So why does the issue of information security in general and information security of children in particular arise? To answer this question, let's compare the information with food. We have this right, because the need for information is as important as the physiological need, and so, it is quite possible to be “poisoned” with information. You can consume harmful information and seriously harm your spiritual health. Like food, any information has one or another effect on a person - strong or weak, useful or harmful, life-saving or absolutely destructive. It’s not for nothing that they say, “You can kill with a word, you can save with a word, you can lead people with a word.” The “word” here is what we mean by information. To protect children from harmful information, RVS activists have developed a manual on children’s information security.

The need for information is one of the basic natural needs of humans. No less important than purely physiological needs - food, sleep, warmth, etc. Since ancient times, man has greedily sought and created information about the world around him, and has come a long way from myth to the scientific picture of the world, the greatest works of art and moral standards. Any human activity is inextricably linked with the exchange of information. Thanks to the exchange of information, in childhood we learned behavioral patterns, learned social norms, and learned the basics of science, art and law. When mom and dad explained to us how to behave, what is good and what is bad, when teachers at school taught the basics of science, they created for us an information environment in which we were brought up and formed.

So why does the issue of information security in general and information security of children in particular arise? To answer this question, let's compare the information with food. We have this right, because the need for information is as important as the physiological need, and so, it is quite possible to be “poisoned” with information. You can consume harmful information and seriously harm your spiritual health. Like food, any information has one or another effect on a person - strong or weak, useful or harmful, life-saving or absolutely destructive. It’s not for nothing that they say, “You can kill with a word, you can save with a word, you can lead people with a word.” The “word” here is what we mean by information.

Since information inevitably has an impact on a person, it means that it must be filtered. If an adult copes with this task (and not always and not everyone), then a child does not yet know how to do this. This means that he needs the protection of his information environment from adults. First of all, of course, from the parents.

Why do we think that the problem of protecting a child’s information environment is especially relevant today? Because over the past 10–15 years, the information environment has undergone enormous changes. This happened mainly thanks to technological progress, which often brings with it not only new huge positive opportunities, but also no less huge dangers. The human information environment will never be the same again. This means that we must learn to protect it and deal with it effectively.

In the past, a child’s information environment was quite easily amenable to parental regulation and protection. The television channels the child watched, the books and magazines he read, even his social circle - all this was relatively easily controlled by the parents. At a school, a good sports section, or a children's camp, the child is safe - they won't teach you anything bad, and, as a rule, the people who work there are professionals. Thus, the problem of information security in the past was solved easily and as if by itself. As a child, my mother forbade me to communicate with strangers, to walk in the company of “bad peers,” to watch the only TV in the family after 21:00, etc. And the authority of my mother and father was very high.

Everything changed when a computer and unlimited Internet came to almost every home. They have brought enormous opportunities to their users. Their importance is difficult to overestimate. But along with opportunities came radical changes in the child’s information environment. Let's think about what exactly happened. The child, not yet able to filter incoming information, not yet having stable social models, gained access to social networks, forums, chat rooms, dating sites, online games, information sites and blogs of very different quality and content. A huge, powerful flow of a wide variety of information literally poured into him. He began to interact with her, often one on one. The situation is significantly worsened by the fact that many parents are “proficient” with a computer and the child’s ability to use a personal computer often quickly surpasses their parents. The situation has become particularly acute in recent years with the proliferation of personal portable computing devices such as tablet computers and smartphones. Thus, Internet access becomes portable and virtually uncontrollable.

In this brochure, we want to clearly understand which information flows affect the child. Show what dangers he exposes himself to while outwardly he is sitting at home in complete safety and warmth at his computer.

What we don’t want is a push in the spirit of “computers and the Internet are evil, and children need to be completely isolated from this evil.” We don't think so. We are convinced that the Internet and personal computer are excellent tools for work, education, entertainment, and spiritual growth of a person.

We believe that a child must be taught to properly manage the chaotic flow of information. And we will outline our proposal in this brochure.

Danger No. 1. Loss of parental authority

First, some numbers.

According to a study by the Internet Development Foundation conducted in March 2009, the following data was obtained.

To the question “what is the most important source of information for you?” All schoolchildren who participated in the study put their parents first. The Internet firmly ranks second as a priority source of information. Teachers for eighth and ninth graders are only in third place, i.e. the Internet has already become more authoritative than the teacher. In fourth place for this group of schoolchildren are friends and classmates.

