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Do you worry about your child and cyberbullying?

As digital continues to grow and influence the day to day lives of children, and with the new school year already underway, do you find yourself worrying about the risks your children may face online, especially when it comes to cyberbullying? And do you feel that you know enough about cyberbullying – the signs, the various forms and what measures you can put in place – to not only protect your children but to be able to help them if they face this very real issue? “Despite the many benefits the digital world offers, an unfortunate challenge many parents face today is that they don’t always realise when children are being impacted by cyberbullying,” says Riaan Badenhorst, General Manager for Kaspersky Lab Africa. “This is in no way a reflection on parenting styles, but rather the result of not understanding the different types of cyberbullying that exist and with that, the proactive steps that can be put into place to help protect children from this very dangerous and growing online threat. There are many forms of cyberbullying, and getting a grip on these can assist parents in not only having a better understanding for themselves but to also educate their children on what to look out for.” Forms of cyberbullying: Exclusion – is the deliberate act of leaving someone out – like when a child is excluded from friends’ parties or activities. It can also occur when a child’s friends are having online conversations and tagging other friends but not them. Outing – involves the deliberate act of embarrassing or publicly humiliating a child or group of children, online, through the posting of private, personal, sensitive or embarrassing information, without the child’s permission to do so. Outing can happen in a variety of ways and parents should consider that even reading out aloud a child’s saved message(s) from their mobile phone can be considered a form of outing. Fraping – involves the act of someone logging into someone else’s social networking accounts and impersonating that person by posting inappropriate content, using their name. Parents are likely to be familiar with this type of bullying, as they may have personally experienced it, often in a joking manner. Unfortunately for children, however, it is more than often not a joke. Fraping can lead to repetitional damage and have serious consequences. ‘Google never forgets’ – and so anything posted online is never fully gone, even after it is deleted. Trolling – is a deliberate act of provoking a response through the use of insults or bad language on online forums and social networking sites. A troll aims to personally attack a child, in the hopes that the child becomes angry enough to act in the same way, to get a reaction – and then possibly looks to use it against the child, to get them into trouble at school or with an adult. Catfishing – is when another person steals a child’s online identity and photos, and creates new or alternative social networking profiles, for misleading purposes. A catfish is someone who wants to hide who they really are and does this through creating a fake persona, using images and information they found (and stole) online. Harassment – is sustained, constant and intentional bullying that involves abusive or threatening messages sent to a child or group of children. The messages are mostly malicious and aimed at attacking a child’s confidence and self-esteem. Continues Badenhorst; “All forms of cyberbullying should be perceived by parents/guardians of children as very dangerous and therefore requires immediate attention, as any type of cyberbullying can have massive implications to a child’s well-being.” How parents/guardians can help: Kaspersky Lab offers a few guidelines that can be followed by parents/guardians, as a means to help children deal with cyberbullying: It is important that parents/guardians are tolerant of the situation and do not ‘overreact’ leaving the child feeling scared and embarrassed. Cyberbullying can take some time to fix and so being open and talking through the issue with your child, showing support, can be beneficial in dealing with the problem. Be open and talk about cyberbullying with your children – using things like TV programmes as teachable moments around bullying and online behaviour. Ask them their views on cyberbullying and talk through these. Parents/guardians should be conversation starters on the topic – don’t wait for your child to raise the matter – look for signs of cyberbullying as the earlier the matter is picked up the faster it can be dealt with. Monitor your children’s online activities. Understand what they do on social networks, which platforms they use and who their friends are online. It’s not about ‘policing’ their behaviour, but monitoring is important. Explain to your children that they should alert you as the parent, or alert a trusted adult, if they are being cyber-bullied – that they will not be judged but can seek the right help to fix the issue. Ensure they understand that cyberbullying is not okay – and that it is better to talk up and report it so that the right help can be initiated. Do not take your child’s mobile device away or disconnect their devices from the Internet – this will only frustrate them – rather talk to them and help them with the challenge and monitor their mobile time and use, depending on their age. Educate children about basic online security rules – what can and should not be shared – and privacy guidelines. Ensure their social media pages are set on private, encourage them to only connect with people they know (friends and family) and talk to them about the types of images they share online. Make use of applications, such as Kaspersky Safe Kids, to help you manage your children’s screen time and use of certain apps. Such a solution allows you to set rules for website access, ensuring that sites with harmful content can be blocked. It also uses a GPS tracker, meaning that you can locate your children’s

March 21, 2019

Cyberbullying

Bullies have always existed. However, in the digital age, the bullying we are seeing is worse than ever before. This is largely for two reasons: firstly, before we all had smartphones, a victim of bullying could go home from school and have some sort of break. Now, bullying is round the clock. Secondly, the type of content being shared is troubling as people say things behind a screen that they would never say to someone’s face. Moreover, the consequences of cyberbullying are more prevalent – in South Africa, we are seeing increased incidences of depression, anxiety and behaviour related to self-harm and even suicide as a direct result of cyberbullying. When it comes to cyberbullying, anonymity is the root of all evil – people seem to think they can get away with saying whatever they want when they hide behind the veil of online anonymity. We are seeing the worst kinds of bullying taking place on anonymous apps such as Qooh.me or through anonymous profiles created on apps such as Instagram. We are seeing a lot of naming and shaming, direct personal attacks, slut shaming, fat shaming, pressuring others to send nudes, and revenge pornography. Although terrible content is shared on anonymous platforms, the truth is that any platform can be open to abuse. Some platforms are simply better than others at removing offensive content. What to do if you are being bullied If YOU are being bullied: Tell a trusted adult (a parent, guardian or teacher). Take screenshots to keep as evidence. BLOCK the bully. If you are aware that someone else is being bullied: Don’t join in (this includes commenting and sharing harmful content) and leave a WhatsApp group that hosts abusive content. Report bullying to a trusted adult (a parent, guardian or teacher). What legal options are available if you are being bullied? If you know the identity of the bully, and the bullying is sufficiently severe to the extent that it can be said to cause you mental, emotional or psychological harm (or inspire the belief that harm could be caused), one mechanism available is to apply for a Protection Order under the Protection from Harassment Act. Almost all social media platforms have a reporting function that allows the possibility for damaging content to be removed. Finally, the Cybercrimes Bill, which will hopefully become law soon, has codified a lot of crimes relating to online activities. Specifically, its chapter on malicious communications criminalises the creation or distribution of “a data message” that incites the causing of any damage to property belonging to, or violence against, a person or group of persons which is harmful or intimate in nature, and which is distributed without the consent of the person involved. This would include a lot of content that we are loosely defining as cyberbullying.

March 20, 2019

Practical tips on how to keep your kids safe online

If you have been on any social media platform these past few weeks you might have seen the terrifying image of a creature with long black hair and bulging eyes. Warnings about the Momo Challenge, an online game in which children are encouraged to harm themselves, have gone viral. But some sources have now confirmed that the challenge is nothing but a hoax designed to scare parents (and children). Whether the Momo Challenge is real or not, online safety remains a concern for every 21st century parent. The Momo Challenge might have been fake, but there are real threats out there, like cartoons on YouTube being spliced with instructions on how to commit suicide – videos that have been confirmed to exist. It’s important for parents to take preventative measures to keep their kids safe on the internet. While limiting screen time is a good place to start, here are some other things you can do to keep your kids safe, both online and offline. Establish some ground rules With younger children you can control (almost) everything they see online but older children are tech-savvy and can easily find themselves viewing content that might be inappropriate for their age. It’s important to have an open conversation and to encourage them to speak to you or any other adult they trust if they encounter anything in the digital realm that appears frightening or threatening. SafeKids.com, a site that promotes internet safety for kids, lists a set of criteria that you can discuss with your kids about what they should and should not do on the internet. Keep technology in a common space It is best to keep technology like smartphones, tablets and computers in a common space for all family members to use. The computer screen should be visible from other parts of the room and should not be turned towards a wall. This way children can see how the internet should be used and how useful it can be, e.g. doing research for a project, looking up an address, or watching educational videos. Children are also less likely to look for inappropriate content with a parent in the room. Pay for content The problem with free content, like the videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids, is that anyone can upload videos without it being curated or approved. And it is not only the content you need to be worried about, the advertisements showed between videos can also be harmful. You might want to consider paying for good children’s entertainment, e.g. Netflix, Showmax, children’s DVDs, or advert-free games designed for young players. Use a child-friendly search engine While most of us rely on Google to find what we are looking for, you might want to switch to an alternative search engine like Kiddle or Kid’s Search when your children are browsing online. These child-specific search engines aim to create a safe platform for children to explore the internet. If you want to continue using Google as your preferred search engine, enable Google SafeSearch on your computer. Here’s how: Go to google.com Google anything and select Settings on the right. Select Turn on SafeSearch. Explicit images, videos, and websites will now be blocked from the Google Search results. Make Apps Safe Or as safe as they can be. On YouTube you can select restricted mode, an optional setting that restricts the availability of potentially mature or objectionable content. Here’s how to turn restricted mode on: Go to the account icon . Click Restricted Mode. In the dialog box that appears, toggle restricted mode to on. Restricted mode works on the browser or device level, so you must turn it on for each browser or device you are using. For safety, turn restricted mode on for all the browsers (e.g. Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.) loaded on your computer, smart TV, tablet or smartphone. You can also lock restricted mode. This will prevent anyone else, your kids included, from changing the settings. Watch this short video to learn how to lock restricted mode. Keep in mind, however, that switching to a child-friendly search engine, selecting SafeSearch on Google or restricted mode on YouTube is not 100% accurate and that some inappropriate content may still slip through. It is therefore important to be mindful of your child’s online activities and to teach your child about internet safety. Article written by Elmien Ackerman – Copywriter at Impaq

