Gaming ‘what parents need to know’
The attached article explores the different elements of gaming with a particular focus on how it can be used by offenders, but focusing on what parents can do to support their child while gaming.
‘Telegram’ online safety guide
Telegram is a free messaging service ‘Telegram’ (16+). With end-to-end encryption and the ability for chats to ‘self-destruct’, this presents an immediate danger to children and young people.
Telegram is a free messaging service which is very similar to WhatsApp. Users can message each other as well as send images, videos, audio clips and other files using end to end encryption. People can also create groups and broadcast messages to a worldwide audience. The what parents need to know guide is below:
Monkey App
Monkey App – is a random video chat app which means you are always talking to someone that you don’t know. The recommended user age for Monkey is 12+. When using the app you can talk to someone via video chat for 15 secs and then choose to continue or add them to Snapchat. It’s proving to be very popular with children and young people for a number of reasons one it’s heavily advertised on social media and through other apps. Plus it’s logo is a very cute looking cartoon picture of a monkey’s face which will be very appealing to young children. Users can also earn bananas using the app which you use as an in app currency to purchase merchandise.
Monkey is promoted as a video chat app for young people and is designed for users to chat and make new friends. Its creators say it is a safer version of chat roulette without the sexual content. Sadly however users, teachers and parents are reporting to us that children are being exposed to very graphic sexualised content from requests to appear nude through to seeing adults and older young people masturbating on camera. A simple search of the internet for info about Monkey also comes up with accounts of children being exposed to sexual content, explicit language and bullying when using the app.
Sign up is simple all you need is name and date of birth and there is no age verification needed to prove how old you are. Children and young people who use this app and other similar to it need to be made more aware that these sort of apps have a number of risks attached with them, number one being you do not know who you will be chatting to and as a result you can be exposed to a wide range of unsuitable content and the potential harms and risks this can result in. Parents/carers need to encouraged to research apps to find out what there all about when their child asks to use them to check that they are safe. Our recommendation would be to avoid any random video chat apps especially for young children as sadly history has shown us that they all despite best intentions attract the behaviours we have mentioned.
Parents and Carers Voice
At National Online Safety we believe in empowering parents, carers and trusted adults with the information they need to hold informed and age-appropriate conversations about online safety with their child, should they feel it is needed. Every Wednesday we produce guides to focus on specific platforms/risks which we believe trusted adults should be aware of. Please get in touch with us should you have a suggested platform you would like us to focus on by emailing us at hello@nationalonlinesafety.com.
Call of Duty Guide for Trusted Adults
Guide about Call of Duty (COD) – the PEGI rated 18+ game. COD is a graphic first-person shooter game that’s available on a number of devices, including PC and games consoles.
‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’, the latest of the series, allows players to choose different game modes, including a multiplayer mode, ‘Zombies’ mode and a ‘Blackout’ mode. In the game, players can customise their character and weapons.
YOLO Guide for Trusted Adults
The app that pairs up with Snapchat to let users ask questions and receive answers anonymously.
In May 2019, ‘YOLO’ became the most downloaded app in the UK iTunes store only a week after its release and with no prior marketing or promotion. It has become hugely popular amongst children, particularly teenagers, as it offers them the opportunity to join in anonymous Q&A without having to reveal their identities, which often encourages more honest and open peer feedback.
Put your devices down 🙂
As the summer holidays are just around the corner, we thought it would be a great idea to encourage young people to put their devices down this summer break and enjoy the wonders of the outdoors.
This #WakeUpWednesday, we’re sharing our ‘Screen addiction’ guide to arm parents with the knowledge to be able to identify and support young people who may be spending too much time on their devices????????
Parental Controls
The links below show you how to set parental controls on Xbox one, PS4 and Switch:
Xbox One Parental Controls – https://pwxp5srs168nsac2n3fnjyaa-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/parent-controls-docs/parental-control-xbox-one.pdf
PS4 Parental Controls – https://pwxp5srs168nsac2n3fnjyaa-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/parent-controls-docs/parental-control-playstation-4-ps4.pdf
Switch Parental Controls – https://pwxp5srs168nsac2n3fnjyaa-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/parent-controls-docs/parental-control-nintendo-switch.pdf
Boycott social media to eradicate indecent images
The UK’s lead officer for child protection has called for a boycott of social media sites in order to force them into safeguarding children better online. Stating that companies would take notice of “reputational damage”, Chief Constable Simon Bailey said he thought that the big technology platforms weren’t “taking their responsibilities seriously enough” and that whilst he supported the government’s online harms White Paper, fines alone wouldn’t work. The Internet Association, who represent tech firms, responded with highlighting a number of initiatives that companies have implemented to remove abusive content, including investment in technology, content moderators and online education.
Read the full article at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48236580
YOLO
YOLO is the new question and answer app, designed to work through Snapchat, allowing users to ask questions and send messages to each other completely anonymously. Following its release last month, it quickly become the most downloaded app in the world despite minimal advertising or promotion. Although popular, the app has received caution around its use, with the NSPCC warning of the dangers of misuse and online bullying because of the anonymity aspect. Similar accusations were levelled at the Sarahah app, which was eventually removed from mobile app stores in 2018. Scroll down to view our new online safety guide about YOLO.
https://www.internetmatters.org/resources/online-gaming-advice/
Support for parents and carers to keep children safe online
Options for reporting or talking through online problems:
CEOP
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is dedicated to eradicating the sexual abuse of children. It is part of UK policing and very much about tracking and bringing offenders to account either directly or in partnership with local and international forces. Anybody with concerns that a pupil is being groomed or sexually exploited, including involvement in Sexting, should contact them directly using the link below. I would strongly recommend that if possible, you also contact Mr Lindsay or any member of the Safeguarding team here at Hurworth as we may need to make additional referrals to Children’s Services.
www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
Childline Instant Help
The link provided below will take you to the Childline website where you can click the explore button to find out more about topics such as Cyber Bullying and Online and Mobile Safety. More importantly if you click on the 1 to 1 Chat Online link you can contact a Childline counsellor in a 1 to 1 online chat (like instant messenger) about any online problems. Childline state that no problem is too big or too small.
ThinkUKnow
Here you can find the latest information on websites, mobiles and new technology. Find out what’s good, what’s not and what you can do about it. If you look after young people, there’s an area for you too with resources you can use at home or just to get yourself up to speed with the latest developments. Most importantly, there’s also a place which anyone can use to report if they feel uncomfortable or worried about someone they are chatting to online.
Here you can find a parents/carers guide to safely stream online and share images.
Delivering Online Safety at Home
Internet Watch Foundation
If you have inadvertently stumbled across potentially illegal online content, specifically images of child sexual abuse, criminally obscene material or anything that incites racial hatred then please submit a report to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The IWF works in partnership with the police, government, the online industry and the public to combat this type of material and you are helping to make the internet safer for all by taking this action.
Options for finding information about online safety guidance:
All the websites listed above have both reporting tools and sections of information and advice relating to e-safety. In addition to these you may find the following useful:
The Twitter feed from the CEOP website has many tweets with up to date information about online safety. It covers the type of current activity taking place not only across the UK but also specifically what is happening regionally.
Get Safe Online
Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of unbiased, factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety.