[cdfsdsadsa]

>The way we protect British kids from the Internet is to make better and more capable Britons, rather than to try and kidproof the entire internet.

If only it were that easy. For me as a parent, my approach is to implement a "Great personal firewall" - that is, internet restrictions that decrease over time as they mature, and starting with essentially zero access. Unfortunately, it's probably doomed to fail as other kids their age (5 + 7) and in their peer groups are already walking around with smartphones.

To put it bluntly, too many parents are too unenaged and lazy (or self-centered).

[vkazanov]

Same problem. Tried to balance some kind of freedom with limitations but it just didn't work. Then I found discord, read through some chats...

Now it's just outright forbidden to have anything with a chat. And no Internet.

The problem is that other 10 year old have mobiles, free PC access, etc, so there constant peer pressure.

[Woodi]

Some peoples are funny :) And there are parents ;)

Kids go to school, have lessons, right ? And few minutes breaks between lessons ? How that parents want to censorship what kids talk about ? Not to mention phones use. And why exactly ?

Thing is as it always is: parents make fundamens in culture/world view eg via their views and religion they subscribe. And then society and reality takes over. What society you have ?

[Cthulhu_]

Exactly, plus there's free, mostly unrestricted wifi everywhere. If your child has some pocket or birthday money they can freely spend, they can walk into an electronics store, buy a cheap smartphone or tablet and have unrestricted access.

At home measures are at best a delay, not a fix. What you also have to do is actually communicate with your child. If you're strict about what they can and cannot do on the internet, they will feel shame for doing it anyway, which may also mean they would be too ashamed to talk to their parents if for example they are getting groomed online.

[hdgvhicv]

If the government wanted to do something it would enforce optional controls for the bill payer, and provide decent training (via videos and in person in libraries) on how to use parental controls.

I tried setting up parental controls on Fortnite and it was a nightmare, having threats multiple accounts with multiple providers, it felt very much designed to force people to go “ahh forget it”.

[Cthulhu_]

> it would enforce optional controls for the bill payer,

They do; in the UK, if you want to have access to porn, you need to tell your ISP and they will unblock it.

Of course, that's a game of whack-a-mole because you can render porn in Minecraft servers or join one of many communities on Whatsapp or Discord if needs be. It mainly blocks the well-known bigger porn sites.

[est]

I have thought about this for a really, really long time.

The conclusion is, it's a service problem, not a howto-block problem

kid-friendly content is under supplied and often bad maintained.

To quote GabeN: Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem

[Cthulhu_]

How much would be enough supply, in your opinion? Because there is a lot, there is no shortage.

But it's not forbidden or hidden away, so kids aren't curious about it.

[quitit]

I believe it should be a layered approach.

1. Educate children about bad actors and scams. (We already do this in off-line contexts.)

2. Use available tools to limit exposure. Without this children will run into such content even when not seeking it. As demonstrated with Tiktok seemingly sending new accounts to sexualised content,(1) and Google/Meta's pathetic ad controls.

3. Be firm about when is the right age to have their own phone. There is zero possibility that they'll be able to have one secretly without a responsible parent discovering it.

4. Schools should not permit phone use during school time (enforced in numerous regions already.)

5. If governments have particular issues with websites, they can use their existing powers to block or limit access. While this is "whack-a-mole", the idea of asking each offshore offending website to comply is also "whack-a-mole" and a longer path to the intended goal.

6. Don't make the EU's "cookies" mistake. E.g. If the goal is to block tracking, then outlaw tracking, do not enact proxy rules that serve only as creative challenges to keep the status quo.

and the big one:

7. Parents must accept that their children will be exposed at some level, and need to be actively involved in the lives of their children so they can answer questions. This also means parenting in a way that doesn't condemn the child needlessly - condemnation is a sure strategy to ensure that the child won't approach their parents for help or with their questions.

Also some tips:

1. Set an example on appropriate use of social media. Doom scrolling on Tiktok and instagram in front of children is setting a bad example. Some housekeeping on personal behaviours will have a run on effect.

2. If they have social media accounts the algorithm is at some point going to recommend them to you. Be vigilant, but also handle the situation appropriately, jumping to condemnation just makes the child better at hiding their activity.

3. Don't post photos of your children online. It's not just an invasion of their privacy, but pedophile groups are known to collect, categorise and share even seemingly benign photos.

1. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/digital-threats/tikto...

[willis936]

The government can't make parents not be bad parents.

[eqvinox]

Okay, but just blocking content isn't much better than being unengaged, in the long term. They will get exposed anyway, if only from a friend (whose parents are unengaged and lazy) who has no restrictions on their phone. The important thing is to teach and train media skills. Teaching an understanding that comment sections are cesspools and amplify negative feedback. Teaching that people flame because it's so much easier than keeping silent, or putting in the thought to say something useful. Teaching that there are truly horrendous things on the Internet.

[cdfsdsadsa]

That's exactly my point. They are likely to get exposed to the worst of the internet at a significantly younger age than they will have the maturity and experience to handle (and younger than I can have any hope of trying to coach them in), all thanks to parents who give young kids (I'm talking 8 and younger) smartphones to keep them quiet.

My oldest girl is 5. She's already very aware that other kids in her class have access to tablets and phones. How on earth do I responsibly explain to her the dangers? I have enough trouble asking her to get dressed and keep her nappy dry at night.

[skeezyjefferson]

in all seriousness, what do you fear?

[cdfsdsadsa]

Abusive online relationships. An attention-suck that I can't handle as an adult, with the corresponding lack of development of other life skills that I consider essential to a successful and fulfilled life.

I say "I consider", because skills self-evidently essential to a good life (emotional regulation, focus and attention span, ability to read other people's emotional states, effective communication, physical skills) are increasingly not generally considered that way.