March 8, 2019

Three reasons why you really should print your photos

Epson, a renowned manufacturer of printing and visual imaging solutions, ran a survey on social media to find out more about people’s printing habits in the digital era as part of its campaign, #WishIdPrintedIt. Nearly half of the respondents (48%) said that they store their photographs on their smartphones, and a staggering 89% admitted to losing their photographs because they had had their phone stolen, their hard drive crashed, or they’d run out of digital storage space. “Epson’s #WishIdPrintedIt campaign highlights the importance of capturing your most treasured memories and putting them in tangible photograph form. We realised that, while digital is easy, so many people forget how precious it is to have real life, tangible photographs of your memories around your home, and how holding an actual photograph from a special occasion reminds you of a special moment or a loved one in ways that no digital image can,” says Timothy Thomas, consumer sales manager at Epson South Africa. There are many moments in life where you’re likely to find yourself wishing you’d printed your photos instead of storing them on your phone or on social media. Here are three reasons why you should print your photographs. Keep your memories safely stored Technology is not fool-proof: laptops and hard drives sometimes fail us. There are countless online forums with stories of people losing wedding and other priceless photos because they were accidentally deleted. There is also no guarantee that today’s computers will be able to read your photos in the future, unless you constantly download updates and modernise your digital archives. According to the #WishIdPrintedIt campaign survey, most people store between 1,000 and 4,999 unprinted photos on social media accounts, smartphones and cameras. It would be heart-breaking to lose all these precious memories in a digital drama, so print your photographs to avoid the hassle and heartache. Bring your memories to life There’s simply no substitute for a printed photo when it comes to immortalising life’s treasured memories. And while the exponential growth of smart phones and mobile technology over the last decade has meant a huge rise in photos being taken, many have become dependent on social media platforms to house and display their memories. This is confirmed in the survey results, in which the majority of people say that if anyone was looking for photos of them many years from now, they would likely find them on social media (45%). Why not surround yourself with those memories instead of leaving them to ‘collect dust’ in digital storage space? Picture frames are a great décor item for around the house, and by printing and organising your photographs into albums you can ensure easy access to your precious memories for years to come. Get in touch with your emotions Sometimes the people we love live far away or have passed on, and the feeling of not being able to see them or be reminded of the great memories we shared with them becomes overwhelming. Holding a high-quality print in your hands is so much more satisfying than seeing your photograph on a screen. It’s a tangible reminder of a memory you shared with someone special in your life, and a great way to bring you a smile when you need it. Social media and digital storage have their place, but they don’t hold a candle to the feeling of holding a printed image in your hands. Epson’s #WishIdPrintedIt campaign reminds you to save all the photos banished to dusty depths of digital storage. With the help of the EcoTank L1760 photo printer, Epson’s latest addition to the innovative EcoTank range, you can print up to 1,500 high-quality, borderless photos in the comfort of your own home. Find out more about the campaign at www.facebook.com/EpsonSouthAfrica.

February 12, 2019

8 Best apps for parents to monitor their children

Monitoring the activities of the children has become a huge challenge for the parents in the modern days. Mobile phones and children can be a dangerous duo. You are always fearful about their mobile activities. Kids nowadays tend to use their elders’ mobile phones or their own mobile phones at a little age. This poses a great threat to their parents as they fail to monitor their kids’ mobile use. However, there are a variety of apps that enable you to monitor your kids and limit their mobile activities. Following are a few most significant apps for controlling your kids: mSpy mSpy is the most widely used parental control app for the smartphones. It enables the parents to monitor the calls, location, Whatsapp, Snap chat, and text messages of the children. This app has plenty of useful features. It specifically allows you to limit the social media usage by the kids. You can control your kids’ Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and even photos and videos. The use of mSpy is pretty easier. You just need to purchase the mSpy or subscribe. Then you need to install the app,and your tracking process is initiated. The parents have most satisfied with this app. They offer 24/7 multi-language customer support. In addition, mSpy is one of the cheapest child phone tracker applications. Footprints Using the Footprints app, you can always acknowledge the location of your child. It allows you to use the GPS in real time for knowing where your child is. This app assists you in keeping track of your kid or automatically locate him. It keeps you aware of where your goes with his phone. In case he is traveling alone, you can confirm whether he is meeting up with friends or has arrived at a particular location. The information regarding his location is only shared with the authorized person. No other person can access his location. The data can also be saved for later review. Dinner Time There are a few apps that limit the mobile use of your child. Dinner Time is one of the apps that restrict the use of the mobile device during bedtime, study time, and dinnertime. This app enables you to unlock and lock your child’s mobile device instantly. You can do this by your own mobile device. Therefore, you can enjoy a better time with your family and make your kid focus on sleep and school work. However, it is a necessity of this app that the device of the child must be android. The device of parents can be Android, iPhone or any other. This app does not work if the child’s mobile device is not android. Overall, it is a wonderful app which offers three modes including Bed Time, Take a Break and Dinner Time. All these modes limit the use of the mobile device by your child. Family Time Family Time is an app that does almost everything. It allows you to customize the control options for behavior and content that you need to prevent. The app offers you tools for setting bedtime and homework. You can restrict the time that your children spend on their smartphones. It also offers a geo fencing option. This alerts you when the phone enters a prohibited area. It also enables you to control or block any applications, keep an eye on their contact lists, and monitor their calls and text messages. This child phone tracker app may trouble parents at the start. Hence, you need some time for learning how to use this app. It isn’t one of the simplest to use applications. Q studio Q studio is an excellent, efficient, and use the friendly app for the parents who don’t have enough time. It provides a dashboard which expresses all the recent mobile activities on any device. It even determines the time spent on different services such as Twitter and Instagram. It allows you to set restrictions on time, track the calls and texts, filter out the racy sites, and set restrictions on the different apps and games. It is one of the top control software for limiting the children’s mobile activities and usage. ESET Parental Control ESET is another leading parental control app specifically for Android devices. ESET has several useful features that permit for more delicate control than many other child security applications. It allows website and app locks. A key feature is that you can select age-based features that can be switched as the children grow up. It gives you an opportunity to allow more number of websites in the future while keeping them protected. There is an additional feature of parent message which delivers a message that kids need to respond to prior to continuing using their smartphone. ESET also allows the kids to request additional time, but parents can set the limits on the device use. Pumpic Pumpic is an app that can be used on both iOS and Android devices. Its clean interface assists the parents to deal with the lengthy list of the tools that usually come up with the app. It allows you to tracks messages and calls and limit and blocks them as required. You can also monitor the websites visited by your child along with his activities on social media. There is also an option for tracking the location of the device and the history of the locations where the device has been. In addition, you can wipe and lock down the mobile device. Our Pact Specifically designed for iOS devices, this app is a cheap option for mobile control of your kid. It is a streamlined app that provides fundamental parental control services. It does not make you get complicated. Instead, it is an easy to use app. It offers one of the most affordable plans for utilizing the parental control services. Using this app, you can block the internet access of your child. You can also develop different time schedules and pose limits on the access of specific apps and websites. It

January 9, 2019

Kaspersky Safe Kids helps track missing teen!

Cyber predators, child trafficking, cyber bullies, children running away – the list of worst nightmare situations parents face is not easy to digest. In fact, it is estimated that a child goes missing every five hours in South Africa. So, what happens if your worst nightmare scenario comes true? And more importantly, what proactive measures have you taken now to ensure you have mitigated as many risks as possible? Northern Gauteng mother, Lida Erasmus, experienced her worst nightmare recently when her teenage daughter went missing, leaving her and her family worried sick especially as they were not able to reach her. “A few weekends ago, our daughter ran away with an unknown young male. Being completely out of her character and as her mobile phone was switched off, as any parent can imagine, I was going out of my mind, thinking the worst and feeling absolutely helpless. I really didn’t know what to do,” said Erasmus. However, being a parent in the digital age, Lida has always taken appropriate security measures when it comes to her family’s mobile devices and had installed the Kaspersky Safe Kids app onto her daughter’s mobile phone when she first received it. Remembering the installed app, Lida would be able to see if and when her daughter’s phone becomes active, and fortunately, the following morning, for a reason unbeknownst to the family, the man who had Lida’s daughter had switched her device back on. As soon as Lida saw that the device was once again active, using the location tracking feature of the app, she was able to find her daughter’s location within 5 minutes. Continued Erasmus; “Parenting in the digital age requires one to think seriously about protecting their children in this new digital world, and no words can express how grateful we are for this app as without it I am not sure what may have happened! The app allowed us to get the police to our daughter’s exact location, free her from this potentially harmful situation and bring her back home safely into our care.” “While certainly we were lucky that her phone was switched back on, this situation points to the very real need for parents to not only install kids safety based apps for the purposes of being able to have control over what their children can do on mobile devices and in the digital world, but also very importantly, to be able to track their children’s whereabouts if ever needed. Surprisingly however, according to the Kaspersky Consumer Survey 2017, only 30.7% of respondents in South Africa have installed parental control software on their children’s devices, and more worryingly, only 15% install software that allows them to know their child’s location when the child is away from home. Riaan Badenhorst, General Manager, Kaspersky Lab Africa commented on the recent events: “Having children myself, I cannot even begin to imagine what Lida went through – the worry and sheer exhaustion from stress. We were so grateful to Lida for sharing her story and feedback with us and certainly the happy ending that ensued. We need to face the reality of our children being exposed to potentially harmful situations, just like this, and furthermore, to pressures they may be feeling as they grow up in a connected world – a world we as parents never had to navigate growing up. This reality is what drives us to develop software solutions like Kaspersky Safe Kids, that specifically focuses on guarding from online threats or risks, helps parents to manage device usage time and lets parents know the location of their child.” Kaspersky Safe Kids is a simple way for parents to provide much-needed online protection for children. It clearly shows you your children’s locations – on a real-time map – as well as lets you as parents/guardians define a ‘safe area’ radius that kids are expected to stay within (such as from home to school or after school activities). If any of your children leave the defined safe area, you’ll automatically receive an alert on your mobile phone. For more information, visit https://www.kaspersky.co.za/safe-kids. For more educational tips for parents, please visit https://kids.kaspersky.com/ For more educational tips aimed at kids, please visit https://kids.kaspersky.com/kids/

October 18, 2018

Is technology destroying our humanness?