Among high school students, the Internet shared second place with teachers, friends and classmates.

The Internet Development Foundation notes that fierce competition reigns here and if you do not learn how to effectively use the capabilities of the Internet in the learning process, it becomes quite obvious who will ultimately win.

The so-called “digital divide” was also studied - the difference in competence to use the Internet between parents and children. The following facts have emerged:

• less than half of parents are aware of the risks their child faces. One in three parents know their children see sexual images online because they see them themselves. At the same time, they have almost no idea that children become victims of aggressive behavior or can be aggressors themselves. Although the children themselves are most concerned about what constitutes communication risks. Also, parents know very little about their children dating someone they met online;

• the child's readiness to see and accept help. A third of children note that they do not feel any support from their parents, although the parents themselves believe that they are helping their child.

At the same time, according to a study by the Internet Development Foundation and the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov with the support of Google, Russian teenagers are ahead of their parents in the frequency of Internet use. 89% of teenagers and 53% of parents of teenagers use the Internet daily. Moreover, 17% of all parents surveyed noted that they do not use the Internet at all.

What do we see in these numbers? The Internet has already surpassed teachers as a source of authoritative information. And he is preparing to oust his parents from first place. Let's think about what this means. It turns out that the parent loses authority with the child, competing with a variety of people “from the other end of the Internet cable,” that is, he loses the opportunity to raise his child. While, fortunately, the authority of the parent is still the most significant for the child, it is the parent’s word that is most significant. But today the Internet plays a very significant role in raising a child. That is, patterns of behavior, norms, way of thinking, picture of the world - everything, in a word, that is called upbringing, is largely learned by the child on the Internet.

To understand the fundamental novelty of the situation, let's think about what the Internet actually is? The Internet can well be called a virtual world. Of course, this virtual world is closely connected with reality - they earn very real money on the Internet, use it to order very real products, discuss very real news and fall into the trap of very real scammers. The Internet has exactly the same real impact on a child. But, in its essence, the Internet is truly a virtual world. There are also companies of “bad guys” here, for example, propaganda of extremist ideas, bad forums, groups on social networks. There are also drug dealers here, and you can easily buy spice using the Internet. Although we note that this is effectively counteracted. There are a huge number of bad films and videos, music of dangerous genres, etc. This will be discussed in detail in the following chapters.

Here we want to draw attention to the following phenomenon. Any normal parent monitors who influences his child. Does your child associate with bad companies? Is the child at risk of being deceived by scammers? Does he read good books or watch bad films?

But for some reason, in the case of the Internet, very often, unfortunately, parental vigilance is asleep. You can often hear: “ Yes, he sits at the computer, but he doesn’t drink beer in the hallways or hang out in discos! And in the house he is safe, under our supervision" Parents, not understanding the dangers of online life, voluntarily allow strangers with very different intentions to raise their child.

The fact that the school is losing the competition with the Internet in authority is a very alarming fact. Traditionally, school played a huge role in the education of the individual, the formation of a picture of the world, and accustoming people to the norms of behavior in society. Now its influence has weakened significantly.

If the trend continues, if the order of things is not changed, then very soon the growing personality will be shaped primarily by the Internet and only secondarily by parental education. In this case, there will be no talk of any trusting relationship between parents and children. Parents will essentially turn into guardians. And it will be a completely different, very ominous reality.

Danger No. 2. Subcultures, extremism, sects

Youth depressive subcultures are an extremely insidious and dangerous trap on the path to personality development. They pose a particular danger to teenagers.

Let us remember ourselves in adolescence - perhaps the brightest, most dramatic, difficult and beautiful period of a person’s life. What happens to a teenager? The world around him becomes dramatically more complicated, completely new problems and worries arise. Hitherto unknown experiences burst into the soul. The first, still very pure, innocent love... At the same time, there is extreme vulnerability and pliability of the emerging personality. Teenagers with a rather sensitive heart and a subtle inner world passionately seek the philosophical foundations of the universe, fiercely, with maximalism, trying to comprehend the ultimate foundations of existence.

In this most difficult period of life, a teenager is looking for a way to express himself, his place in society. He urgently needs a feeling of independence and self-sufficiency. It's very, very difficult for him to deal with this.

So, all depressive subcultures, without exception, exploit these aspirations and problems, this natural energy of a teenager. Looking ahead, we note: the saddest, most terrible thing is that children with sensitive souls and warm hearts first of all fall into the trap of subcultures. Not only them, but they - first of all. Let's figure out what a subculture is, what they are like and what unites them.

