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PARENTS SHOULD BE regularly checking their children’s social media accounts to ensure they’re not in contact with people they don’t know in real-life.
This warning is coming from CyberSafeIreland, the children’s internet safety charity, in light of this week’s new Snapchat update which sees looser privacy settings within the app.
The introduction of ‘Snap Maps’ puts users and their photos onto a new interactive in-app map where friends and other Snapchat users can track where they are at any given time.
Users who have chosen to share their location with their in-app friends can be seen on the map that’s precise enough to show a person’s exact location on a street, in real-time.
Snapchat isn’t the only app that uses location tracking – it’s a common feature on the majority of social media apps including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Twitter.
A spokesperson for Snapchat told TheJournal.ie:
The safety of our community is very important to us and we want to make sure that all Snapchatters, parents and educators have accurate information about how the Snap Map works.
Warning to parents
Programme Director of CyberSafeIreland Cliona Curley told TheJournal.ie that it’s important for parents to be aware of the settings surrounding location-sharing in apps because children are at high risk of communicating with strangers online.
“Generally, children who are sharing information online could be more vulnerable to pedophiles, online grooming or extortion – where someone who has had contact with them online might try to have further contact with them in real life,” Curley said.
“Children are too young to be left on their own on social media. It’s an environment where they can have a lot of positives out of it but it’s also an environment that adults have to be part of the picture.”
Curley used Instagram as an example to emphasise how easy it is for people to track children online.
She said that if a person is walking through a park and sees someone taking a selfie and uploading it to Instagram, that person can do a location search on the app and find the photo if they had their location settings turned on.
How can parents keep their children safe?
She said that it’s important for parents to research all the apps that are installed on their child’s devices and find out how they can make their children’s social media accounts more private.
“Get to know the apps. Sit down with your kids and look at [the apps] and look at what safeguards are in place,” she said.
She suggested that parents review the settings in the apps and make rules around their use.
You might create a rule that they can only have people they know in real life on their friend lists.
People they know in real life are going to be in their class in school, in their after school activities or sports activities. A lot of time children are befriending others because they’re on their friends’ friend list and they’re assuming that they know that person.
“You need to sit down regularly with your children and review their privacy settings, review their friend list and ask them ‘who is this child, how do you know them?’. Make sure they know everybody in real life,” she said.
CyberSafeIreland’s 2016 annual report found that 28% of children surveyed are in contact with a stranger either occasionally or every day through online gaming or accepting social media requests from strangers.
Whilst many connections are harmless, there are cases where the contact with strangers is of significant concern, particularly for the 5% of children who are in contact with a stranger on a daily basis.
The survey also found that whilst 84% of primary school teachers do cover internet safety in one form or another, the majority of them (64%) said that they did not feel sufficiently resourced to effectively deliver educational messages on internet safety.
“More needs to be done and everybody has a part to play in this. There needs to be a lot more done by technology providers, some of them are doing a lot more than others but it needs to be standardised across the board,” Curley said.
“There also needs to be a lot more investment in education in Ireland. Sometimes there’s a focus on prohibition and banning children from technology but that’s not practical.
“The reality is that technology is very much part of everyday life and children will be dealing with it.”
Instagram have been contacted by TheJournal.ie.
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The only positive thing that will come out of this unhealthy alliance is that the rest of the UK “mainlanders” will finally get to see what space cadets this DUP really are.
@Tweed Cap: Amen Brother. Beat me to it. Theres 2 brilliant clips out there about the DUP from Frankie Boyle and George Galloway. Well worth a watch. FB describes them as the political wing of the old testament.
@Tweed Cap: I can’t stand the DUP. But this morning those Space Cadets managed to secure a £1bn deal that will make the lives of their constituents better while Sinn Fein sat on their hands.
@@angrymanwithissues: Just to clarify, you think SF should have broken their election pledge?
@The Risen: no, but the DUP are acting in te interests of all the people of Northern Ireland. SF act only in their own interests
@Tweed Cap: I have just looked at a few comments on the Guardian online, they are going ballistic at the cheer brass neck of the Torys, it as you have stated has also informed the greater British public to the space cadets that now hold the balance of power. Another aspect coming over very strongly is the pressure on the Scottish Torys if they do not stand up here they could be destroyed the next time around.
@Hurt Stoogie: “no, but the DUP are acting in te interests of all the people of Northern Ireland”
LOL! Yes yes, the DUP are all about looking after ‘all’ the people, Catholics included.
Cheers for the laugh.
@The Risen: The rules of the game have changed. Weak governments seem to be the norm, the old order is collapsing. And yet SF seem more interested in pretending nothing is any different. They have no right to complain if things go pear-shaped as a result of this deal.
@Tweed Cap: Please do not use the word mainland .It displays a subservience to the UK.We are not a subservient nation to the British.We are an independent sovereign state.As for the arrangement with the DUP the fact it does not mention Brexit as far as an open border is concerned shows up the DUP for the bigots they are.This deal is sowing the seeds of future violence which another generation will have to endure
@Live at Oriel: I don’t believe Tweed Cap was using the term seriously, hence the quotation marks.
@Hurt Stoogie: what world do you live in?
@The Risen: Please do not use the term mainland.It signifies subservience of Ireland to the UK.And that we are not.The term UK mainland is a grossly insulting word to use to anybody who identify themselves as Irish.