The world is spinning with new technologies and we, the human inhabitants, are the willing prey! Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres says “With ever-increasing time spent on smartphones, iPads and in front of live-streamed TV, we are in danger of losing our humanness. Teeny toddlers, vulnerable teens, exhausted parents and even bored grandparents can be seen, heads-down, shoulders bent and disengaged from the real world as they spend endless hours scrolling through their devices. Losing a smartphone is a big deal and people often feel a loss which is akin to losing a much-prized body part!” Cindy highlights the following negative effects of too much screen time and says that they are serious enough for us, as parents, to STOP and take note! • It affects cognitive development in young children as it literally effects the way in which our children’s brains develop! • Too much screen time stifles creativity, imagination and playfulness which are essential to the wholesome development of children. • Concentration, critical thinking, memory and other learning skills are effected as children focus mindlessly on information (whether real or not) as it just pours effortlessly into their subconscious! • It affects mental and physical health as people become increasingly inactive and detached from the real world. • It will harm your relationship with your children. With parents and children spending too much time on their devices, they run the risk of losing the positive human connections that are key to happy relationships! Children feel unacknowledged, unheard and unnoticed and this leads to negative behaviours, anxiety, stress and depression. Cindy goes on to explain “We cannot ignore the dangers of too much exposure to the non-real world that the internet offers. We cannot afford to lose the beauty of life because we did not take a stand against the media (in all its forms)!” Consider the following tips in reducing the amount of screen time that you allow for yourself and your children: 1. You have to set the example. Your children are more likely to do what you do, rather than what you say. You cannot expect your children to reduce their screen time if you do not do the same! 2. Have dedicated no-go-zones for devices. Family activities, mealtimes and even when driving in a car can be cell phone free zones. 3. Get outside! Plan activities that involve getting into nature- it is great for the soul and it will increase all the happy-hormones in your bodies! 4. Encourage your children to get involved in activities beyond the school environment-sport, drama, music and art are great examples. 5. Very young children need to play with their hands and bodies, not on a device. Cindy closes by reiterating “Remember, as parents, we must set the example. REAL people, real love, real joy, real honesty and integrity cannot be experienced through the internet!”

September 10, 2018

Pets in the digital age: what we can do to keep those we love safe

Kaspersky Lab, together with the research agency Opeepl, surveyed 7,740 household pet owners from 15 countries around the world* to find out how modern technologies affect pet safety. It turns out that every fifth pet owner uses some type of digital device to monitor or secure their domestic pet, and for 39% the use of such devices, ended up posing a risk to the pet or its owners. At the end of May this year, Kaspersky Lab published a report on vulnerabilities in cat and dog trackers that allow attackers to manipulate information about the pet’s location or even steal its owner’s personal data. In the course of the latest study, it was found that the penetration of technologies and digital devices in the daily life of pets is not limited to just trackers. Among popular tools cited by respondents were web cameras for watching pets, smartphones and tablets with games designed for pets, digital toys, automatic feeders/water dispensers, and much more. However, can there be any guarantee that a malfunctioning temperature controller will not overheat the fish, or an unresponsive auto-feeder will not leave a cat to starve? Such cases can be distressing for both the pets and those who take care of them. According to the survey, for example, half of the devices used for pets have access to the internet, which makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks. 14% of the surveyed pet owners reported that at least one of the digital devices they use for their pets had been hacked. Other problems reported by respondents included that the device stopped working or started malfunctioning. In the vast majority of cases, this resulted in a risk to the pet’s life (32%), its health (32%), its emotional well-being (23%), and even the emotional well-being of its owners (19%). “Technology makes life easier not only for people, but also for our furry friends. With the help of technology, we can protect our pets, take care of them, and provide them with comfort. However, as is the case with any digital equipment, it’s important to remember the risks: any device can break down or be hacked by a cybercriminal. To avoid any unpleasant consequences, it’s important to implement simple security measures in advance, and have a backup plan in the event of device failure or infection. And, of course, you need to choose your digital device carefully, focusing on the most important thing – your pet’s safety,” saysDavid Emm, Principal Security Researcher from Kaspersky Lab. The experts at Kaspersky Lab suggest the following simple rules to ensure the security of your household pets: If you are the proud owner of a smart home, set safety rules for the pets who live there, like this Kaspersky Lab employee has in his pet-friendly smart home (watch the video here); Pay close attention to the security issues of connected devices before purchasing. Information on discovered and patched vulnerabilities is usually available online and is often easy to find. It is likely that the device you are going to purchase has already been examined by security researchers and it should be possible to find out whether the issues found in the device have been patched. The best choice is to buy products that have already undergone several software updates; Before you start using your device, change the default password and set a new strong password; Do not allow access to your device from outside of your local network, unless you specifically need it to use your device; Disable all network services that don’t need to use your device; Regularly update your device’s firmware to the latest version (when such updates are available); To overcome the challenges of smart device cybersecurity, Kaspersky Lab has released a solution for smart homes and the internet of things – Kaspersky IoT Scanner. This free application for the Android platform scans the home Wi-Fi network, informing the user about devices connected to it and their level of security. *Only those pet owners who used at least one smartphone were surveyed. The survey took place online in May-June 2018. Countries included: Singapore, Australia, India, Japan, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Turkey, UAE and Russia.

July 12, 2018

I-Innovate opens minds to Artificial Intelligence at Cape Town School

STE(A)M educational specialist, I-Innovateis bringing another 21stCentury learning programme to South Africa to open up opportunities in our under-served school communities for learners to develop the talents and skills that are sorely needed in the Digital Age. This month, Grade 3 to 7 learners from Heideveld Primary School and their families can step into the astounding world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when they join a free 3-day initiative, the AI Family Challenge. I-Innovate has partnered with USA developers, Curiosity Machine and local organisation, Sakhikamva Foundation, to bring the AI Family Challengeconcept to South Africa with aim of ultimately reaching 20,000 learners in disadvantaged areas around the world. Learners, teachers and family members get together to explore fascinating facets of AI technologies such as machine learning, speech recognition, prediction models, autonomous vehicles, virtual reality and neural networks. The AI Family Challengecurriculum is experiential and hands-on so that vital Digital Age skills such as computational thinking, electrical engineering, mobile computing and robotics can be developed in a fun, interactive learning environment. As learners understand and apply AI concepts, they are inspired to use them to find solutions to pressing community problems when it comes to food, agriculture, health, transportation and energy. The ‘learn by doing’ approach to mastering the series of design challenges presented by I-Innovate and Curiosity Machine are aimed at igniting creativity, problem-solving, collaboration and innovation. The learning experience fosters a strong and valuable sense of empowerment, confidence and inclusion in the learners. “With these hands-on design challenges, we make complex AI concepts accessible to children and their families,” says I-Innovate CEO, Trisha Crookes. “Learners create their first robots while learning the building blocks of computer science and Artificial Intelligence. Parents and teachers have been inspired by this new way of learning and can see a new level excitement for learning in their children. More importantly, over the course of the challenge, participants develop a learner mindset that gives them a lifelong ability to innovate and problem-solve.” Having previously connected Cape Town schools to the International Space Station through the ExoLab programme, I-Innovate continues to work with partners to bring global thinking and Digital Age experiential learning to South African learners. “The AI Family Challengeis another inspiring and highly relevant way of showing children in underserved communities that they can make giant leaps,” concludes Crookes. This initial 3-day phase of the AI Family Challenge in Cape Town, will be followed by additional events over the next six months. For further information about I-Innovate and their programmes, visit www.i-can-innovate.com

June 26, 2018

Parental police: Being ‘bad cop’ isn’t shielding kids from online threats

The risks associated with growing up in an online world are not only giving parents a headache, but the time their children are spending online is a real cause for concern. As a result, a third of parents curb the amount of time their children spend on the Internet, to protect them from online dangers. But there are other steps parents can take to minimise the risks and help their children make the most of all the positive things that the digital world can offer. A reliance on Internet interactions by the younger generation is leading to a third (35%) of parents worrying about Internet addiction. This concern is backed up by figures from Kaspersky Lab and B2B International which found that locally, according to their parents, one in ten (11%) under 18-year old’s are addicted to the Internet. Alongside the worry of their children viewing inappropriate or explicit content (45%) and communicating with strangers (40%), the inability of children to distance themselves from the online world is fast becoming a key concern for parents. With half of parents (50%) feeling that the online threats to their kids are increasing, the time they are spending online is a real compounding factor in keeping children safe online. These concerns have prompted 35% of parents locally to enforce restrictions on how long their children can spend on the Internet. However, limiting time spent online doesn’t necessarily make children safe from the dangers. In a 12-month period, 39% of children locally were faced with at least one online threat, with one in ten kids accessing inappropriate content (12%) or coming into contact with malicious software and viruses (9%). Therefore, an alternative option for parents could be to concentrate on supporting their children in other ways, such as through education. 40% of parents locally regularly talk to their kids to teach them about online threats and 36% try to supervise their children when they are online, potentially offering opportunities to highlight any threats that may appear and supplement the education effort. “Parents want to keep their children safe, but simply restricting access to the online world isn’t necessarily the best way to do this. Education and communication both play a huge part in ensuring children use the Internet responsibly and safely,” said Dmitry Aleshin, VP for Product Marketing, Kaspersky Lab. “But it is also imperative to use software to bolster defenses. Limiting time spent online is a key part of the process but won’t work in isolation. Technology can help reduce the risks, enabling children to safely explore all the positive aspects of the Internet and develop their digital skills without having to worry about cyberthreats.” Kaspersky Safe Kids is designed to help parents take a more effective approach to shielding their children from the dangers that lurk online. Through the solution, parents can choose to either block children’s access to certain apps and websites, or to help kids become more aware of the dangers for themselves, by warning them that the sites or apps they are about to access are risky and may contain dangerous content. From imposing time limits through to keeping track of online activities, Safe Kids can provide the additional layer of care that parents need to fully protect their kids against the threats that exist and continue to evolve online. Visit the Kaspersky Lab websiteto find out more about the Free and Premium versions of Kaspersky Safe Kids. Click hereto read the full 2017 Consumer Security Risks Survey report: “Not logging on, but living on.”