I don’t want to give a generally accepted definition here; after all, the reader can easily find and read it himself. We need to get to the bottom of this. A subculture can easily be deciphered as a “subculture.” In English, by the way, the literal translation sounds like “subculture.” That is, it is a certain set of values, behavioral patterns, specific words and concepts, clothing styles, musical preferences, etc. that distinguish it from the main culture of society. Depressive, dangerous subcultures always radically oppose themselves to the main culture. In this way, by the way, the teenager’s request for independence and individuality is satisfied. Of course, slipping him the most dangerous spiritual surrogates.

In order to understand the essence of subcultures, let's look at one of them.

Goths, gothic subculture

One of the most popular subcultures. The worldview is based on the so-called dark culture, with its cults of death, suffering, depression, hatred of life and joy. The Goths themselves characterize their worldview as “depressive-romantic.” The worldview is characterized by frequent depression, melancholy, dark mysticism, and a sharp rejection of the “crowd,” that is, society, people who are not part of a given subculture. The core of the gothic subculture is death, viewed romantically. Everything connected with death in all its manifestations is wonderful for the goths. Everything connected with life, positive emotions, spiritual positive uplift is disgusting and is the lot of “cattle”. The Goths themselves call this thanatophilia, that is, simply put, love of death. Goths consider it romantic to stroll through a cemetery and fantasize about the afterlife. Ruins, skulls, and bones are a wonderful sight for a Goth. Everything related to vampires occupies a special place in the gothic subculture. Vampires embody gothic romance: an otherworldly existence, complete detachment from the living world, a delicate relationship between life and death.

Among the specific paraphernalia on which enterprising people make money are skulls, rings with claws, skulls, crosses, and the same pendants on a chain.

Since the subculture is inseparable, it is worth saying a few words about it. There is a huge amount of gothic music - from gothic metal to modern dark wave. The plots are the same: vampire aesthetics, death, despondency, depression, suicide - as the highest manifestation of individuality and spirituality - contempt for society, escapism (the desire to hide from the world, to avoid it). Bright representatives of these trends are popular among young people: Otto Dix, Lacrimosa, Tiamat, Sirenia, etc. Often the genres popular among the Goths are black metal (satanic metal), death metal (can be translated as “death metal”), that is, again all on the theme of death, horror and evil.

It should be noted that very often the path to a subculture lies through musical preferences. Music is indeed a very powerful tool for influencing a person, especially if a stable value system has not yet been formed. Conclusion: everything must be done to form a healthy value system in the child. Otherwise, they will be “shaped” by others.

It makes no sense to describe the Goth’s appearance here; photographs on the Internet will suffice.

So, what do we see even after such a superficial overview of the subculture? What natural needs of a teenager does gothic surrogately satisfy? The philosophical inquiry and the inquiry to find the ultimate foundations of being come first and foremost. And this is the most terrible thing, since these are the purest, sincerest and deepest requests of a child, and instead of the works of great thinkers, instead of high art - from books to music, he takes an extremely dangerous poison. In addition, the subculture determines the teenager’s attitude towards society, satisfies his need for self-determination and independence, and solves the problem of insecurity. We emphasize again that this subculture does this in a terribly ugly way.

Other subcultures. Punks, informals, rappers, emo, etc.

Although these are completely different music-based subcultures whose members despise each other, they have many similarities. All these subcultures are characterized by emphasized antisocial behavior, rebellion, protest against order, and opposition to the “crowd.” Often politicized, although not always. Antisocial behavior is seen as a form of protest. In the worldview and music - hopelessness, hatred of the world, drug addiction as a blessing, the cult of violence, drinking and promiscuous sex.

Anime and anime people

It’s not such a dangerous subculture, and many argue that the passion for anime cannot be called a subculture. Perhaps this is true - anime does not offer a single worldview and philosophical explanation of the world. Nevertheless, anime lovers often get together.

You need to understand that anime (Japanese cartoons) are not at all as harmless as they might seem. There are wonderful anime with very deep, wise content. But there are also those where monstrous cruelty is demonstrated and the eroticism of the characters is clearly expressed. Often anime characters lead an antisocial lifestyle. There are also some really crazy anime trends. The most striking example is “guro”, comics and cartoons with the dismemberment of corpses, the infliction of sophisticated sadistic injuries, extreme forms of sadomasochism, cannibalism. Or “hentai” - Japanese pornographic cartoons.

