How to help children avoid cyber risks and thrive in an online world
As the number of digital risks children are exposed to continues to grow, DQ offers a way to equip kids with the skills needed to cope successfully
When I met Dr Park Yuhyun in March, at the Global Education & Skills Forum 2018 in Dubai, she was explaining to a room full of educators and journalists how a cyber-risk pandemic is gripping the world. Awareness of the digital risks children are exposed to has, indeed, grown recently.
As proof, Apple announced earlier this month that its iOS 12, out this autumn, includes a feature capable of detailing hours spent on various apps and websites – thereby allowing users to better manage their device time.
This was, says Park, founder and CEO of DQ Institute, in response to the opinion that children and iPhones make for a “toxic pair”.
Park, based in Singapore, founded the institute, a think tank aiming to advance the digital ecosystem, in 2015. She calls herself a “fervent advocate of online children protection and digital intelligence education” on her Linkedin profile.
In the 2018 DQ Impact Report, released by the DQ Institute, 56 per cent of eight to 12 year olds are exposed to cyber risks, including cyber bullying, video game addiction, online grooming and online sexual behaviour. Children at this age, according to the findings, start their activities on digital media and form habits that impact on their sense of identity, behaviour and relationships. Nearly 38,000 children within this age range across 29 countries were included in the study.