June 14, 2018

Smart device advice for parents

Smart devices are a massive part of our children’s lives. They spend much of their time devoted to communicating with their friends and peers through cell phones and social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Sadly, the lack of boundaries combined with too much freedom and a dash of ignorance has resulted in children becoming more vulnerable to cyber bullying and cybercrime than ever before. In fact, a study by the World Economic Forum puts South Africa in the list of top 10 countries that are at risk when it comes to children and cybercrime. It comes as no surprise then that some schools and parents have taken to ban these devices altogether. On the other hand, there is no denying that smart devices provide a powerful learning platform with a wealth of information available at your fingertips. And then of course there is the comfort that comes with knowing that you can contact (and keep track) of your child, where ever, whenever. “Because it’s not only the cyber criminals that you need to be protecting your child from, it’s the real-life ones too!” says Erika Truscott, Owner and Founder of PingMe. “Just last month, two incidents of intended abduction of children by strangers from shopping centres in Pretoria East went viral,” she adds. So, what do parents do? Is there a way to protect our children from the dangers that lurk in cyber space whist still reaping the advantages that come with these devices in the real world? Erika believes there is. She offers the following smart device advice to parents: 1.Add social media accounts to your phone:As a rule of thumb, children younger than 13 shouldn’t have social media profiles – they simply don’t possess the skills to discern potential threats. If your older child is on social media, insist that you have their account on your phone so that you have instant access to chats and posts. 2. Check privacy settings: Automatically set all your child’s social media profiles to private, non-negotiable. 3. Download filtering, blocking and information security software: Control unwanted content and apps by investing in software that allows you to selectively filter what your children are exposed to. 4. Watch WhatsApp: Much of the cyber bullying that takes place, happens on WhatsApp. You can use the WhatsApp web/desktop application to track your child’s history and messages. 5. Get them safety savvy: Teach your child that the ‘Stranger Danger’ rule applies for cyberspace as much as it does for ‘real life’ and remind them not to give out any personal information like phone numbers, home address etc. (even to friends) over social platforms. “It may seem intrusive to have your child’s social media profiles on your phone or to watch their WhatsApp, but as moms and dads, our number one responsibility is to protect and nurture our children. It is integral that allthese interventions are not done in isolation of an open and loving conversation with your child. Trust is the basis of every relationship and this is no different,” says Erika. She adds that for parents who are still erring on the side of caution in terms of smart devices that perhaps they should consider a Smart Watch. “That way, the internet is completely restricted BUT you can still contact your child (and they can contact you!) plus you have the added benefit of being able to know where your child is at any given moment.

May 9, 2018

When screens replace teachers: danger of introducing tech in the classroom

Technology has taken the world by storm and its use now pervades arguably all fields. The education sector is also embracing the potential that technology offers, with good schools and universities incorporating tech to strengthen educational outcomes. But with devices and applications now ubiquitous across generations of learning – from infants to doctoral candidates – an expert has warned that teachers and lecturers must be strategic and judicious about technology, so that it supports learning rather than sabotages it. Aaron Koopman, Head of Programme: Faculty of Commerce at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education provider, says being cautious is particularly important at school level, where habits for lifelong learning are either adopted or abandoned. “One of the most important areas of risk, is where technology hinders the development of social and collaborative skills,” he notes. “Collaboration and teamwork are global competencies and rely on the ability of learners to engage with others to reach shared outcomes. While there are ways in which technology can be used, such as online engagement with people on another continent, a document sharing process or a blog, it is also critical to promote collaboration, which means teachers must ensure that the face-to-face engagement skills of young learners in particular are developed,” he says. Another area of concern, is where the convenience (for educators) and addictiveness (for learners) of technology lead to a situation where it effectively replaces teachers, similar to home environments where screens become de factobabysitters. “The most effective way to use technology is to support, extend, reinforce and enhance teaching. It becomes a risk however when one assumes that children can learn independently via technology, particularly when it is not at all interactive or responsive.” It is also problematic when technology is passive, for instance when learners and students use e-books that cannot be annotated. “This renders them less supportive of learning than hard copy books that can underlined,” says Koopman. A significant danger arises where technology is not managed, he adds. “Over and above the obvious risks when young people access inappropriate material online, classroom management of devices is critical. If a distracted young person can virtually wander off and play a game or spend time on social media during class time because of a lack of environmental management, valuable teaching time is lost. “It is therefore necessary for good schools and institutions to put in place measures whereby they can lock down what can be accessed during class time, or through other management approaches. Having a management strategy is, however, non-negotiable.” Finally, tech fails can make for major teaching headaches. “While it makes sense to allow learners and students to bring their own devices, that can cause problems when time is wasted on incompatible operating systems or devices that are not properly charged. Good schools and institutions must specify standards for devices and have sufficient plugs and charging stations to assist with this. Good connectivity on campus is also crucial. “Having said that, technology should not take over to such degree that learning stops when devices drop us. Good teachers should be able to keep the class learning even if half or all their devices fail. They should be able to transition into a collaborative lesson or even abandon devices completely and still be able achieve the same outcomes without tech.” Koopman says that technology’s advantages cannot be overstressed. But that equally, the importance of good real-life teachers should never be under-estimated. “Excellent teachers stimulate interest, they create excitement in the classroom, they engage with learners and they broaden the thinking of learners. They are able to relate concepts and principles to learners and customise the learning experience to the needs of the individual learners who all have different styles,” he says. “Quality teaching is in fact technology independent – if schools genuinely believe in the centrality of teaching as the magic of a learning process they will make technology decisions that support learning and teaching, not undermine it.”

April 27, 2018

Opinion piece: Is the failure to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet irresponsible parenting?

By Andrew Wilson, CEO at LucidView What does the job of a parent entail? In short, the aim is to raise well-balanced individuals that are independent free thinkers, capable of creating a life for themselves outside of the parental home. One of the most important tasks for us is undoubtedly to keep our children safe, protecting them from physical, mental and emotional harm and minimising their exposure to danger. However, there are some parents that think nothing of giving their children unrestricted Internet access because they haven’t yet realised the extent of the very real dangers that lurk on the web. Those parents that do perceive risk might have limited means of controlling Internet usage. Parents have a non-negotiable obligation to ensure that the Internet access they’re providing for their children – be it for entertainment, education, or communication purposes – is clean and safe. To do this, it’s important to discuss the dangers of the Internet with children and teach them how to protect themselves online and then to take matters into your own hands by blocking access to unsafe, undesirable content in your home. What dangers do children (and teenagers) face online? Kaspersky Lab and market research and consultancy Kids & Youth conducted an online survey of 3,780 families with children aged 8 – 16 (one parent and one child per family) in seven countries and the results were sobering. The Growing Up Online – Connected Kids survey showed 37% of children have come across unwanted content or incidents on the web while 47% of constantly-connected children have encountered online threats. Here’s the kicker: two-thirds of the children responded that they’re afraid of online threats just as much as real life ones, or even more so. The dangers of exposure to explicit content should not be underestimated. Age restrictions on films are there for a reason, and the same rules should apply for minors when using the Internet. Exposure to pornography, sites that promote violence or cruelty to people or animals is not what builds well-rounded, free-thinking individuals. Rather the opposite in fact and the harm from such exposure is accumulative and occurs over long periods of time, causing untold emotional and behavioural damage. Parents should, therefore, block all access to such content that they deem unsafe. Parental controls have traditionally been software-based, complicated to set up and expensive. Aside from enabling Safe Search features and monitoring browser history, there was no easy way for parents to enforce their rules regarding internet usage. Until now. Is there a solution? A particular passion project that stemmed from a realisation that there was a pressing need to give our children safe, clean Internet access, the LucidView Enforcer is a device that does exactly that. By default, it blocks the three major types of unsafe content: pornography, gambling, and piracy (such as the illegal sharing and downloading of copyrighted songs and movies) and can easily be configured to block other sites or content types that parents themselves deem to be unsafe. In addition, products on the market today should also have reporting functionality, keeping a log of every connection that passes through the device. This is necessary to deliver monthly reporting that gives parents insight into what sites kids on the home network are frequenting, and also how much time they are spending on certain online activities. Organisations should be making it easier for parents to enforce their rules regarding screen time and Internet access to give their children the time they need to do things like play outside, read a book and spend time with their families – all the childhood activities that are so vital for healthy mental and emotional development. Failure to manage Internet usage is irresponsible parenting When faced with the fact that unrestricted Internet access means that parents are opening their children up to (possibly accidental) exposure to explicit or age-inappropriate content, cyber-bullying, gambling, or websites that encourage harmful or illegal practices, like eating disorders, crime and even terrorism, the reality is that the Internet is a much scarier place for children than we as parents might think. Yes, we want our children to have access to all the knowledge in the world, but we need to make sure that they’re not distracted by harmful content in their quest to learn and entertain themselves. This means taking complete control over Internet usage in our homes (and even questioning what protective measures are in place at school). Anything less is simply irresponsible parenting, especially considering how easy and inexpensive it has become to do so.

April 13, 2018

Review: Epson L3060 Eco Tank Printer

The Epson L3060 Eco Tank Printer is a must for any home. Being able to review this printer is a blessing. As you know, I have a LARGE family and with a large family comes high costs! Finding an economical way to handle our printing needs has always been top of my list. My twin daughters are currently in grade 10. Grade 10, comes with a few challenges to say the least, one of which is the high work load. Throw art into the mix there and you can just imagine how much I was I spending on printer cartridges each month. Well…. I will tell you; I was purchasing 3 cartridges a week to cover my children and my business printing needs. At roughly R220 per black cartridge and R330 per colour cartridge this equated to R1650 that we were spending per week! This is a multifunction printer and is ideal for small business or a busy household looking for an ultra-low cost solution to printing all those school projects. With it only holding 3 colours and black ink, the drip feed system removes the cost of ink cartridges and replaces it with affordable ink bottles. The drip feed system is easy to refill. You are able to print 13 000 black prints and 6500 full colour prints per refill of ink, this far exceeds any expectation that you may have from your current printer. With the printer being wifi enabled, one is able to seamlessly connect multiple devices to print from. Now in a household such as ours, where we have 4 children and 2 adults, printing can always be a challenge, so we simply loaded the Epson iPrint App to our kids phones and they were able to print away. The Epson App allows you to scan documents as well! The printer offers borderless print, wifi printing, copying in black & white and colour. All in all, this printer was easy to setup as well as use and it has certainly been a great edition to our home and more importantly our office as well! One is able to either connect using a cable or wifi connect, which is what we opted for. The print head is a permanent one… if you have ever had a printhead go, I can tell you that it is more cost effective to replace the entire printer than to repair. This is fantastic news as it comes with a warranty as well. The Epson L3060 Eco Tank Printer is available to purchase from most computer stores… don’t settle for anything else! It is priced at around R3000 – absolutely worth every cent.

