HOW TO REACT TO HARMFUL ONLINE CONTENT

Awo Aid Amenyah March 2, 2019 0 Comments

It is worrying to note that most people especially parents have been alarmed at the Momo Challenge on YouTube. 

Two weeks ago we published an article about the importance of the 21st Century Digital Literacy skills which includes News Literacy: ability to determine between fact and fiction and not to take news on face value (also known as fake news phenomenon). 

The fundamental truth about media literacy is that one can determine how to direct traffic to a particular website for effect which was the case in the so-called Momo challenge where one social media post sparked the discussion about YouTube video and driving the clicks to the said site. 

If we can take our time a little bit to go through the critical thinking skills (Think before CLICK, POST, SHARE) as parents and instill same in our children, it will help us a great deal. 

There has been a number of untruth on social media and it is surprising the number of people who fall for this information. 

If one Facebook post could spark this level of fear, let’s imagine those that go unnoticed or unreported especially when we do not have conversations with our children but rather subject them to be seated by tablets.

It is advisable to use YouTube kids if you wish they explore and not the main YouTube channel which contains adult content.

If your child must use YouTube at all cost download YouTube kids for Android phones and computers.

The above recommendations do not suggest that you leave your child for the device to baby seat.

It requires your supervision while they explore. Should you be a tech savvy parent and wish to monitor your child in their exploration, feel free to opt for the Google’s Family Link for android. However, should you wish to report an incident, you could also locate the YouTube Safety Center.

We encourage parents to stay calm when they come across any situation online in which they feel helpless. We encourage parents/guardians to sign up for Digital Citizenship and Safety or access the Digital Citizenship curriculum alternatively you can download safety resources on our resources page here.

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