RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
18
INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT
WHAT IS IT?
The internet is a vast source of information and knowledge, however some content
online may be inappropriate or harmful for children and young people. Without
adequate supervision or guidance, children could unintentionally or deliberately access
inappropriate, illegal or explicit content online. This inappropriate content may in fact be
illegal, or simply inappropriate for the age and developmental level of the child.
Some examples of inappropriate content include gossip/rumour pages, meme pages,
sites promoting criminal activity or extremist views, filmed fights and sexting. Some
of this content may be proactively sought by a child or young person, for example,
pornography or pro-suicide websites. Other content may be accidentally encountered
either by typing in an incorrect URL, pop-up advertisements or clicking on links in emails.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES?
Accessing inappropriate material may be psychologically harmful to children and
exposure may desensitise children to extreme material, such as pornography, child
exploitation materials, radicalised ideologies and criminal activities.
WHAT CAN I DO?
There are various strategies you can employ to reduce exposure to inappropriate content
and any harm caused by exposure.
For children under the age of 10, we strongly advise supervising their use of the internet
and exploring technology with them. You can set up bookmarks for the sites they are
allowed to use, or create a folder on your tablet or smartphone with the apps or games
they are allowed to play. You may also wish to use filtering software, parental controls
and safe searching controls.
Children in their tween years may be savvier about the internet and want more freedom
to explore it in private. Safe searching and parental controls may still be useful, but it is
important to discuss safe surfing and develop a procedure for what they should do if
something upsets them online.
Teenagers may be even more difficult to supervise and can often bypass parental
controls and filters. It is crucial that they know how to search safely, and where they
can go to report prohibited content or seek support for inappropriate content they have
come across.
Regardless of age, having open and honest communication with your child about what to
do if they come across something which upsets them online should form a critical part of
any strategy.