In a recent conversation with Special Agent Steven Dupre of FBI Sacramento Office, their cyber squad primarily handles cases involving the sexual exploitation of children and they have not come across a case yet where the child victim had parents who truly monitored their use of mobile phones and Internet applications.
According to Dupre, in most cases, the parents allowed the child to be on-line for extended periods of time without monitoring.
“We have had no cases where parents were actively involved in a child’s life and regularly monitored use of cyber technology,” Dupre said.
The most recent AVG Technologies survey found that by age 11 years, children are exposed to adult communities via social media, primarily Facebook which truly is an adult application. Tony Anscombe, AVG Technologies Digital cyber security expert, estimates that 81% of two year olds today have a social media presence, or a digital footprint (photos). According to Anscombe, in some cases, prior to birth parents are setting up on-line profiles.
Looking ahead, based upon the trends from the survey which show that very young children are learning digital skills before life skills, Anscombe asks:
Is there such a thing as social media childhood? What about life skills in addition to on-line skills?
Keeping our focus on what matters is the challenge. Keeping up with digital natives is not a technology problem: it is a relational problem that requires more attention than technology skills.
Parent Resources
- Parenting in the Network Culture
- Parental Authority in the Network Culture
- Sacramento FBI Office
- AVG Technologies
(Ref: 555-e)
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