April 12, 2018

Parents urged to limit screen time to boost kids’ development

Technology has completely revolutionised the world. It affects just about everything we do, from paying accounts, to research and calling a taxi, right down to how we raise our children. The latter is especially important, and according to Toy Kingdom’s creative parenting expert, Nikki Bush overusing technology could be “risky” for a child’s development. She says children lose their sense of initiative and creativity when exposed to tech devices for long periods in the day and therefore encourage parents to think carefully before handing children a handheld device “just because”. “Yes, technology is part of the fabric of our lives. But we need to curb the use of tech devices in a child’s routine and find that middle ground when it comes to on-screen time. This is crucial for a child’s developmental needs,” Bush says. Bush says though some parents feel that on-screen activities act as both a babysitter and entertainer during their often-busy schedules, it could be quite detrimental. In fact, she says too much time spent watching movies on the laptop, or playing video games on the tablet stunts a child’s social skills and ability to interact with friends, family members and even their teachers. And since screen time can also be quite addictive because they stimulate the secretion of chemicals from the pleasure centre of the brain, parents are advised to limit it where applicable. “Children are increasingly viewing the world from a screen, but for personal development they need to engage with real people on real things and not just the virtual world as seen on screen. Moderation between on-screen and off-screen is so important,” she says. In this article Bush shares a few tips with parents on how not to use a tech device: The babysitter: Bush says using a tech device as a babysitter for children is a big no-no. She says children enjoy interaction with their parents, and when mom and dad are not around, an emotional void that a screen cannot fill occurs. “A laptop or cell phone is no substitute for mom and dad, children need yes or no answers and they need engagement. When side-lined by a device they don’t get the answers they need and that’s problematic for them,” she says. The disciplinarian: Developing self-regulation and self-discipline are two of life’s fundamentals, and Bush encourages parents to avoid using a handheld device or computer as an emotional crutch. “We should not be using a cell phone as the draw card to get our children to sleep, or even to eat. Often parents indicate that children can’t do anything without the device and as parents, we need to work on changing that,” Bush adds. The experience thief: Technology robs children from real life experiences essential for their development. According to Bush, children learn best through concrete learning experiences with real people and real toys in real time. “These experiences give our children those multisensory experiences of the world, and while technology has so much to offer, we need to ensure that the foundation necessary for their development is set first,” Bush says.

March 9, 2018

The lighter side of technology

By: Juazel de Villiers) Clinical Psychologist, PS0117692 Practice Number: 0496359 Juazel.devilliers@gmail.com The dangers of technology are often emphasised, as there are so many. Children’s use of technology is also often viewed in a negative light as it has slowly taken over various aspects of family life. Although there are real concerns and considerations around the use of technology, there are also a multitude of benefits to technology. The obvious benefit is the vast amount of information available on the internet, be it research for projects or instructional videos on doing creative crafts at home. A large amount of research has been done on the “VAK learning styles” in other words: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning. Technology has provided a way for each of these learning styles to find additional study methods online. Parents and teachers are able to use technology to not only provide course notes (visual information), but audio files of classes and videos demonstrating the information learnt in a practical manner. The various technological formats allow children from all learning styles to take in and make sense of the information presented. For younger children numerous educational ‘apps’ (applications) have been developed, games that assist in memory development, concentration skills, helping them to learn colours, numbers, letters and so forth. For children with special needs technology has also opened up a whole new world of education and resources. Many applications are now freely available to turn a smart phone or tablet into a therapy resource. For children with speech difficulties, applications are available to enable them to communicate by selecting pictures or typing. For children with attention difficulties, applications such as the “ADHD clock” is now freely available. For children with social skills difficulties, applications are available for them to write their own social stories or to interact with a cartoon character that provide immediate feedback on their social communication. Technology has also been found to decrease anxiety for certain children and adults. Research has shown that children, teenagers and adults learn better if more than one of their senses (sight, touch, smell, auditory, taste) are involved in their learning process. Furthermore, the more interactive the learning is, the better the individual is able to recall the information after a delayed period of time. New formats of learning that incorporates these principles is now easily available through technology. The important part is the type and amount of access to technology, and of course maintaining a healthy balance of utilising other games, activities and learning tasks that is not on technology, such as the SKidz boxes. The Skidz Clever Activity boxes, is not only fun but an incredible tool for parents and caregivers to use. It focusses on all major developmental milestones and includes activities for each learning style. Each box comes with the equipment needed as well as an easy to follow manual with over 100 activities each. For those children who stay at home with a caregiver it includes a daily curriculum. This way all the work has already been done for you and all that is left is the fun. The boxes range from birth until 5 years and are divided into the following age groups. 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-18 months, 18-24 months and 2-5 years. The boxes cover a wider age range to minimise the cost to the parents, but are divided into smaller age groups with age appropriate activities. For instance the 6-12 months box has activities for 6-9 months and 9-12 months without having to purchase another box. This is also not a subscription service so you don’t need to sign any contracts. You buy one box, once off and when the time comes for baby to get the next one you can purchase that one. For more info on our boxes or to order it please visit our website http://skidz.co.zaWe are also available on facebook at www.facebook.com/skidzsaor via email at info@skidz.co.za

November 9, 2017

Parenting in the social media era – how to manage your online accounts to ensure your children’s safety

Riaan Badenhorst, General Manager, Kaspersky Lab Africa Social platforms give many families the freedom to communicate with their loved ones, whenever and wherever they want – it is convenient and no doubt saves lots of time. Further to this, social media sites also give parents the opportunity to share their memories and moments with family and close friends – and often this includes posting pictures of children, as they grow and achieve great milestones in life. However, does this freedom and convenience come at a cost? While internet and social media safety are often topical discussion points for many parents today, the reality is that keeping kids safe is not just about making sure their social activity is monitored closely and protected. Parents also need to understand that what they post online about their children can also put their children at risk. As such, parents must also take security measures, on their own social media accounts – especially those who use sites to share pictures and precious family memories. But, do parents know where to start? In 2016*, a Kaspersky Lab security expert uncovered a malware attack that tricked approximately 10 000 Facebook users around the world. Essentially their devices were infected with a virus after receiving a message from a ‘friend’ claiming to have mentioned them on Facebook. The compromised devices were then used to hijack Facebook accounts, and spread the infection through the victim’s own Facebook friends and to enable other malicious activity. Now, imagine if this ‘other malicious activity’ was stealing pictures of kids and selling them for a profit? How would this make parents feel? The reality is that this kind of cybercriminal activity can happen. However, to safeguard any online social media accounts, parents can follow the following key tips: Refrain from making social media profiles public – if parents have their social media accounts set on public view, anyone can access these profile pages and view (and take) the content and images from these pages. A public view invites everyone with an Internet connection to look through pictures on the page. Having an account set on a public view is very reckless. Rather, profiles should always be set on a privacy view – that only offers access to people the profile user is connected to (i.e.: friends). Privacy can also be changed on a post by post level, and as such, parents should make use of these added settings and take extra care when it comes to posts about their kids. Avoid sharing pictures of other people’s kids’ – this is often a ‘pet peeve’ for many people – especially those who are very particular (and rightly so) about having pictures of their kids posted online. As a parent, be aware that not all parents are fans of posting images to social media, and so avoid posting pictures of your kids, with other kids on the image – such as group school photos or party photos. Don’t create a social media profile for children – given the convenience social media offers, there are instances when parents create a whole new profile, just for their child, for the purpose of sharing pictures and updates about their child’s life journey. While this can be a nice thing to do to keep family and friends updated, it can also be very risky – as remember this profile is online and therefore can be at risk of cybercriminal activity. Bath time should be private – while kids do tend to do the cutest things while in the bathtub, this time is something that should be kept private, to protect children. Invest in a good Internet Security solution for your devices – over and above following these practical steps, parents should also ensure that the devices they use to view social media, and upload images to social media sites, are well protected with a good internet security solution. While the internet and social media platforms provide many benefits today, social media safety, for families and children, rely on parents being aware of the security risks that are present. In understanding these risks, parents are then able to take the necessary steps to ensure the protection of their children at all times, while still using social media platforms, safely, in their personal capacity. *http://newsroom.kaspersky.eu/en/texts/detail/article/kaspersky-lab-exposes-facebook-phishing-attacks-10000-victims-in-two-days/?no_cache=1&cHash=66aee758115addf47bcae243d89896ec

September 15, 2017

Technology and Tots

Embracing technology is essential in this day and age, and I am certainly pro having kids learn to use technology in education. The question is “at what age should encourage our little ones to engage with screens?” Because babies engage very readily with screens, it can be tempting to rely on screen time as a convenient baby sitter, while you grab 5 minutes to yourself. However, the American Association of Paediatrics advises NO screen time in infants less than two years of age. Let’s look at the reasons for this advice and what we can do: Screen time is void of emotional engagement. TV’s and iPads are not a relationship. While your little one plays a game on your iPad or watches a program on TV, he is missing out on essential loving interactions at a time when his brain is wiring at a rate of a million connections a second. Choose that wiring opportunity carefully. Learning happens best in the context of love and time. Research has shown that babies learn best in the context of love and fun and laughter. This emotional connection is negated whist engaging with technology. Babies who watch videos in the first year, have fewer words at 18 months. Proceed with caution – your baby needs relationships to learn. The blue light emitted by screens has been shown to hamper sleep. Melatonin is our sleep hormone, controlling sleep/wake cycles. The blue light of a screen suppresses melatonin secretion, resulting in wakefulness. So for both you and your child (of any age), no screens for an hour before sleep times. What can you do: Model responsible screen behaviour – if you are on your device constantly, you are depriving your baby of engagement. In addition, your baby will think it’s the norm and expect that same standard for himself. No TV under 1 year of age. Between 2 and 5 years old let your baby watch content that makes sense to you – if there is no language and it makes no sense to you it’s worse. Watch and engage with screens WITH your toddler – talk through the show, explain the emotions – that way your baby learns through the experience. As a mom of three, I know that when life gets hectic and you actually just need 5 minutes to yourself it’s tempting to rely on an electronic babysitter. So my message is proceed with caution and insight and be a responsible parent in the technology age.

