Phones, tablets, and other tools that access the internet can be amazing tools for communicating and socialising but unfortunately, they can also present challenges for children and their peers. Especially, regarding children’s use when communicating with each other.
It is up to you as parents to have this conversation with your child and to make a decision as to whether they’re ready for social media and messaging or not. Whether they are using Messenger, Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok or Whats App, it is important to speak to your child about the risks online, posting messages, chatting or responding to someone online, especially in anger or on impulse. Ask them to think before they post anything, accept a friend request or become part of a group chat.
While much of the time it can function positively as a way for young people to interact, we have seen many instances when the comments can become aggressive, demeaning or inappropriate in a sexual manner. The first port of call in many instances will be reporting via the eSafety Commissioner - an online reported method to deal with harm caused by serious online abuse or illegal and restricted online content. It also has information of what you can report and how to do so. It is also often at this point that the school is alerted.
It is extremely difficult for a school to manage incidents that may occur online when the it occurs outside of school hours. Yet we do understand there can be a flow on effect into school that we will need to manage as best we can. On the whole, school will continue to provide Cyber Safe information and lessons to students and families; ask students and parents to read through and sign our school’s Internet Agreement; refer to our ICT Matrix and adhere to the current Mobile Phone Policy. We follow our policies in regard to bullying and wellbeing, working with families to inform and support.
While it is important for students to understand the issues and difficulties around social media use, it is just as important for you as parents to understand too. The ways you may use social media may be very different to how your child will interact online. With new sites and games gaining prominence each month, it is difficult to keep up. Resources such as https://www.commonsensemedia.org/social-media are useful tools to keep yourself educated.
Having educated yourself and your child on the dangers and etiquette of the online world, it is important to continue to monitor how your child is interacting online. Supervision remains a vital part of ensuring your child's online safety and wellbeing. Many accounts have a minimum age requirement which we encourage you to strongly consider.
Have a conversation with your child to ensure they know they have reporting pathways if something negative happens online. Make sure your child knows to come to you with a problem when it occurs, so you can help. Whether something is happening on their accounts, or on a friends’ account they need to know to report it to you and then on to the eSafety Commissioner.
The most important thing in this is communication. Together, we need to talk about how to treat others online with respect and what is and isn’t appropriate online behaviour.
Thank you for your support. The safety and wellbeing of your children, our students, is paramount. Please see below for some online safety tips and programs.
eSafety’s Top 5 online safety tips for kids and How to report cyberbullying material. The eSafety Parents pages on our website have more tips and resources about the use of digital technology at home.
eSafety programs
Explore the huge range of advice and resources at our national online safety hub, esafety.gov.au – we have programs tailored for all ages.
- eSafety Parents — Advice for parents and carers to help children have safe experiences online.
- eSafety Kids — A platform for kids to learn about online safety in a way they can relate to.
eSafety Young People — A platform for older children to learn about online safety in an environment that appeals to them.