@Live at Oriel: The UK is made up of four identities that’s why its call a union . Not only does it recognise the Irish identity but it defends the rights of the people of Ireland to be Irish .
@The Risen: so only unionist will benefit from better broadband and better roads? And only unionist companies (whatever they are) will benefit from potentially better corporate tax rates?
Your hatred is making you blind jamming
Hopefully Corbyn is right and he’ll be PM by Christmas.
@Hurt Stoogie: Irish language act.
RHI Scandal. Redsky, LGBT rights. Yeah they act for all people alright.
You can’t blame the DUP for looking after their own interests but you have to question why they’ve been given this opportunity. How power hungry can you be to go into a coalition with the DUP? Such a short sighted decision from the Tories that lacks integrity.
@Meekus: As someone said yesterday of David Davis handling of brexit negotiations, ‘like a drunken trapeze artist’. The entire Tory cabinet are acting like they are drunk with power under Theresa May’s leadership.
@Meekus: __ Theresa May would gouge out her own eyeballs with a rusty nail, if it meant she would stay in power.
Well if infrastructure includes plan to build motorway from Monaghan border to Derry then it does help border region….SF have 48 hours to get back into NI assembly and influence spending of this money….Lets hope the don’t say “SF says NO”….
SF could do a counter deal and see what price the Brits really put on the ‘precious union’.
I wonder Who will get the lions share of the deprivation money?
( Theres a pun in there)
Things could have been so different if SF did not throw their toys out of the pram
@Alan Scott: I am not close to SF leadership but I think be Thursday we will have a U turn from SF and they will be back in the Stormont assembly…..Would not look good a new road in Fermanagh with SF getting the credit for it….
@John003: precisely not a fan of SF because of the standing around stance.
@Alan Scott: So trying to hold the DUP to account for an almost half a billion pounds fraud run on the watch of Arlene Foster is “throwing their toys out of the pram”?
What does “devolution of corporate tax rates” mean ??
@dannyboy: It means that NI can set its own corporate tax rate (to be able to compete with the Rep). This was already in the pipeline.
@dannyboy: it means they can lower corporate tax rates through stormont (if it sits ha) rather than Westminster setting it for them. They have wanted it for a while as the republic’s is currently 12.5 % I think while the norths is much higher and so less companies were interested in setting up there. Not a fan of the dup obviously but its Good news to attract companies to Ireland north and south. Even if it increases competition it’s good to have tax harmonisation on the island, hopefully more to follow .
@Cathal O’Hagan: This will rile the rest of the UK who they will now be competing with for FDI. Good for the island of Ireland because Rep. will still be more attractive to those companies who want access to the EU.
@Jamie Fitzgibbon:
NI’s corporate tax rate could be 0% and it wouldnt make much difference. ROI has far better infrastructure, less disruptions and obviously the single market as well. Not to mention a better education system and just a far better place to live in general
@Cathal O’Hagan: you would want to be mad to set up a new company in the North. Issues such as Brexit and an unstable government voted on sectarianism lines and add in a bit of bigotry and intolerance. The economy is a basket case with a current expenditure over spend of 20% per year where those employed by the government accounts for a third of the work force. It is dependent on a 10 billion per year intervention. It is a huge welfare state in reality a basket case and the extra dependency will do nothing for the north in the long run.
@DonalC: so broadband in rural ROI is better than in NI?
And the education system in ROI I’d better than NI???
Not sure where you get your info
@Cathal O’Hagan: ok thanks for the replies…it is currently 20% corporate tax rate in the North same as the rest of UK, and there was talk of bringing it down to 15% before the assembly was dissolved…personally I think it is a good thing to bring down this rate of tax to attract investment to N Ireland… however, I can’t help thinking it is all pie in the sky as Brexit will throw it all out the window anyway….
It’s all very small beer with the exception of devolution of corporate tax rate which, in practice, will be severely constrained by budgetary considerations.
It’s a soft deal for May and the Conservatives. The DUP went very easy on this. Why? Likely some “understandings” have been arrived at.
Well I hope as much money as possible goes into infrastructure related projects .
We expect the Brits will do the place up before the leave.
Give credit where it is due, here we have a Provence screwing the British Government for £1.5 Billion while countries like Scotland, Wales and England will pick up the tab by way of taxation
“Devolution of corporation tax rates”
That’s a big part of the deal.
@John Fergus: Exactly less money in NI tax revenue while the British taxpayer foots the bill.
A shame SF sat on their hands, its time to ditch this non attendance lark now. If the stand for Westminster they should sit in Westminster
Otherwise a vote for them is wasted. The DUP has wrongfooted them, SF can do better than this.
This is the DUP’s greatest moment in their history, the border would be way down on their list of priorities and they would probably accept a Thrump wall been built along it if asked , they will compromise their staunch beliefs if necessary to maintain their glorious days in the sun , interesting days ahead , and loads of smarmy self satisfied smiles from Paisiely’s Brood..
Not a great deal and it took so long to come up with. The £1.5bn could be eaten up by loss of taxation if corporate taxes are interfered with. Imagine giving budgetary control to the NI Assembly. Those who have will benefit most. Those who have not will be protesting. Hmm
@Paul Coughlan: Exactly, lets have a party on the Shankill Road instead with a big bonfire and parades every day during July.
have your say