August 29, 2017

Prima Toys harnesses unboxing video trend

Leading toy importer and distributor Prima Toys recently launched their very own unboxing videos. The series is called ‘The Very Serious Toy Show’ and features professionally created video content that is adding an extra touch point within the brand’s over-arching marketing strategy. So far the series of videos hosted on YouTube is proving to be extremely successful. Prima Toys is the first toy company in South Africa to create its very own unboxing videos – not only to keep abreast with worldwide marketing trends, but to also keep consumers in the know about toy trends. Unboxing videos have become a huge phenomenon internationally, with a number of unboxing presenters reaching celebrity status, with hundreds of thousands and even millions of fans the world over. Marketing Executive of Prima Toys: Chiquita Patrizi, says: “Unboxing videos provide us with the opportunity to quite literally unpack products and show the viewer what is inside. This way, both parents and their children know exactly what is in the box and what they will be getting. This allows them to make an informed decision before purchasing a product- it also provides great entertainment for the children watching.” Toy unboxing videos have continued to see worldwide growth in popularity in the last few years. More recently, Insights by Google reported that in March 2016, almost 50% of online users looked for videos related to a product before they committed to buying it and preferred to follow advice from YouTube video creators as opposed to their favourite (traditional) celebrities. ‘The Very Serious Toy Show’ is presented by “Sash” from Prima Toys. She has an in depth knowledge of the brands and products and how they work, and this ensures that the information imparted is correct and comes across authentically. “Sash is an excellent presenter, she has the know-how, product knowledge and quirky personality required to make the videos a success,” says Patrizi. Prima Toys is successfully capitalizing on the benefits of the toy unboxing video phenomenon and is creating video content that appeals to parents, children and the toy industry at large. Subscribe to Prima Toys YouTube Channel and watch more unboxing videos on ‘The Very (Fun) Serious Toy Show’ with Sash. Alternatively go to www.primatoys.co.za or www.Facebook.com/PrimaToys

August 10, 2017

Encouraging Literacy

Finally, your child can read. For parent, teacher and child, the process of learning to read, of understanding sounds and knowing the alphabet is a pivotal and exciting one. The process is pivotal as it is the foundation for a lifetime of reading, writing and understanding. The ability to read and write provides the foundation for communication and interpreting the world around is. The process is also an exciting one, simply because it is such a critical milestone in a child’s development. The process is one to be enjoyed, it should be fun and it should be a journey of discovery. Here are some ways that you can foster your child’s abilities when it comes to reading and writing: 1.Talk to your child. This may seem quite rudimentary, but in this day and age where we have an almost constant information overload, it is important to switch off cellphones and screens and talk. Have a conversation with your child. Ask her questions and prompt her to ask you things too. 2. Give your child writing tasks. Give him a pen and a piece of paper and ask him to write down what happened during the best or the worst part of his day. Just a few sentences will do. The exercise is aimed at helping your child organise his thoughts and express them in a way that makes sense to others. 3.Put aside time to read with your child. Even if this is a few minutes each day, but try to read with your child, either at bedtime or during bath time when you have their attention. 4. Make sure that the books you buy for your child are age appropriate and that your child can read the book with ease. If your child stumbles on too many words, then chances are the book is too difficult for her and this will cause her to be frustrated. Rather let her read something that is easy for her to read so that she enjoys the story. She has her whole life to read difficult books. 5. Ensure that he has access to a large variety of books. Take her to the library every two weeks and let her choose her own books. She will love you for it! LeapFrog has a wide range of literacy products that can help your child learn the basics of sounds, language, and the alphabet. For more information go to www.PrimaToys.co.za

May 31, 2017

Embracing The Digital Gap

It is human nature to find fascination with things that are off limits. The DO NOT ENTER sign ignites our imaginations as to what might lie within, the secret cupboard where the gifts are kept is always the target of sneaky investigations, the age restricted movie is the one we dress up to get into. And so it is with technology and kids. If you say ‘no’ or block things it leads to an internal conflict and most likely some form of rebellion. They want to find out what it is that you’re hiding and then will do it behind your back. The generational gap has become the digital gap and it is growing. We are the infants in this world – we don’t know how to navigate it, we don’t know what the rules are, and we’re totally out of our depth in controlling it. We need to embrace technology. Our children’s world is a digital one, and if we’re not closing the gap we’re going to get lost on the other side of a chasm that we won’t even know how to bridge later on. Like all things – relationship and communication are key. Get involved online WITH your children. Use technology to enhance your relationship with them not to break it down. You need to educate yourself on the programs, places, and sites that they are into. Get onto them. Make yourself at home. Share it with them. Let technology be a family thing. Use it together. Look things up. Share videos. Play games together. If you need to replace the board game with an online family game, so be it. Let them see technology as a way to connect with you not a place where you don’t belong. You need to overcome your own fear of technology and the online world. Find a way to link it to what is important to you. Then link what’s important to you to what’s important to your kids. Make the connections. Communication is all about bridging two worlds – the world in my mind and the world in yours. Find ways for you and your children to connect through the technology and not in spite of it. If you need to block something be clear about why. Communicate. Let your children be involved in the rule making around technology. Let them understand your concerns and the risks involved. Children are far more likely to follow any rules if they understand why they’re in place and have agreed on the consequences. Technology is not going away. It is very much a part of your children’s lives. Find the good in it and enhance that. Use it as a tool to bring you closer together not further apart. Embrace the digital gap by becoming humble to learning from your kids instead of always being the teacher. It’s their world, and if you want to be a part of their world you need to be wise enough to admit that they are the masters of that world and you are merely a visitor. Be a welcomed visitor rather than a hostile invader. Embrace the digital gap and enjoy the ride that your kids will take you on.

May 10, 2017

The Dangers of the Internet for your Child

“Had I only known what she was up to, I might have prevented this “. These were the words of a father who lost his 17 year old daughter to a highly debated “internet suicide cult” in Bridgend, Wales. She hanged herself upstairs in her room while her father was watching TV downstairs. This is the grim reality of the world where our children are growing up today. With instant access to the internet their worlds have expanded to literally the ends of the earth, ironically confined to a small device such as a cell phone or a computer. With the end of 2012 being at hand, most children are expected to withdraw to their bedrooms or study areas in preparation of the final exams. For some parents it is a relief that their children are now spending more time at home, focusing on the exams, but where this has traditionally been viewed as “good behaviour”, the internet poses new potential dangers to our children. While studying, it is common practise to “take a break”, normally by getting in touch with the outside world via the electronic communication systems available. And right here your child has an opportunity to be derailed from their studies by being exposed to all sorts of obscurities within the cyber world. This can include exposure to pornography, undesirable sites or cyber bullying – where your child, is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, or otherwise targeted by another child. Also by visiting certain chatrooms, social sites or live webcam groups, your child could expose themselves as a possible target for online Sexual Predators who see the process of finding and tracking down a child as a game and a hunt. They use methods such as Online Grooming (when Predators develop relationships by offering whatever a child seems to need, emotionally or literally luring them with gifts) or Online Mirroring (when predators are skilled in playing back emotionally what they see in the child) to try and gain access to the child. There is also Online Phishing ( when a scammer tries to trick you into giving or revealing your personal information”), etc It can be disheartening when we are confronted by all the potential dangers that our children are exposed to, but there is hope. Parents can play an integral part in protecting their children by being involved and focusing on the following: Educate yourself regarding the dangers of the internet. (visit www.netparent.co.za ) Investigate new protection software on the internet. Do not underestimate your child’s technical abilities. Ask your teen to help you adjust your PC privacy settings. This will give you a good sense of how ‘savvy’ they are. Engage in dialogue with your child regarding online activities that are important to them. This might not be your field of interest, but this attitude will hopefully lead to an open communication channel. Educate your kids concerning online shopping and regularly monitor billing statements. Computers should be confined to common areas. Don’t befriend their friends – although befriending their parents is quite acceptable. Reassure your child that they can always share their concerns with you, especially cyber bullying! For your Child: They should never give out personal information. They should never post a picture of themselves that could ever lead to embarrassment. Never post slanderous statements or incriminating comments. They should not download pictures, click on e-mail attachments or visit unsolicited web links from an unknown source. They should never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing. They must be skeptical as to the truth of what’s said online. Avoid face-to-face meetings with individuals they’ve met online without supervision from a chaperone. They should only accept a friend or follow requests from individuals they have met in person. Parents can also protect their children by installing software on their computers, such as NetParent, that will notify them should the child come into contact with predetermined unwanted content. You will receive an immediate E-Mail or SMS warning the moment preselected content is triggered by Netparent, when your child is busy exploring the internet or typing trigger words on the home PC. Now you can also remotely block and unblock the pc screen via sms. As the saying goes: prevention is better than cure. Be an involved parent during this coming exam season and by doing so ensure a safer and better future for your child. Article supplied by www.netparent.co.za South Africa

April 7, 2017

Setting a bad example: children unimpressed by parents’ online behaviour

Social media gives us the freedom to communicate with our loved ones, whenever and wherever we want. However, this freedom comes at a cost: blinded by our seemingly happy digital lives we often don’t realise how social media threatens and damages our real-life relationships. New global research from Kaspersky Lab shows that a third of people communicate less face-to-face with their loved ones, and 21% of parents admit that relationships with their children have been damaged as a result of them being seen in a compromising situation on social media. With people’s tendency to post photos of themselves or others under the influence of alcohol, wearing something revealing or even naked in order to get more “likes”, it is evident that social media can damage offline relationships. But while we would expect parents not to approve of their children’s online behaviour, it is often the other way round. More than a fifth of parents admit that their relationship with their children worsened after they had seen their parents in compromising circumstances on social media. In contrast, only 14% of parents said they were annoyed by their children’s online behaviour. In addition, around one-in-five (16%) people also said that their relationship with their spouse or partner has been damaged as a result of them being seen in a compromising situation on social media. Relationships with family, friends and colleagues are changing as people communicate less face-to-face as a result of social media. A significant third of people admitted that they now communicate less with their parents (31%), children (33%), partners (23%), and friends (35%) because they can see and communicate with them via social media. Dr. Astrid Carolus, Media Psychologist at the University of Würzburg comments: “Studies show that today digital communication complements real-life communication. We live in a globalised and highly mobile world resulting in distances between partners and family members. Digital communication is an opportunity to bridge the gaps in our modern lives caused by living in different cities or countries. However, digital communication cannot replace face-to-face communication – at least not always and not completely. Digital communication is less rich in terms of sensory channels affected, resulting in “reduced” sensory quality.” Although people communicate less face-to-face, around half of respondents believe that the quality of their relationships does not suffer at all and is even better as a result of being connected with their loved ones online. Dr. Astrid Carolus warns that although it seems that the quality of our relationships is improving, people cannot always evaluate their online communication objectively: “Under certain circumstances they perceive their online communication as “hyper-personal communication” and thus they can misread and over-interpret the messages on social media. We feel especially close, we blind out the rather negative, focus on the possible positive intentions behind a message, and over-interpret.” With the study finding that although social media can help ease communication channels and bridge time zones and distance barriers, it doesn’t always make people happy. It can strain relationships as well as leaving people feeling down and upset, as they constantly compare their lives to those of others. The hunt for “likes” and social validation leads people to share increasing amounts of private information on social media platforms, putting not only themselves but also their friends, family and colleagues at risk. For those who decide to shut themselves off from social media, the reality of losing a lifetime of digital memories, including photos and interactions, can make it difficult to do. In order to protect themselves and their relationships, people need to be more cautious and cyber-savvy about the information they share on social media. That will not only help to mitigate the risks of the online world, but prevent relationship damage in the offline world. To help people keep their memories safe, no matter how long their online social media journey, Kaspersky Lab is developing a new app. FFForget will enable people to back-up all of their memories from their social networks, keeping them in a safe, encrypted memory container.

