Recent news articles in Australia have again raised concerns about online apps and services that students may be tempted to try out. The online space and the apps that we may want to use change rapidly. Whilst the Internet and many apps have heaps of positives others may not, if not understood clearly.
Students in particular share the latest new app or service with each other and sadly do not always share this information with their parents. We have seen online repeatedly where the use of apps can turn bad if privacy settings are not understood, what personal data is used/shared, what ages of the users can access the app and how to manage the app if/when things go wrong when other users may cause some problems.
The eSafety Guide is a great starting place for parents to learn more about the services children are interested in and provides advice on this ever-growing area of online services. Check out the short video below:
Getting started with social media - https://vimeo.com/737802392
The Office of the eSafety Commissioner’s eSafety Guide (link below) is an excellent site that provides timely advice to parents to help them keep up to date on many of the latest and most used apps and services used by students. It covers risks of using the service, how to protect your privacy in the apps, how to report to the service when things go wrong. As the adage goes... ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!’
eSafety Guide - https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-issues/esafety-guide