In general, to understand what anime is, it is best to watch a couple of cartoons. Japanese animation has firmly taken its place in world culture and not by chance: as mentioned above, there are very good anime cartoons (for example, “Spirited Away”). But there are also very dangerous currents.

A few words about sects and extremism

The service offers a range of services for blocking unwanted content, including ad blocking. The “home” version, costing 360 rubles per year, allows you to block sites based on many criteria, for example, you can block all social networks, the Ministry of Justice blacklist, dating sites, etc. The service has its own huge database of addresses with content characteristics. There is a “white” list setting, and there are “black” lists.

The main advantage of the service is flexible and convenient settings at a low price. Blocks sites containing viruses. Simple setup that does not require special knowledge.

The downside is that the service is not able to restrict anything directly on the computer; it only filters access to Internet resources.

Reliability is high; it is quite difficult to bypass it if configured correctly.

2.Dr. Web Security Space and Kaspersky Internet Security

Documentation is also built into the product itself.

First of all, these are full-fledged anti-virus solutions; the parental control function is implemented as an added bonus. Nevertheless, it is a very popular solution for a home computer that performs its tasks quite effectively. Allows you to block not only unwanted sites and sites with viruses, but also limit the use of your computer over time, set a ban on running certain applications, and blocks access to specified folders and files on the computer.

It is very easy to bypass the configured parental controls on these products unless you make additional settings. The fact is that permissions are configured for individual operating system users. Which, by the way, means that you need to create a separate operating system user with limited rights for the child.

What does a more or less advanced teenager do? He boots the computer in safe mode, selects the “Administrator” user, who is normally hidden and therefore has no password, and creates a temporary user with unlimited rights. This is very easy to do and teenagers learn it instantly. For some reason, the documentation does not pay attention to this point. However, closing such a gap is easy - just activate the hidden “administrator” user and give him a password. How to do this is at the end of this application.

Pros: flexible configuration, great control capabilities, in addition to parental controls, there is an antivirus and firewall.

Minus - additional operating system settings are required (creating an account for a child, creating a password for the “administrator” account).

3. How to activate the “administrator” account?

Click “Start,” right-click “Computer,” and open “Manage.” We are interested in the “Local Users” branch.

In the window that opens, double-click on the “Administrator” user, in the menu that appears, uncheck the “Disable account” option and click “OK”.

That's all. The Administrator account has been activated. Next, you need to set a password for this account.

This problem is relevant for the Windows 7 operating system versions higher than Home premium.

4. How to create accounts and change passwords for them
Start - Control Panel - User Accounts. Here you can change passwords and create new accounts. Let us remind you that for parental control to work, the child must have his own Internet account (not an administrator!), for which rights will be limited.

An analysis of the results of work to ensure the rights of minors to information security when using the Internet in 2011-2013, carried out by the Office of the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Sverdlovsk Region, allowed us to identify a number of the most significant risks in this area of ​​communications.

1. Lack of effective control over children’s access to Internet sites containing materials (computer games) with elements of violence, pornography, obscene language, propaganda of anorexia and bulimia, suicide, alcohol and drugs, gambling, inciting racial and religious hatred.

2. The presence on the Internet of users who, influencing the child, try to establish close relationships with him for sexual exploitation, involvement in illegal activities, extortion (theft) of personal data of family members, confidential information, harass the child with messages containing insults and aggression and intimidation.

3. Availability on the Internet: information of a manipulative nature, misleading children, limiting the adequacy of the perception of the information received due to poor legal education, knowledge of history and age; powerful anti-Russian propaganda impact aimed at distorting historical, political and geopolitical reality.

4. The presence in Internet information flows of specific elements that purposefully change (influence) the psychophysiological state of children and adolescents (NLP, etc.).

At the same time, the adopted Federal Law No. 436-FZ, as well as the corresponding orders of Roskomsvyaz, provide a certain legal instrument for control and supervisory authorities. However, the development of publicly accessible means of communication, computerization and the relative cheapness of Internet access, as well as the “advancement” of adolescents make the issue of providing a safe information space for minors problematic.

An analysis of the results of the inspection activities of the Commissioner for Children's Rights, appeals from citizens and organizations on the protection of children from information threats on the Internet, gives grounds to assert that in matters of minimizing the risks outlined above, of course, there must be technical methods of limiting access to destructive web pages, but the most effective The method is to cultivate the internal self-discipline of a minor, the formation of his moral maturity. In this regard, a special role should be given to the education system and family. The main condition for success is the experience of parents and the pedagogical skills of teachers.