April 7, 2017

Is my tween ready and responsible enough for a cell phone?

Deciding if your tween is ready and responsible enough to own a cell phone is something that at some point all parents have to decide. When my girls, who are 11, wrote me a letter explaining the benefits of them owning one as well as why they felt they were responsible enough to own one : I too was faced with those questions. As a child I always hated that my elder brother could do things that I was not able too, and was always told, as I am sure that others were, that it was for my own safety. I recall having some reservations about my eldest son getting a cell phone but not nearly as much as when I had to decide if the girls were ready. This is something that we all are faced with and this is a big milestone that children reach in our modern day society. It is not something that is going to go away any time soon, so the acceptance on my and your part is imminent. Undoubtably there are some benefits. I consider myself to be a reasonable person and that this decision was not something that I could put off for the rest of their lives. I could however make sure that they knew the risks of cell phones, in terms of the bullying that occurs so often using these devices as well as make sure that there were some clear ground rules in place. Cell phones are a great way to stay in touch anytime, anywhere. You cannot beat the convenience of knowing that you are able to contact your child anytime. There is also the safety aspect of knowing where your children are and that if there is an emergency, a cell phone can be crucial if your child needs to reach you or vice versa. That is partly why many parents are buying their children cell phones these days. For your tween, having a cell phone offers the same kind of security it does for you – knowing that you are just a call or text away. We decided that we would lay down ground rules that not only we as parents agreed upon but the girls as well. Ensuring that we were all on the same page was a vital part to ensuring that the trust in our relationships was not only maintained but built on as well. Through all of our rules we clearly explained why we had set them out and gave the girls the opportunity to question all of them. Our rules included the following: No taking cell phones to school. Most schools, including theirs do not allow cell phones at school. They do however have a phone card should they need to contact me as well as we felt that the school would do as they have always done, which is contact us if there was a problem. During the week, there was no telephone calls and no messages to take place. The girls are however allowed to message their family and only contact their friends if there is a concern regarding homework that they could resolve through this means. They were not allowed to join any social networks as yet. They had already expressed their own reservations regarding the risks involved in having a facebook account that we did not need to cover to much in this regard. They were allowed to play their games after their homework and chores were completed. Over the weekends that were able to use their cell phone as they saw fit, however if they broke any of our rules that there would be no cell phone on the upcoming weekend. We would ensure that there was adequate airtime available, however that this was to last for the entire month. If they ran out of airtime, they would have to work in order to have their line unlocked. This airtime would also replace their existing allowance that they were being given. There was to be no sending of any pictures of themselves to their friends. They are allowed to send to their family but not to their friends. Again after explaining that children today resort to bullying through their cells phones that these pictures could be sent through to people that they don’t necessarily want others to have. When we were together as a family, for example eating dinner, there was to be no cell phones and that we would still interact as a family. There would be no bullying of any kind via their cell phones with their friends. They would notify us if any suspicious messages were received and if someone that they did not know made contact with them. There telephone number was top secret and could only be given to their immediate friends, if any parents or adult requested their telephone number. While researching for this article, I found something which sense. Drawing up a contract between parents and children is also a great way to ensure that everyone is on the same page. This is available to download and print by following the link below. Cell Phone Contract

March 22, 2017

Parents Lack Visibility and Control over Kids’ Online Activity, Study Shows

Parents need to do more to protect their kids from the growing number of online threats, but many currently lack visibility of the dangers their children are facing. New global research from Kaspersky Lab reveals that only a quarter (26%) use parental control software to help restrict their kids’ activity online. Worryingly, among those parents who haven’t installed parental control features, one in five (21%) believe that it is better for children to learn how to use the Internet safely themselves. The Consumer Security Risks Survey 2016 uncovered what parents think about the online world and the challenges they face in protecting their family from threats. The research showed that only a third (37%) of parents worry that their children could be exposed to inappropriate or explicit content online. Just 36% are wary of their kids communicating with dangerous strangers, and 34% worry about them becoming a victim of cyberbullying. The study also found that not enough parents are taking the required steps to protect their children, with only a third (38%) regularly talking to their children about the dangers online and bringing the Internet into family conversation and a quarter (27%) regularly checking the Internet history on the browser. One in five (21%) prefer to become a contact within their kids’ social networks. Parents need to be more aware of the dangers lurking on the Internet. According to the survey, 41% of kids were exposed to online threats in the 12-month period leading up to the research. These threats included being exposed to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, dangerous strangers and more. “Parents need to be more aware of the dangers their children face online. They need to help their kids become more cyber-savvy and put protection methods in place to keep them safe online, as they would in the physical world”, said Andrei Mochola, Head of Consumer Business at Kaspersky Lab. “You wouldn’t let your children cross the road or talk to strangers on their own, so it’s surprising to see almost a quarter of parents leaving their kids to browse the Internet independently. It’s easy to overlook the security threats of the online world when you’re a busy parent but leaving kids to deal with threats without help is unsafe. As the digital world increasingly impacts on all aspects of our lives it is more important than ever to boost knowledge and put safeguards in place.”

February 17, 2017

How to make “back-to-school” activities a breeze.

It’s never too late to start planning for a productive school year ahead. With a little creativity and a range of helpful back-to-school tools at your disposal, you can take the stress out of family scheduling and ensure weekday routines stay on track throughout the school year. Epson, the global leader in printing technology, provides some useful tips to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Put a name on it – Replacing lost school clothes, books and other items can be an expensive process. Help your kids keep their belongings safe throughout the school year and beyond by using iron-on name tags to label clothes, and adhesive labels for stationery and books. The Epson LW-400 label maker allows you to print and save custom labels to your choice of different fonts, colours and sizes . Best of all, Epson’s label tapes are water-resistant and highly durable. Create a ‘drop station’ – Avoid the hassle of last minute homework surprises and parent notices crumpled at the bottom of school bags by creating a family ‘drop station’ – a designated area in the home where the kids can hang up their school bags and place any important letters or homework to be done in wall mounted folders, along with a white board for jotting down to-do lists and goals for the week. Get the kids to tick off completed tasks on the white board, which helps get them into a routine of getting things done on time while instilling a sense of responsibility. You can find ready-made calendars and goal planners here, or simply design your own using basic software already available on your PC. Make vision boards – Along with goal charts, vision boards will help kids to visualise what they would like to achieve over the next three, six and 11 months – whether at school, at home or in their social lives. Gather everyone around a large table or on the floor, get the kids to print and cut out pictures and words from the Internet, or from magazines, that represent specific things they want to happen over the next year. Provide each child with a large empty canvas or board to stick their pictures on to, and hang these up where they will be seen and reflected on every day. Creating a space for the kids to display what they really want in life will help make their goals a reality. Give them something to look forward to at lunchtime – Getting kids to eat healthily is no easy task, especially with junk food options readily available at school tuck shops and in vending machines. You can easily turn boring fruits and veggies into fun characters, simply by getting a little crafty in the kitchen. You can also save precious minutes on school mornings by preparing everything you need the night before. Encourage them to think positively through the day by including printed notes with inspirational quotes and sayings for them to read during their lunch breaks. Design a custom on-the-go homework kit – Make sure homework is done no matter where the kids go after school – whether it’s after care or even a friend’s house – by giving them a homework kit stocked with everything they might need to get their work done – pens and colouring pencils, rulers, scissors, erasers, extra paper, calculators, and even times table charts. You can find beautiful printable charts online, as well as free printable motivational pages to use as a decorative feature for the inside of the kits. Epson’s Ink Tank System printers, like the Epson L382, offer low-cost printing with high-quality results, allowing you to print over 13,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour, before needing to refill the ink. Get back into the swing of things with these nifty #BacktoSchool tips from Epson. With a little help from your Epson label maker and home printer, there’s no limit to what’s possible in the year ahead. Visit www.epson.co.za for more information about Epson’s innovative range of printing, scanning and labelling products. The Epson L382 printer is available in selected retail and e-tail outlets at a recommended retail price of R3 179.82 excluding VAT. The Epson LW-400 label maker is available in selected retail outlets and e-tail outlets at a recommended retail price of R1 130.70 excluding VAT. For more information about this product and other Epson printers visit www.epson.co.za

