How to Keep Your Child Safe in This Digital Age: Build Connectedness and Resilience

As technology and the internet upgrade, their roles and influence also grow. Thus, parents are called to modify their ways to prioritize their children's safety in this digital age, especially when it comes to their mental well-being.

Parents are seeing an uptick in their internet usage and their children, especially during and now that the pandemic is almost over. Though the world has the technology and the internet to thank for the normalcy, connection, and comfort they brought during the pandemic, it seems that even now that everything is returning to normal, the dependency on technology and the internet is getting stronger.

And with this, parenting has changed, as Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy and President of the Morgan Stanley Foundation, proclaimed.

Steinberg expressed how she has seen her family's technology usage shift into new areas. From holding on to mobile phones at the very start of the morning and to the dinner table, from watching and being busy with something on each different device instead of watching a shared program on the television, technology and the internet have changed the ways of family.

"While parenting has and always will be a juggling act, it now feels like a healthy balance with technology is getting more impossible to manage," she admitted.

How is the internet affecting families

In a recent study by the Child Mind Institute, they polled over a thousand parents from the US with their children ranging from nine to 15 years old to understand parental attitudes toward the usage of the internet, usage patterns of the family, and the risks that may contribute to problematic internet use (PIU) in kids.

PIU is defined as internet usage habits that negatively impact one's quality of life. The most common examples are mood shifts, lack of focus, and disconnectedness. It can also include substance abuse, loss of sleep, disinterest in relationships and activities, neglecting schoolwork, running to the online world to avoid unpleasant feelings, and getting angry when internet time is limited.

While 46 percent of parent respondents expressed that the internet increased connectedness within their nuclear families, and 56 percent with their extended family, most parents at 77 percent, acknowledged the possibility of their children getting addicted to the internet and were concerned with other issues it brings such as online (53%) and available content (67%).

Moreover, 32 percent of parents reported that the internet distracts them from spending time with their kids, and 59 percent admitted that they have been more permissive with their children's internet usage during the pandemic.

What should parents do?

So as 2023 begins, parents are encouraged to ask how technology is seriously impacting their children. How should they best equip themselves to intervene and save their children from the mental health problems that technology and the internet can give them?

Cutting down children's Internet usage and technology time can be an easy solution, yet it is easier said than done. Steinberg stressed that there are more realistic approaches to the current state of the world.

Here's a good start - the study showed that a majority of parents, 82 percent, already feel comfortable discussing the pros and cons of internet usage with their children. Thus, parents are encouraged to be part of this majority, having the willingness to talk about physical and emotional online safety with their children.

Here are suggested ways how to do just that, as reported by US News.

1. Observe: Watch and take note of the patterns for extreme mood and behavioral changes. Listen because your parent's gut will tell if something is not right.
2. Talk: Be proactive and intentional in discussing mental health with the children. Remind them that their feelings are normal and validate their emotions. Give them a safe space to express what they are going through.
3. Model Good Habits: Prioritize self-care. Let the kids see that you are making time and space for your own needs and how you draw the line with technology and the internet for your mental well-being and peace.
4. Build Community: Create a support system for the kids. Let them know they can talk safely with another person when you are not around. Encourage them to build relationships and connect with others.
5. Monitor and Talk - Again: Regularly check in with the children, and assure them they can run to you if they are struggling. This can reinforce that battling with things in life isn't a one-time thing but a constant process.