What interested me, is how, from using sights such as Twitter, Instagram, Flickr etc, they never advertise the use of internet safety. Not once on signing up to such sights do they ask if you want your profile hidden from the public. They all have the facility to do so, but I found it bizzarre that isn't their main priority when signing up new users.
Facebook has got better over the years. It used to be quite difficult to find where the settings were, and how to change them. I remember as a teenager being inundated with friend requests from complete strangers. Now, they now have a whole list of different privacy settings, which is great for internet safety, but it is a little confusing at times!
On this link for the Metroplitan Police, they mention about how important having privacy settings on.
http://safe.met.police.uk/internet_safety/get_the_facts.html
I do remember some time ago now, reading about someone who invited their facebook friends to a party, however, she had no privacy settings on, and it ended up being a house party with over 1500 people!
See full article here: Facebook Party Gets Out Of Control After German Girl Forgets Privacy Setting
Then there is safety when viewing other pages. I have my own laptop, own phone, own tablet, and all of these are for just my use. Whilst I do live with my parents, I don't use their computer, nor do they use my things; There are no younger children around to be using them.
I'm sure there are hundreds of different settings to stop children looking at inappropriate sites however I have never really had to use them. From reading websites regarding childrens internet safety, a lot of it is about monitoring, or blocks, but i think, despite all that,a childs best online protection is the parent. By talking to them about potential online dangers i'm sure parents can help help them surf the Internet safely.
I work for a county council and they have security blockers on certain websites. So for example if I was to use a site that has a word in the URL that flags up on their system, it will block me from accessing the site. Sometimes it is understandable, if it's maybe a news article which isn't pleasant so maybe has a graphic word in the title, whereas other times it can seem a bit random.
There are so many things nowadays delevoping to help and assist with internet safety.
The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is a group of more than 200 organisations drawn from across government, industry, law, academia and charity sectors that work in partnership to help keep children safe online. (directgov) UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS)
I am surprised accounts like Instagram are not private the moment you sign up, especially as the age of children on these websites is getting younger each year.
On Saturday, I finished a production of Annie, and some of the "orphans", as young as 10, have started trying to add me on instagram and facebook. I am surpised they don't have private profiles and I can view a lot on their accounts already.
It's definitely food for thought. If I ever have children of my own, I hope security settings on social media sites is a bit better by then!
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