February 7, 2017

Children and Technology

By Juazel de Villiers (née Pieterse), Clinical Psychologist Technology has become integrated in our daily lives, it has grown to be our means of communication, socialising, planning and working. However, it is important not to become desensitized to the effect technology or ‘screen time’ can have on our family, and especially our children. Screen time refers to watching television, playing computer games or entertainment on a phone, tablet, etc. For many of the questions parents have around technology, the first most important factor to take into account is the family circumstances, each family is unique, and so are their needs and responses to technology. The various limits will be influenced by the personality, characteristics and needs of each child and parent. That being said, there has been a notable increase in research regarding technology and family life, which can be used to guide each family in finding the healthy balance needed. The biggest consideration in the use of technology is how much is too much. Screen time should be monitored and limited where possible. Recent research has shown that children under the age of two should preferably not have screen time of any nature. Research has further shown that educational baby programmes have not been as beneficial as previously thought, or to a degree that counteracts the negative consequences of screen time for babies and toddlers. Children between two and eight should be limited to one-hour screen time per day, and those older than eight should be limited to a maximum of two hours of screen time per day. These limits should not be viewed as the recommended amount of screen time, but rather a maximum amount of time, less than one-hour screen time is still preferable. One of the reasons why this is of such importance, is because of the lack of other stimulation that children receive if they spend too much time with technology. Enhancing childhood development has become somewhat of a catch phrase, yet the different areas of development is not always recognised. It is important for children to move, in other words be physically active; movement is not only important for physical development but also for neurological (brain) development. Children also have a need for personal family interaction, social skills development apart from technology, writing skills development without a keyboard, and so forth. Early childhood is especially important for the very young child to develop social interactions with face-to-face contact. It is also of great importance for them to have extended periods of creative play to develop language, problem solving skills and their imagination. The increased time that children spend on technology not only takes away from other skill development, but it has also been linked to an increase in a wide variety of childhood difficulties, examples include increased weight gain, occurrence of anxiety and difficulties with concentration. This is one of the difficulties or challenges that Skidz Clever Activity Boxes has attempted to address. The boxes and curriculums provide parents not only with information on development, but also with a structured programme as an alternative to screen time which encourages healthy development across a range of areas. The other important consideration that needs to be made when using technology is whether or not parents should know their children’s passwords. Parents want to be able to demonstrate their trust in their children, and as a result they are often reluctant to invade their child’s privacy by insisting on knowing their children’s passwords. However, it can be of great importance to know the password, as children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to the dangers of technology. Technology has been amazing in creating a world where we are easily connected to one another, where information is ‘at our fingertips’, but this information could easily be about your child. During the childhood and teenage years, the responsibility of the parents is to protect their children, and to teach them right and wrong. The expectation is that the child or teenager is still learning and not yet able to protect themselves from the various challenges and dangers they are exposed to. The same way you would not leave your child alone in a strange home with people you do not know, it is unsafe to leave your child ‘alone’ in the world of technology. By knowing their password, you are able to learn about what environment they are in, it allows the parent to access the information that their child is being exposed to, to know who their child is interacting with, and if their child is safe. In the same manner, it is important for parents to supervise the use of technology and what their child is accessing or watching during screen time. Parents are advised to always supervise when their children are engaged in screen time and to make us of filters and blockers. Young children often click on the ‘flashing button’ without being able to, or taking time to, read where it could take them, it is for this reason that it is very important to ensure that you as parent take time to familiarise yourself with how the filters and blockers work. Without the proper control and supervision, the benefit parents often cite of technology ‘keeping your child entertained with minimal supervision through screen time’, can also be the biggest danger of screen time. Background of Juazel de Villiers (née Pieterse), Clinical Psychologist The Psychology Practice of Juazel Pieterse was started in 2013 by Juazel, a Clinical Psychologist. At the practice we provide psychological intervention for a range of psychological difficulties, including depression, anxiety, stress, adhd, autism, family difficulties, parenting skills and support, change of life difficulties, and so forth. Our focus varies between prevention and treatment as needed. Our passion is to work with individuals, groups and the community to create awareness of psychological difficulties and well-being. References: Graber, D (2015) How much ‘Screen time’ is too much? Why that is the wrong questions. Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-graber/how-much-screen-time-is-too-much-why-thats-the-wrong-question_b_7285212.html Powell, A (2015) Keeping an eye screen

November 29, 2016

3 ways parents can keep their child’s device ‘clean’

Raising children in the digital age has become a little bit of a ‘ying-yang’ experience. Consider this, Dad is comfortable with his little angel getting the latest smartphone because she has done well in her academic year but, Mom doesn’t think it’s a good idea, considering the increased exposure she will have to the Internet. There is cyber criminals, uncontrolled content and cyber bullying, just as a start, to consider. What do you do as a family? Parenting has truly changed, not so long ago children played outside far more, whereas today approximately 56% of them now spend their time communicating with friends on social media platforms – a totally different reality. As a parent, wouldn’t you feel better knowing what your daughter or son is saying to his/her friends? Or what the online world is saying to them? Kaspersky Lab’s research shows that globally, 40% of children disclose sensitive information about themselves or family, which is not surprising, given that 28% of parents in South Africa feel they do not have any control over what their children see or do online. It’s not doomsday though, as we can all agree that the Internet is one of the best invention ever when it comes to finding anything and everything one needs – it just makes life easier. Today, however, given this, the responsibility lies with us, to ensure we educate our kids about staying safe while online and why it is important not to share any sensitive information, as well as how to avoid downloading any malware onto their smartphones or devices. It is not easy explaining this to a 6 or 10-year-old, but don’t avoid the subject because you think your children are too young – in fact the younger you start the conversation, the easier it will be for children to assimilate and understand your views. We understand that it is a challenging subject to address, however so is the reality and impact of cyber bullying or sextortion. The new Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2017 – includes some features that will assist you in keeping your children safe. The Parent control feature – this feature will assist parents to monitoring online activities of their children. For example, as so many kids love to ‘check-in’ online – with this feature, as a parent, you can make this function private, as check-ins are another way cyber criminals keep track of their victims. Cleans apps – as downloading an app is easy, the Software Cleaner function in this solution informs parents when a child installs an app, both from a credible source, or even from a not so credible one. Upon receiving a report from Software Cleaner, you are able to either remove or leave the app on the device. Lastly, there is room for privacy – privacy should not only apply to adults, it applies to everyone who has a digital profile. The Secure Connection feature of this solution, ensures that your children connect to the Internet safely and that their data is protected. This feature will protect your child’s sensitive information. The new Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2017 offers parents wanting to give their children access to the Internet, the ability to do so in a safe and controlled manner. Despite the risks, don’t avoid going online, but rather ensure you are informed and educating your family about cyber safety.

November 18, 2016

Psychological study discovers new era of ‘digital best friends’, Kaspersky Lab reports

A third of consumers are willing to ditch their friends for their smartphone. Yet 93% willingly give away their smartphone PIN when asked – putting the safety of their ‘digital best friend’ at risk. An experiment, which asked participants to rate various people and objects in their lives in order of importance, has discovered that 37% of participants rate their smartphone as more, or equally, important as their close friends. The results of the experiment, which was conducted by the universities of Würzburg and Nottingham Trent, on behalf of Kaspersky Lab, show that smartphones are set to overtake friends in importance. The experiment asked participants to position images representing various people and objects in their lives, in relation to themselves on a diagram of a chessboard. While family, friends and pets were generally placed closer to the participant than their smartphone, many other significant people in the participant’s lives – including the people they work or study with every day – took a back seat in comparison to their digital companions. Nearly a third of participants (29%) said their smartphone was equally important, or more important, to them than their parents; while one in five set his digital device equal or even more important than his partner. 17% of respondents rated their smartphone in the highest importance category, although only 1% said their smartphone was more important than anything else in their life. Despite the value placed on devices as a source of entertainment, information and data storage, participants in a supporting experiment were more than happy to share their smartphone PIN number when asked, exposing access to all their personal and sensitive information. During the experiment, 93% of participants gave away the PIN to their digital best friend when asked. Astrid Carolus, Media Psychologist at the University of Würzburg, led the study. She comments: “Our phones are an integral part of our lives, and this study brings psychological proof of this. Our friend-like connection with our smartphones means that we place an incredible degree of trust in an inanimate object – so much so, that we consider it a closer and more important element of our lives than many other people. With this in mind, we were surprised to see that it was nevertheless very easy for us to get hold of smartphone PIN codes. We asked people to sit in a waiting room for a period of time, and then asked them for their body height and smartphone PIN code. Without much hesitation the vast majority of people gave it to us. This is worrying, because it suggests that we are willing to put our digital friends – and the data they hold – at risk.” Equating a digital device with human qualities is nothing new. Experiments in the 1990s found that people ascribed human traits to computers when interacting with them. David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, comments on the security implications of having an emotional connection with a device: “Following on from last year’s study into Digital Amnesia – the phenomenon that suggests we forget the information we entrust to our devices – this latest experiment further proves the strong emotional connection we have with our phones. Another interesting finding was that people rate their smartphones as far more important to them as laptops or other devices that hold the same degree of information, highlighting the symbolic role our phones have for us as digital companions, forever at our side. Having this emotional relationship with your smartphone can mean your decision process when it comes to protecting the data stored on it is more limited. We already know many people forget to secure their smartphones, as they view them almost as an extension of themselves, and this can make them vulnerable to cybercriminals.” Ascribing more importance to our phones than real-life friends and acquaintances shows just how important it is to secure the information we entrust them with. Kaspersky Lab has been researching the social effects of digitalisation and how this makes people potentially more vulnerable to cybercrime for the last two years. An overview of the results is available at www.kaspersky.com/amnesia

September 21, 2016

New study reveals the Internet is a source of family conflict and disconnect

The way we live our digital lives at home is having a big impact on our family relationships, according to new research from Kaspersky Lab and iconKids & Youth. With people spending more time online, a fifth of parents and children say that the Internet and connected devices can be a cause of family tension. The research, which surveyed over 3,700 families in seven countries, provides an insight into how the digital world is disrupting traditional family dynamics. Whereas in the past parents were the first port of call for children seeking answers to questions or advice, one-in-four (23%) of the parents surveyed say that their kids now prefer to go online rather than talk to them. The research also found that almost half (42%) of parents are not friends with their children on social networks, and one-in-five (18%) says this is because their children would find it embarrassing. All in all, a fifth of parents (21%) and children (22%) say that the Internet can cause family tension. Most concerning of all, one-in-three parents (31%) believe the Internet isolates them from their children. The conflict may be exacerbated by the fact that the devices used to go online are often shared. Two-thirds of the families surveyed said they share a family computer. As a result, a third of parents (31%) complain that their child has broken something on a connected device or infected it with a virus while online (30%) and a quarter (24%) has had to pay for something their child had ordered or downloaded. Similarly, 13% of kids accuse parents of breaking a device and 16% complain that their parents had accidentally deleted some of their data. Andrei Mochola, Head of Consumer Business at Kaspersky Lab said: “It is only natural that using – and misusing – each other’s connected devices can become a cause of conflict for families. However, as we spend more and more time online, family dynamics are also changing. It is important that families maintain an ongoing dialogue about how to spot and respond to potential dangers, with parents and children together agreeing on the basic rules on how they can best navigate the digital world. It is also important to be serious about protection. We recommend installing an integrated home Internet security solution on all devices in the home. This should be enhanced with Parental Control software, which can block access to inappropriate sites or apps and prevent sensitive data from being shared or deleted.” Janice Richardson, Senior Advisor at European Schoolnet, adds: “Although Internet becomes a source of conflict in some families, a recent study[1] by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission interestingly underlines an emerging trend, with siblings and extended family members taking on a much bigger role in children’s online activities. Unsurprisingly, children are instinctively turning to the person they perceive to be able to fix technical issues, advise on sites and security tools and provide more objective responses to delicate queries. This underlines the importance of parents and guardians developing their own technical competence and building trusting relationships with their children whilst also establishing basic rules on Internet and device usage to avoid conflicts. At the same time, software and social media providers, too, should seek to develop more ‘family-friendly’ tools.” For more useful advice on protecting children on the Internet, visit kids.kaspersky.com. Information about a technical solution to these problems can be found at Kaspersky Safe Kids.

August 11, 2016

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