Flow advocates for safer Internet practices for children

Morgan was among a group of students that participated in Flow’s SID ‘Kids’ Table Talk’, pre-teen online safety session for children 10 to 13 years, covering safe internet practices and how to avoid cyber bullying.

“I learnt about cyber safety and what it means to be safe online. I learnt about hackers and them being able to view your location and personal information and even spy on you through your webcam,” Morgan said.

According to Morgan, the Internet has information that can be used to enrich our lives, but it also can harm us and the people we love.

“As children we have access to it, but we must also be safe online,” she said.

Today’s children have more information at their fingertips than any generation before. Tablets, laptops, and smartphones are common at school and at home, including for virtual learning.

The devices aren’t going away anytime soon, which is why according to Shelly-Ann O’Connor, operations and projects coordinator at the Flow Foundation, families must have conversations about internet safety.

“This is the challenge of living in a connected world. The bad guys may be smart, but you and your children can be smarter,” O’Connor said.

The virtual session held under the theme, ‘Together, For A Better Internet,’ was streamed live on Flow Jamaica’s YouTube channel.

According to O’Connor some teens are often more tech savvy than their parents, but that does not mean they have a strong sense of judgment or have access to all of the tools that can help protect them online.

“We are spending too much time online and it is important that you know how to protect yourself. Not everyone has good intentions, and nothing on the Internet is completely private,” she said.

O’Connor shared tips with the students on safe Internet practices including, managing their passwords and personal information, what they post online and to report anyone who made requests to obtain their information.

“Continue to use the Internet because it is not all that bad. But use it wisely and be smart. Do not take requests from people you do not know and do not go meeting strangers,” she said.

Flow, a subsidiary of Liberty Latin America (LLA), joined others in the group of companies to celebrate Safer Internet Day (SID) on February 9.

The LLA group led several activities across the Caribbean and Latin America, under the global theme - “Together for a Better Internet” and focused on the importance of digital responsibility and the measures people, more specifically, young persons and seniors can take to use the internet safely.

Safer Internet Day (SID) was the main event in the online safety calendar. Starting as an initiative of the EU in 2004, SID is now celebrated in approximately 130 countries worldwide.