{"id":1392,"date":"2019-01-25T07:23:41","date_gmt":"2019-01-25T15:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internetsafety.trendmicro.com\/?p=1392"},"modified":"2022-07-22T07:12:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T15:12:30","slug":"4-tips-to-help-kids-become-privacy-defenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/blog\/4-tips-to-help-kids-become-privacy-defenders\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips To Help Your Kids Become Privacy Defenders"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lynette Owens<\/p>\n

How much does your family value privacy and how well do you protect it? As kids live more and more of their lives online, they may not think about their privacy \u2013 or the privacy of their friends \u2013 when posting, sharing, checking in, etc. On this Data Privacy Day<\/a>, here are four ways to help your family be privacy defenders in 2019.<\/p>\n

As consumers, citizens and voters, we\u2019re all more aware than we\u2019ve ever been of the value of data privacy and security. Big-name data breaches and leaks at Facebook, Marriott International, MyFitnessPal and many more last year<\/a> remind us of the price we pay living connected lives. For every service or application we use and every product we buy online, a digital trail of our personal information is created. Much of this information we willingly give up, but some of it may be taken more covertly, allowing advertisers and other third-parties to build up worryingly accurate profiles of our digital lives.<\/p>\n

At Trend Micro, we\u2019re keen to raise awareness and help individuals protect their privacy in an increasingly connected world. But what about your children? \u00a0Without guidance and good examples to follow, kids may dive straight into the online world, unaware of the potential risks they may be taking with their own privacy and that of others. That\u2019s where parents need to step in with some timely guidance. So, let\u2019s celebrate Data Privacy Day by empowering young people to become ardent defenders of privacy on the internet.<\/p>\n

Here are a few quick tips to get started:<\/p>\n

1. Set-up for success<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Taking privacy seriously will require a bit of effort upfront. This means checking the devices and apps your kids are using to ensure security and privacy settings are turned on in a way that best meets your family\u2019s needs. Consider the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Turn off location tracking or the microphone on all apps\/devices if it\u2019s not needed<\/li>\n
  • Apply a password to devices, apps or sites<\/li>\n
  • Use strong passwords for all accounts and, if possible, a password manager<\/li>\n
  • Check terms and conditions in apps to see what info they collect and how it\u2019s used<\/li>\n
  • Keep social network profiles private<\/li>\n
  • Stay off public Wi-Fi or use a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your connections safe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    2. Take time to talk <\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Social media is all about the here and now. But its insatiable demand for content can encourage impulsive behavior, which has a tendency to backfire from time-to-time. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to take some time out to engage with your kids and encourage them to ask themselves a few key questions before posting. Before hitting send, they might want to consider what the impact might be if a post goes public. Remind them that even if they have their privacy settings on, their friends may not. The bottom line is: don\u2019t post anything you would not be OK with saying to someone in real life.<\/p>\n

    3. R-E-S-P-E-C-T <\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Privacy is a fundamental human right. So it\u2019s worth reminding your kids that they should check before posting\u00a0anything online, in case it includes information about others. If they\u2019re not sure, then encourage them to check with friends first to make sure it\u2019s ok. One useful strategy is to ask your kids: \u201cWould you be OK with this post if you were them?\u201d Empathy and foresight won\u2019t just help to save potential drama down the road, they\u2019re great life skills to learn.<\/p>\n

    4. Keep on talking <\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Communication is crucial to help build those strong bonds of mutual trust and respect that every parent aspires to. Talk openly every day about things you see or read about online, and always be there with friendly advice if called upon. Kids are naturally inquisitive, so use that to your advantage to teach them the importance of privacy protection. You could search together for their names online to see what\u2019s already out there in the public domain, for example, or encourage them to regularly check privacy settings on their favorite apps. It\u2019s all about fostering an atmosphere of healthy curiosity, mindfulness and constant communication.<\/p>\n

    The internet is a wonderful tool for socializing, learning and finding out more about the world. But we can\u2019t rely on technology companies, governments and regulators to protect our family\u2019s privacy. That\u2019s why we must make sure our kids live their digital lives responsibly. That comes with practice and open communication at home. The learning never stops, but with the right set of good habits you\u2019ll be giving them the best possible start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Lynette Owens How much does your family value privacy and how well do you protect it? As kids live more and more of their lives online, they may not think about their privacy \u2013 or the privacy of their friends \u2013 when posting, sharing, checking in, etc. On this Data Privacy Day, here are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[134,133,8,47,5,11,25,10,57,23,55,88],"class_list":["post-1392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-parents","category-for-teachers","tag-dataprivacyday","tag-privacyaware","tag-digital-citizenship","tag-digital-literacy","tag-internet-safety","tag-kids","tag-online-privacy","tag-online-safety","tag-parents","tag-privacy","tag-security","tag-social-media","wpautop"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1392"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28763,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1392\/revisions\/28763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trendmicro.com\/internet-safety\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}