JEDDAH – Over 75 percent of parents said they have no idea what sites or web applications their children use on social media, according to a recent survey conducted by Okaz. Only 25 percent of parents monitor their children's activities on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the Internet in general, the survey said. On the other hand, 74 percent of the 2,000 respondents supported parental control and monitoring for children's online activities while 93 percent said they knew little about cybercrime laws in the Kingdom. The majority of parents attributed their poor monitoring to a lack of understanding of cybercrime laws, the survey noted. Global statistics indicate that over 85 million teenagers around the world surf the Internet daily. Furthermore, some recent statistics in Europe and North America have put the age of children who surf the Internet on a daily basis as young as 6. Statistics also show an increase in cyberbullying, online sexual harassment, and online sexual abuse cases. The Daily Mail in Britain has recently published a study on the effects excessive Internet surfing have on children. Spending long hours on the Internet makes children less smart because they do not have time to develop their thinking skills, according to the study. Dr. Hani Al-Ghamdi, family counselor at the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, said it is not easy for parents to keep a close eye on their children's online activities. Parents need to be educated on Internet skills in order to be able to keep up with their children and monitor their activities, he said. He said most parents do not have a clue about the advanced control and monitoring mechanisms and software and do not dedicate enough time to learning about them, he said. Each social media website such as Facebook or Twitter has special monitoring software, he said. “I don't personally encourage close monitoring of children's online activities. Doing that will make one's children feel stifled. I prefer instead indirect monitoring or one that is done from a distance without a child's knowledge. A child's or adult's privacy shouldn't be infringed upon. One should always trust his own children.” If a parent finds out his son, for example, has done something wrong, the parent should ask his son to repent and discuss the matter with him, said Al-Ghamdi. He said: “I'm not for punishing children by taking away their laptops or iPads and grounding them. “Children who are subject to such punishment will try to find other ways that probably most parents are not aware of to get around that.” Dr. Hatim Al-Ghamdi, family counselor and clinical psychologist, urged parents to acquaint themselves with social media and other applications to monitor children's online activities. Monitoring a child's activities on the web should be different from adults, he said. For children, monitoring should be done closely, while for adults more freedom and space should be given, he claimed. He said: “One of the pros of social media sites is that they are open and activities are traceable. “A parent can find how his son thinks, what sites he likes, and how he talks with others. I'm against depriving children and adults of social media websites because the harm such action bring outweighs the benefits.” Okaz contacted Pamela Whitby, writer of “Is Your Child Safe Online”, and asked her how parents should protect their children from cyber threats.Whitby advised parents to talk to their children, listen to them, give them freedom, and set limits. Her book aims to help parents realize the major problems they face in the world of advanced technology. She also stressed that parents learn how to use social media.