Considering the above, we suggest:

1. Develop and implement training programs, textbooks, and teaching aids on the safe use of Internet resources.
2. As part of the school curriculum, provide the required number of hours for educational work with students aimed at instilling the skills to work safely on the Internet. Conducting media safety lessons in educational institutions on an ongoing basis, starting from the first grade.
3. Conduct systematic retraining of teachers teaching computer science with an emphasis on modern methods of information security, methodology, and information security technologies.
4. Through educational institutions, establish free distribution of specialized programs, training in methods of using operating system resources to ensure parental control of computers (mobile devices) to which children have access.
5. Conduct training sessions with parents to identify all risk factors for children using the Internet and outline methods for neutralizing them. In addition, explain to parents the basics of communicating with children about the risks of using the Internet.

Some aspects of ensuring information and psychological safety of schoolchildren

Report at the district parent meeting

Teacher-psychologist, TsPMSS "Trust" of the Northern Administrative District of Moscow

Candidate of Psychological Sciences

Pirumova K.V.

The modern child lives in a world of constantly increasing growth rates of information. The forms and methods of disseminating information have changed. The main role now belongs to global networks. On the Internet, any person, political party, group of people, or organization can influence a child; There are no restrictions on the territory of influence or time. The means of influence and the possibilities of virtual influence are constantly becoming stronger and more complex.

All-Russian study “Children of Russia Online”, conducted in 2010–2011. Internet Development Foundation together with the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and the Federal Institute for Educational Development of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, which covered 1025 children aged 9 to 16 years and 1025 their parents from eleven different regions of Russia, revealed riskier and, therefore, more defenseless behavior of Russian schoolchildren on the Internet than their peers living in developed European countries. Among the features of the use of Internet technologies are the following:

Children in Russia begin to access the Global Network for the first time at the age of 8–10 years;

The majority of Russian children go online on their own (about 80% of children), their parents have virtually no control over them;

Children are often exposed to dangerous content (for example, almost a third of children surveyed had encountered sexually explicit images online in the past year);

Not all parents are sufficiently aware of the existing risks on the Internet and how to protect themselves from them; many often underestimate the security problem.

The results of the influence of information on a child’s health, including his spiritual life and morality, are unpredictable. On the one hand, opportunities for a creative and interesting life and self-development are constantly increasing, on the other hand, information flows are so enormous that the child does not always have time to process and remember even useful information. Children and teenagers can easily find or create a unique environment for virtual communication and just as easily become victims of manipulators and be subjected to all kinds of violence. Informationoverload leads many people, including children, to stress and depression.

Many children begin to play various games from an early age.computer games, not always of a developmental nature, in which the most fantastic virtual images are used, both positive and negative. It must be said that the use of virtual images by a child in the absence of a foundation of physical, mental and spiritual health (and in childhood there is only a foundationand the formation of this foundation) lead to the following consequences:

A) disturbance of perception of a living image, increasing ineptitude in activities under normal conditions, perception of the world on an “artificial” scale without connection with real time and space.

b) confusion between the real and virtual world. Until the age of 6-7 years, children do not have a mechanism for distinguishing between ordinary and virtual reality; the child continues the virtual fight in reality, puts himself above his parents, and cannot adapt to his real “I”.

Besides, up to 7 years of age, children's consciousness does not have a protective barrier against virtual aggression. Only after 12 years of age do children have the opportunity to at least partially learn to separate virtual and real realities.

V) infection of consciousness with “information infection”, that is, aggressive naturalistic images leading to bodily “poisoning”. Virtually killing and suppressing,the child gets pleasure from hitting, insulting, killing, his own anger and impunity. The usual human scale of values ​​is turned upside down, and the child’s perception of the world around him is distorted.

G) mental retardationdue to long-term perception of rigid, inflexible, predetermined image shapes (the same as when using robotic toys).

d) difficulty in the child’s self-perception:changes in consciousness, will, personality, emotions, body movements (motor awkwardness, unnatural body movements). The child develops inattention, restlessness, and “having his head in the clouds”; academic failure grows like a snowball. This is often accompanied by increased fatigue, irritability, and impaired memory and thinking.

e) the child’s inclusion of someone else’s image in his own image, identifying oneself with him.

