Google survey reveals uptick of Filipino parents searching for online safety information
The landscape of learning has changed over the past two years as we relied heavily on technology and transitioned to digital classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Young kids who have no idea of the world wide web were guided by their parents to navigate their way around it.
As their navigators, parents also find it deemed fit to equip themselves with knowledge about digital responsibility. In a recent survey conducted by Google in Asia-Pacific, they revealed that 72% of Filipino parents are proactively looking for information about online safety.
This indicates a 4% jump from 2021 which simply means parents are now, more than ever, recognizing the need to be equipped with the right knowledge and tools to guide their kids around the digital sphere. Since the internet is stored with tons of diverse information, parents are trying to learn how to filter each and every bit of data for their kids.
Source: Google
Through the use of digital tools such as YouTube Kids, Google SafeSearch, and Family Link, some parents were able to ensure their kids with a safer internet experience. Educational applications such as Brainly, Canvas, and Moodle also helped improve kids' learning journey.
Although 86% of Filipino parents discussed online safety with their kids and are confident that these children will talk to them if they have problems or questions regarding internet usage, three out of 10 parents still worry that their kids might not be sufficiently informed about the topic. In the same survey, it is revealed that the top concerns of parents online are privacy and security, inappropriate content, and cyberbullying.
As Google attempts to build a safer landscape for kids so that they be able to freely connect with their friends and family and bond with them online, the company built handy resources for parents to be able to monitor their kids' daily online activities.
One of which is the supervised experience on YouTube which is a parent-managed version of regular YouTube that's equipped with tailored content settings, adjusted features, and digital wellbeing protections for younger viewers.
Another creation of theirs is the Be Internet Awesome which is a platform that provides relatable lessons and interactive games that teach kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and online safety.
Even before we hand our kids gadgets that will allow them to surf and explore the internet, we should be able to discuss with them the basics of online safety and be able to set some ground rules that can benefit them in the long run.
NO ONE IS AN EXCEPTION TO THE DANGERS OF THE DIGITAL WORLD, EVEN THESE CELEBRITIES EXPERIENCED BEING HACKED.
