ISQ for digital citizenship

It is a reality that we must appropriate; we cannot hide or deny them the blunt fact that we live in a digital world. On the other side of the coin, neither will it provide them without limits, separating us from their use, falling into the fantasy that they know how to use them appropriately. That would deceive ourselves as adults and not assume the responsibility that entails.

Let's think of two basic lines to size what implies that a pre-adolescent or teenager makes use of an intelligent device:

1. We must consider the stage of development in which they find themselves, specifically the cerebral maturation of an area called “frontal cortex”, which is still immature, is responsible, among other things, for judgment, reasoning and taking decisions, it is this same cause, which causes our children to have impulsive, irrational and even dangerous behaviors that sometimes we fail to understand. This part of the brain is what, in short, makes us think before acting and will not be complete until early adulthood (around 25 years). Let us add to this situation, to give our children a mobile device without any external regulation, without accompaniment, do they more or less see where the equation goes?

What your child sees or reads on the internet or publishes online, many times without analyzing, without thinking about the consequences, is no longer just his property, may end up in the wrong place and affect his future, security, and image.

2. The second important point to analyze as a parent, are the consequences derived from the inappropriate use of mobile devices and the content of social networks, which no longer only depend on the ethical, disciplinary and formative, but now There are legal implications that are being established in our legislative codes. Imagine seeing yourself involved as a parent if your child is still a minor, or seeing your child already involved in legal action if he is already of age? It is a scenario where nobody wants to be. True? We will delve deeper into this topic in another article in another ISQ NEWS.

So. What can we start doing to reduce risks, act like parents who promote a protective factor and at the same time educate our children in the responsible use of these devices?

Take into account the following basic suggestions:

1. It was already mentioned at the beginning of this article, that the prohibition philosophy is perhaps not the way, or at least not the first and only alternative, but the limits, as in everything, will help the self-regulation that your child has, it is in this sense that the first line is precisely this: clear limits regarding the uses that your children can give to their device. You have the right and the authority to establish with them the times that you can use it and the forms, for what yes and for what not.

2. Be sure to monitor this rule that you agreed with your child: it is useless to have negotiated together if they do not see that you as a parent do not give importance and follow-up.

3. Speak clearly and honestly about the risks they are exposed to when uploading content on the Internet, as well as the consequences if they are the ones who misuse material from other colleagues. So be kind, but clear and firm about not taking photos or videos of others without their permission, the type of content they can share and that care that what you publish does not hurt, hurt or annoy others, at this point You can be as specific as possible, children and adolescents need clarity within these limits. You can even make a written contract where these rules are stipulated. (If you want a model agreement, you can gladly request it to the email mentioned at the end of this article).

4. Agree parents and children to respect school rules regarding the regulation with respect to the use of mobile devices. The safety of teenagers is a joint responsibility, so we will only see results if there is a team work.

5. If your child has been harassed by this means, denounce the competent authorities, but above all, reinforce their self-protection factors, add, be purposeful, assertive and make equipment to solve the matter, this is to be jointly responsible. We can support you by requesting it by mail to: isq.seguro@isq.edu.mx

6. If you find out, either because another family or school reports that your child misused their mobile device, take appropriate measures to ensure that this action is formative and, above all, restorative, that is to say, repair the damage it caused. both at the individual level, and the affectation that it has directly and indirectly at the level of school coexistence, here it will be necessary to join, cooperate with the strategy suggested by the school for such purposes. This will be an important lesson that can prevent you from getting involved in more serious consequences in the future, including legal implications, here is the phrase: "overprotect is unprotected".

7. And finally, to recognize that we are a generation of non-digital parents or, at most, digital migrants, with children that are, it is very important, to ask for advice, approach experts, maintain an open and receptive attitude towards what we do not know and take advantage of the training spaces offered by the school, either by this means, the school for parents or others, for example “content controls” apps, if you attended the Cristina Fortuny conference, you will remember that she as an expert in The theme of social networks, suggests relying on the same technology for active supervision, as tools we suggest you try the following:

· Qustodio: an app that has the possibility that as a parent, blocks inappropriate content, set time limits that your children are connected and even enables geolocation in emergencies.

· Norton Famiy: in which you can support yourself to consult the applications that your children download and you decide which ones can use and block those that do not, monitor what they are looking for on the internet to learn more about their interests and talk about them, in addition you It helps you to protect against so-called "online predators."

· DinnerTime Plus: with this app installed on a device that you and your children use together, you can configure the times in which the device can be used, when this period ends the device will be completely blocked, allowing them as a family to share Real times of one-to-one coexistence.

· Teen Safe: it is a tool that goes a little further, because with it you can monitor in a very discreet way all the activity that your children have on social networks, from what they share to the messages they send and receive, even those that delete

We invite you to explore more about each of these applications and as parents decide which one best suits what they are looking for and keep an eye on this and other spaces, where you can learn more information about online security issues.

There is no excuse, the integrity of our children and students is a task of families accompanied of course, by the school.

If you have more questions or suggestions write to us at isq.seguro@isq.edu.mx

Psic. Alejandra Morales

Programa ISQ Seguro