Virtual images attract the child’s attention and create psychological dependence due to artificial stimulation and overexcitation of the nervous system. This leads to disharmony of brain rhythms and hyperexcitability of children.

Psychiatrists around the world consider computer games to be a drug of a new generation that takes a child away from the world of the present into the world of illusions. Growing up, he will spend his free time on computer games to the detriment of real real life.

And, unfortunately, more and more often we are talking about computer addiction.

ADVICE FOR PARENTS ON INTERNET ADDICTION PREVENTION.

pay attention topsychological characteristics of your child. Socially maladjusted children have an increased likelihood of acquiring Internet addiction. The reason is that the Internet allows you to remain anonymous, not be afraid of condemnation (if you did something wrong, you can always change your name and start all over again), and provides a much wider choice of communication opportunities than the real world. On the Internet, it is much easier for a child to build his own virtual world, in which his stay will be comfortable. Therefore, if a child does not succeed in something in the real world, he will strive to stay where he is comfortable. On the other hand, the Internet can help a shy child become more sociable, find a communication environment that more fully matches his developmental level, and as a result increase his self-esteem. If your child is introverted, shy or depressed in life, you will need to carefully monitor his or her relationship with the Internet to prevent it from turning from a means of revealing the child's personality into a poorly controlled passion.

Watch for symptoms of Internet addiction. It manifests itself in the fact that children prefer life on the Internet to such an extent that they actually begin to abandon their real life, spending most of their time in virtual reality. An Internet-addicted child is most often quiet and withdrawn, he can’t wait to connect to the Internet, it is difficult for him to get off it, he becomes depressed or irritable if he is separated from the Internet for several days.Internet independenta child can easily switch to another channel of communication, leave the Internet when the need arises, he always clearly distinguishes where he is currently communicating - on the Internet or not. Ask yourself: Is spending time online affecting your child's school performance, health, and relationships with family and friends? Find out how much time your child spends on the Internet.

Seek help from specialists.If your child is showing serious signs of Internet addiction, consult with a teacher or psychologist. Compulsive Internet use may be a symptom of other problems, such as depression, irritation, or low self-esteem. And when these problems are solved, Internet addiction may go away on its own.

Don't ban the Internet.For most children it is an important part of their social life. Instead, set“Intra-family rules for using the Internet”. They can include the following restrictions: the amount of time the child spends on the Internet every day; ban on the Internet before doing homework; restrictions on visiting chat rooms or viewing “adult” materials.

Maintain your balance. Let your child play with other children more often. Motivate him for such communication. Help your child engage in offline communication. If your child is shy and feels awkward when interacting with peers, why not consider special training? Encourage your child to participate in activities that bring together children with the same interests, for example, shipbuilding, radio engineering or literature clubs.

Supervise your children.There are programs that limit Internet use and control which sites are visited. However, a smart child, if he tries, can turn off this service too. Therefore, your ultimate goal is to develop self-control, discipline and responsibility in children.

Suggest alternatives. If you think your kids are only interested in online entertainment, try offering them an offline version of one of their favorite games. For example, if your child enjoys role-playing games about fantasy , invite him to read books on the same topic and watch films.

The Internet can be a great place both for learning and for relaxing and communicating with friends.

But, like the rest of the real world, the Internet can also be dangerous. Before allowing children to access the Internet on their own, there are a few things they should understand.

Tell your children about the dangers, existing on the Internet, and teach you how to get out of unpleasant situations correctly. At the end of the conversation, set some limits on Internet use and discuss them with your children. Together you can create comfort and safety for the guys on the Internet.

If you're not sure where to start, here are some thoughts on how to make your kids' internet experience completely safe..

Set internet rules for your kids and be firm about it.

Teach children to take the following precautions to maintain confidentiality of personal information:

– When introducing yourself, you should only use your first name or nickname.

– You should never give out your phone number or home or school address.

– Never send your photos.

– Never allow children to meet people they know online without adult supervision.

Explain to children that the difference between right and wrong is the same online as it is in real life.

Teach children to trust their intuition. If something online bothers them, they should let you know.

If children chat, use instant messaging, play games, or do anything else that requires a login name, help your child choose one and make sure it does not contain any personal information.

Teach your children to respect others online. Make sure they know that good behavior applies everywhere - even in the virtual world.

Insist that children respect the property of others online. Explain that illegally copying someone else's work—music, computer games, or other software—is theft.

Tell your children that they should not meet online friends. Explain that these people may not be who they say they are.

