The Queensland Police Service (QPS) used Safer Internet Day last week (8 February) to promote its eSafety message to the State’s children.
Detective Inspector, Glen Donaldson from Argos, a specialist unit within the QPS that investigates online child exploitation, said with the school year under way, there was no better time to talk to children about online safety.
“Parents need to realise some people aren’t playing fair online, contacting children through social media and games, pretending to be someone else, even another young person, to groom them,” Detective Inspector Donaldson said.
“One in four young people have been contacted online by someone they don’t know,” he said.
Detective Inspector Donaldson said it was important for kids to know the warning signs and know they could always talk to a parent or trusted adult for support and to report online behaviour that made them feel uncomfortable.
“It’s a good time to also talk about keeping passwords and logins private, being respectful to others online, thinking about how words and actions can affect others and how you can take a stand against cyber-bullying,” he said.
“It’s a good idea to regularly check security and privacy settings.
“eSafety recommends using different, strong passwords for each online account, and signing out when finished.”
He said while location settings were important for map apps and all types of technology, they could also be used to track you — “you can choose when and who to share locations with”.
“Online abuse should always be reported to the relevant platforms and, depending on the level of harm, you can also report to eSafety or the police,” Detective Inspector Donaldson said.
