Safer Internet Day is celebrated across the world on
February 6. When was the last time you changed your passwords or paid attention
to the unnecessary ads that are popping up on your social media feed? The
pandemic put the cellphone with internet in every school going child’s hand and
now it is quite a task for parents to control internet usage. The internet can
be a healthy space for communication but it should also be safe for young
users.
The theme for Safer Internet Day 2024 is ‘Together for a
Better Internet’, which revolves around promoting a secure online environment
for all users, with a special focus on safeguarding children and young people.
Three important values when it comes to children using the internet is
protection, empowerment, and respect.
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As a theatre art teacher, Kevin D’Mello works with children
and youngsters. As an accomplished actor himself, he has to have his social
media presence but still thinks twice about what information he posts online.
He recently trained children for a skit on social media which was highly
appreciated and performed at the annual social gathering. “Through the medium
of acting, I was able to convey the message to children as well as parents
about the latest trend of posting reels and being awake late at night due to
the usage of cell phones which disturbs their concentration in class as well as
studies,” says Kevin, who changes his password once a year.
“If I change it all the time, there’s a tendency that I may
forget and not be able to log into my own account. But more than change of
password, one should not click on any suspicious link and allow your account to
be hacked. Setting strong password, checking out on Google about some latest
phishing scams, keeping my phone software updated, and by keeping personal
information very personal, can keep one out of trouble,” adds Kevin.
Realising that cybercrimes are really a new threat to
children, counsellors are also researching about social media usage.
“Researchers gives talks on these topics wherein children are given worksheets
where they have to tick mark about how they handle social media. With this new
information, researchers and teachers learn about their problem and how to
solve it with their best capabilities,” informs Kevin.
Nasya Pereira from Revora runs two Instagram pages,
vintagegoa.memories, where one can revisit Goa right from the 1950s to 60s and
her own personal account. While one needs her to be interactive with her
followers as she receives a lot of submission especially from foreigners who
visited Goa as hippies and are now living abroad, she still needs to keep her
guard up.
“With the pictures of my life and times on my personal
account @nasyagoafreak and the rise of Vintage Goa Memories, I’ve learned to be
extra careful about never sharing anything in real time. I always post stories
on my accounts once I’m back home, sometimes a day or two later too!”
How can one be vigilant online? “You can put yourself out
there and still be a little discreet about what it is you’re doing. Not
everything has to be shared with the world in that exact moment. Besides, you
can also use this to your advantage. By being a little more present wherever
you are. And not being concerned about what to post and saving all that for
later,” says Nasya.
Nester Fernandes, an experienced biologist engages with
schools, students, conservationists, and fishermen to share his knowledge and
passion for ocean conservation. To be safe on the internet, he changes his
passwords every six months especially when it comes to e-banking. “When it
comes to social media, I usually don’t change it very often because I make sure
that I use alpha numericals, symbols and cap sensitive words. However, to keep
the banking passwords safe, I do also use a two factor authentication, where I
probably have an OTP to ensure no one else signs in,” says Nester.
Interacting with children and youngsters over research
information, Nester understands how they can be vulnerable on the digital
platform. He says, “Making new friends can be positive as they learn to
diversify. However, they need to be sure that they are not people who would
take advantage of them online. Respecting other people and their content on the
internet is highly important as it is highly needed for them to begin with.
Making or posting content without proper information or research can do more
harm than good on the internet. Therefore, it’s important that the youngsters
go to sites and content that are fact checked. Some people with malicious
intent may use the tactics of Phishing where they show or advertise too good to
be true prizes or job offers just to reel in youngsters with false promises.
Avoiding sites that preferably promote gambling or other forms of trading
without proper data or knowledge can be very useful as a lot of them are ways
for the youth to end up losing money in ways that would put them in some sort
of financial dilemma.”
Advising some pointers to be safe online, he says, “Do not
share your password with anyone in any given situation. Make sure that you do
not use your name or your date of birth or your pet name solely as your
password as it can be easy for someone who has all this information to crack
your password. Make sure that you not download any apps that are not verified
as they can try to obtain data from your devices. No companies or institutions
ask for your data or passwords over a call. Avoid posting or sharing data or
images over to other devices as that could reach in the wrong hands if not
careful.”
Ashley Delaney is the founder of a Goa’s first company that
manages the collection of electronic waste. He has changed his passwords just
twice over the last 20 years! However, the secret is choosing a strong password
having a mix of items, and combining it with secondary authentication like SMS
verification, or using apps like Google authentication. He recommends, “Avoid
sharing too much of personal info. Don’t share a lot of personal stuff – like
which place you visited – where you are currently, as people follow you, and
try to hack you when they know you are unable to immediately thwart the attempt
due to external factors. Use a good Internet security, and always look at the
links you are clicking on to go to a website. Never share any OTP, or scan any
QR code for payment on an unknown site. Don’t enter passwords on a website that
you have clicked on from an email or SMS, that you haven’t typed in the URL yourself.”