Tell your children that not everything they read or see on the Internet is true. Train them to ask you if they are unsure.

Monitor your children's online activities using modern programs. They will help filter out harmful content, youunderstand what sites the child visits and what he does on them.

Encourage children to share their experiences online with you. Visit the Internet with your children.

Regularly visit your child's online diary, if he has one, to check.

Be attentive to your children!

Try not to lose emotional contact with them. Children should feel and realize that they are loved and accepted in the family, despite the mistakes that we all (and especially children) willy-nilly make in life. Feeling the love and support of loved ones, the child will more easily learn all the above rules and recommendations related to a person’s safe stay in the virtual space.

The need for information is one of the basic human needs today. It is as important as warmth, food, sleep. Since ancient times, man has been searching for, generalizing and transmitting information about the things around him. Every activity is closely related to the exchange of information. During it, behavioral patterns, social norms, the basics of science, law, and art are learned.

When adults explain something to a child, they contribute to the formation of a special information field around him. Meanwhile, living conditions are constantly changing, the content and volume of data people receive is changing. This, in turn, raises the need to ensure the information security of the population in general and minors in particular. In our article we will try to understand what risks exist for children and how they can be eliminated.

Relevance of the issue

It is no secret that the current stage of human development is called the age of information technology. Today, people receive different information from a variety of sources. It is not always possible to filter information and select the data you really need. It is especially difficult for children.

To understand the scale of the problem, let's compare information acquisition to food consumption. This comparison is quite reasonable. After all, the need for information is as important today as the need for food. There are foods that should not be consumed or that are not suitable for the body. The same can be said about information. Not all information needs to be perceived by a child. Any information will have an impact on him: weak, strong, harmful, useful. Accordingly, it is necessary to be selective when using certain information. But while adults generally manage to cope with this task, children fail. Therefore, ensuring the information security of children is the responsibility of adults. Parents and teachers play a special role in this.

Global changes in the information space are determined by technological progress. The development of technology not only contributes to the emergence of new opportunities, but also carries various types of risks. Until relatively recently, children’s information security was not talked about so often. The fact is that previously the flow of information reaching the child was strictly controlled by adults. My parents did not allow me to talk to strangers or make friends with “bad peers.”

With the advent of home computers and unlimited Internet, the situation has changed dramatically. Children have free access to social networks, chats, forums, websites, games and other resources of varying quality. As a result, they were bombarded with simply a huge amount of information, which not everyone knows how to filter. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the child is often left alone with the Internet, and many parents do not know how to use a PC well enough.

The dangers of the Internet

Surveys show that the World Wide Web is the second most important source of information for most high school students. The school takes third place, while parents are in first place by a small margin. The Internet currently plays a significant role in raising children. The formation of a picture of the world, a model of behavior, and a way of thinking is carried out under the influence of information from the Internet.

The Internet is rightly called the virtual world. Of course, it is quite closely connected with reality. You can earn money on the Internet, order groceries, clothes, discuss news, etc. On the Internet, just like in life, there are “bad” companies, forums, and chat rooms. Banned films, clips, etc. are often shown here.

Any normal parent cares about who his child communicates with, what sources of information he uses, what books he reads, watches movies, what music he listens to. As for the Internet, very often adults forget about the importance of information security. Children are at home, not on the street - this reassures parents. Meanwhile, the minor is left alone with the virtual world - with strangers who can influence his behavior.

It must also be said that the authority of people on the Internet is significantly higher than the authority of teachers. This is a very alarming fact. After all, school used to play, if not a key, then a significant role in the education of the younger generation. Currently, the influence of teachers is significantly lower. If this trend continues further, then the formation of personality will take place not in the real world, but in the virtual one. At the same time, the authority of the parents will be jeopardized.

Children's information security concept

The protection of the younger generation must, of course, be carried out comprehensively. First of all, information security measures for children should be carried out by parents. In this case, it is necessary to take such measures so that the child does not feel disadvantaged. It is important not to lose the trust of children.

Information security is a set of measures aimed at protecting minors from the negative influence of information. In this case, we are talking not only about the Internet, but also about other sources - TV, radio, books, etc.

Teachers play a critical role in maintaining children’s information security. Together with parents, they must develop measures aimed at protecting the younger generation. Working together is important, otherwise all the efforts of parents may be in vain.

The participation of the authorities is of considerable importance. At the state level today, programs are being developed to ensure the information security of children, laws are being adopted, and responsibility for their violation is being established. Each educational institution must have local acts that reflect and specify federal provisions, adapting them to specific conditions.

