate this risk to a large extent. They come equipped with the feature that allows you to keep an eye on your children’s smartphone Gallery, where all photos and videos are stored. Some parental controls even let you see the photos your kids upload on Facebook and Instagram. If you discover any picture or video in your kids’ smartphone gallery or social media that you deem inappropriate, get them to delete it right away. Be sure to stay vigilant as the longer those pictures and videos stay online, the more damage they’re capable of incurring.
Smartphones may have become an integral part of kids’ lives and consequently raised their vulnerability to the aforementioned threats, but there is absolutely no reason for you to feel worried and helpless as long as you’ve invested in the right parental control and are exercising due vigilance. Never forget that being a parent, you’re responsible for keeping your youngsters safe from whatever threat surfaces. Stay smart and act fast because your kids are depending on you.
