Children’s Rights and Safety in The Digital Age

Courtesy: Malditang Librarian

When I think of children’s rights in the digital age, the thought leaves me in between violation of some rights while upholding others. There is a thin line between the safety of our children and exercising their rights.

The most commonly regarded definition of a child is anyone below the age of 18 years. Despite toddlers, infants and adolescents being different in terms of needs and understanding, they are all treated the same under the law.

18 years is deemed as the legal age in most countries where one gets a National Identification card and permission to purchase alcohol or even consent to sexual engagement. 

When it comes to cyberspace the terms of engagement differ. Initially, one could not get a social media to account without being 18 years and above. There are also some websites that one cannot access without proving to be of legal age. This policy is not foolproof as one only needs to say there are 18 years and consent to that then they will access the sites or open a social media account. Over the years, social sites like Facebook have changed their policies and now teenagers can have accounts and even share their posts publicly.

Also Check out: How to Promote Human Rights Through Blogging

What are the Children’s rights?

When it comes to social media four specific rights protect children in this space. These rights are stipulated in The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). They include:

Article 13 (Freedom of Expression)

Every child must be free to express their thoughts and opinions and to access all kinds of information, as long as it is within the law.

Article 15 (Freedom of Association)

Every child has the right to meet with other children and to join groups and organizations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights.

Article 16 (Right to Privacy)

Every child has the right to privacy. The law should protect the child’s private, family, and home life, including protecting children from unlawful attacks that harm their reputation.

Article 17 (Access to information from the media)

Every child has the right to reliable information from a variety of sources, and governments should encourage the media to provide information that children can understand. Governments must help protect children from materials that could harm them.

The UNCRC outlines clearly these provisions and explains the limitations. Though the document was not drafted with a keen focus on social media it still covers its usage given that this has become a powerful tool where children learn, share, make friends and express themselves. [Source: UNICEF]

What are the Online Issues Affecting Children?

Courtesy: Slater and Gordon

Despite the Internet being very resourceful, children are exposed to so much harm which can easily go undetected. Some of the issues include:

• Inappropriate content: Such content includes pornography, violent and extreme content, gaming as well as gambling, and betting. This is content that when a child is exposed to over time they become addicted and it could affect their social interaction.

• Radicalization: In recent years, radicalization by illegal groups has become a great concern and the practice is moving to the digital space. Children are a great target because they are exposed to certain ideologies, especially terrorism and end up joining such groups. This is a process and by the time a child has recruited you as a parent might not be aware.  Radicalization may also take the form of a child being exposed to certain ideologies that you don’t believe in as a family.

• Cyberbullying: Children especially teenagers are often subjected to bullying on social media. It may start as a joke or prank but when they are continuously insulted or picked on then it amounts to bullying. This might affect the child’s self-esteem and may be going on without the knowledge of the parents.

• Overexposure and identity theft: Social media engagement can compromise one’s privacy. Always sharing what is happening at home or even private information might be dangerous. When it comes to sharing even parents can be victims especially when you share so much about your child. With identity theft, no body is safe even children.

• Sexual Predators: According to PureSight Online Child Safety, Internet sexual predators tend to fall between the ages of 18 and 55, although some are older or younger. Their targets tend to be between the ages of 11 and 15. In addition, in 100% of the cases, teens that are the victims of sexual predators have gone willingly to meet with them. This means that children trust the people they engage with on Facebook even if they do not know them.

Can our children be safe?

Courtesy: Xiaolu's Blog - WordPress.com

Our children are not safe and there are exposed to too much without the knowledge of their caregivers. 

Even if they have rights, it might be necessary to control what they are exposed to before it causes them harm. This means, at times the need to filter and even block some sites for their own protection.

Parents and caregivers need to get training on cybersecurity to educate their children on how to protect themselves. It is also necessary to monitor what your child is doing online and watch whom they engage.

Just as we protect children in daily engagements we should also protect them in cyberspace. The online safety of our children will be achieved through everyone’s involvement. 

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