Cyber Protection for Children!

22 March 2020 / ICT Medya

1. What is cyberbullying, how does it arise and on which platforms is it seen most often?

Cyberbullying can be defined as attacks targeting children, primarily through digital technologies. These attacks usually involve emotionally loaded text. The attacker may use offensive, misleading or deceptive content. In our country, this form of bullying takes place both on websites and forums and on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

2. What are the effects of cyberbullying on individuals, particularly children?

The greatest negative impact is observed first among children and then on young people, especially adolescents. While the severity varies from person to person, cyberbullying can lead to outcomes that range from psychological problems to suicide. Unfortunately, these and similar problems are very common in places like our country, where internet technologies are intensively used. The high proportion of young people in our population is one of the reasons behind this increase.

3. How can cyberbullying be fought? What should individuals do to avoid becoming victims and to protect themselves from cyberbullying?

We can say that the most important condition for protection from cyberbullying is first education, then supervision. Families in particular need to understand what these channels are for, what their children use them for, and the potential dangers they pose. Fighting an enemy you do not know is like Don Quixote attacking the windmills. First, research must be done on all these digital channels, then they should be used, and finally they should be monitored one by one.

4. What responsibilities do families have against cyberbullying? What are the responsibilities of the public and private sectors for a safer internet?

Parents in particular carry significant responsibility on this issue. They need to keep track of many things, including which websites their children visit, which social media accounts they have, what kind of games they play and which videos they watch. Yet it is important to do so without pressuring the child and as discreetly as possible. If children have Facebook or Instagram accounts, parents or other adults should also open accounts in their own names to show that their children are not alone in this space. By becoming part of the child's friend network through these accounts, adults can more easily follow both their posts and the people in their network. Pretending not to know features they already know and asking their children for help can also be useful. In short, the more sincere and genuine you are, the more helpful you will be. In the public sector, the work tends to focus on general informational content. While useful, it remains insufficient unless it goes into detail. At this point the private sector in particular needs to support these efforts with more constructive and detailed initiatives. In the very near future, LG Türkiye is planning to launch a project that will support families in this area. We hope such initiatives will continue to grow in number for the good of our country.

5. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority is working to raise awareness — among society and especially among children — about the conscious and safe use of the internet. Do you find these efforts sufficient, what shortcomings exist if any, and do you consider the state's work in this area adequate? Are families behaving sensitively and consciously regarding internet use?

Raising awareness among children and their families in this area is particularly important, and the state's support on this issue is positive for the future. At the same time, more mass-reach, potentially viral campaigns are inevitable. No matter how successful brand-led projects may be today, those efforts unfortunately carry little meaning unless you can communicate them to the masses. The way to raise awareness among families is first to capture their attention. I believe mass and large-scale campaigns will be far more effective and meaningful. I am not talking about high-budget productions to make this happen. In every socially supported initiative, users who feel they are adding value will contribute to these projects with far greater support.