Parental control

How can you maintain children's information security? This question worries many adults. Parental control is considered one of the effective methods of protection today. This option is present in the functionality of most antivirus programs. In addition, parental controls can be set using special programs.

This option allows you to configure the PC so that a specific user, i.e. a child in this case, does not have access to any Internet resources, cannot run applications (for example, games) or can only use the computer for a certain time.

Advantages and disadvantages of parental controls

This solution certainly has a lot of advantages. Firstly, the information security of children with the parental control option installed is guaranteed. Adults don’t have to worry about their child opening unwanted sites, spending the whole day playing games, etc. It should be noted that the configuration tools are flexible. In order not to infringe on your child at all, you can set up access to games for a certain period of time, create a list of allowed resources, etc.

However, this decision also has negative sides. If a child is prohibited from opening certain resources at home, he may well do so at a friend's house. In addition, parental controls can be bypassed. If the child copes with this, then perhaps it is worth noting his abilities and guiding them in the right direction? For example, he may be interested in programming, computer network research, etc.

Blocking sites

Parental control is, of course, a good option in an antivirus program - the information security of children will be ensured at the required level (in any case, when the child has computer settings set to “you”). Meanwhile, sooner or later a minor will be able to access once prohibited sites. He may not be ready for the information contained in them.

It is up to each parent to decide whether to block or not. Undoubtedly, there is content to which access should be expressly prohibited. These are pornographic sites, advertisements leading to them, dating chats, etc. Blocking ads is useful not only for children, but also for adults. After all, working on a computer is much more pleasant without annoying banners.

Experts' opinions

Many experts believe that parental control is the most important tool for ensuring and maintaining the information security of children on the Internet. However, experts make an important caveat. This instrument is suitable for young children. Information security on the Internet for older children can be ensured in other ways. More about them below.

PC usage control

It is not necessary to set a password on your computer. Often it is enough to place the PC so that it is in full view of adults. In this case, it is easy to control the process of using the computer. In this case, the parents’ actions will be more correct and tactful. Adults will be able to, unnoticed by the child, observe his actions and coordinate them.

Experts do not recommend installing a computer in a child’s room or buying him modern gadgets, including tablets and smartphones. Statistics show that currently almost half of children of primary school age use fashionable phones and have access to the Internet. At the same time, it is completely unclear why they need such gadgets. After all, children have uncontrolled access to the Internet and can become victims of robbers. If you need to communicate with your child, just buy him a regular phone. If parents decide to purchase a fashionable smartphone, it is advisable to install parental controls on it.

Channeling your child's energy in the right direction

Parents today have a lot of responsibility. Adults have to instill culture in children and raise its level. This is a very difficult task. The fact is that today there is continuous propaganda of the cult of money, consumption, lack of culture, and “coolness.” It is difficult to eliminate its negative influences. Parents need to be interested in the child’s life, talk with him, discuss the events happening in his life.

For example, if he likes to watch movies on the Internet, you can talk about it, and at the same time talk about the history of cinema or interesting facts. It is important to show him really high-quality and good films, filled with meaning.

If he is interested in gadgets, it is worth purchasing a useful item. For example, an e-book. Perhaps it will help instill a love of reading.

If a child is interested in the structure of websites and the contents of a computer, it is likely that he will grow up to be a good programmer. Perhaps it is worth sending him to a circle of young programmers.

We need to help the child discover his talents. No one will do this except parents.

Formation of a unified information field

The child and his parents must be in a single information space. This does not mean that adults should indulge children in everything. On the contrary, you need to constantly interact with the child, negotiate with him, and change his environment for the better. Of course, you need to try to spend as much time with him as possible.

Important point

It must be said that parents themselves often erect a wall in front of their children. Sometimes this is due to a reluctance to understand the child, indifference to him, to his interests, feelings, experiences. It is very difficult to overcome the wall. It is important to create conditions in the family in which the child can calmly share his experiences. Adults, in turn, need to be sensitive to them.

Conclusion

Currently, parents face a difficult task. They themselves need to create a favorable information climate for their children. We must remember that a child will not disappear on the Internet if he is busy with things that are interesting to him.

Of course, during his studies he will have to use the Internet. It might be worth putting together a handout on information security. For children, parental involvement in their lives is very important. It is necessary to explain to them why it is undesirable to use certain resources. It is important to make it clear to children that adults are interested in their normal development.