Parents & Educators Must Understand Online Behaviour to Understand Risk and Prevent Escalation Towards Online Danger
(MUST DEFINE EXPLOITATION & ONLINE BEHAVIOUR ACCURATELY TO EDUCATE EFFECTIVELY)
Ofsted has published the long awaited changes to the way it inspects all early years, education and skills settings, including schools from September 2015. This includes significant changes to how they consider and inspect Online Safety. Here I have highlighted the changes and explain what the implications are. The first point, is the term e-Safety has been replaced with ‘Online Safety’. This fundamental change reflects a widening range of issues associated with technology and a user’s access to content, contact with others and behavioural issues. The term Cyber bullying has also been replaced with ‘Online Bullying’.
It is within the Ofsteds definition of safeguarding that 'online behaviour' is used in association with technology and how it can 'impact on the safety and wellbeing of a child'. Furthermore the changes highlight how adults should 'understand the risks posed by adults or learners who use technology, including the internet, to bully, groom, radicalise or abuse children or learners'. In addition to this, Ofsted state that 'policies should be in place with regard to the safe use of mobile phones and cameras'.
What do the Legislative Changes Mean?
I do welcome all the changes, as for a long time I have written and been very passionate in the need for change, in particular the more accurate use of the expression Online Safety. I felt that ‘E-Safety’ never really had any particular explanation, with ‘E’ adding confusion by not having any particular meaning. As technology advanced and evolved, so has the need for true definitions, correct understanding and awareness, allowing for effective safeguarding by professionals, parents and carers.
Two further legislative changes I would highlight are:
- The description of three areas of exploitation – bullying, grooming and radicalisation, unfortunately, whilst this is correct it is a long way from a complete and accurate definition of online exploitation, plus
- The importance of understanding the use of Social Media in relation to children and young people’s Online Behaviour.
Both these changes are vital, however they both need expansion, correct definition and understanding to allow correct and effective education.
Online Exploitation
Radicalisation and extremism have quite correctly become a big talking point especially with clerics like Abu Hanza preaching Islamic extremism, and/or families leaving the UK for a ‘better’ life in Syria. There is every possibility that individuals and families have been radicalised online, and the introduction of the 'Channel course' in 2007, and the current 'Prevent Strategy', offering departmental advice for schools and childcare providers on preventing children and young people from being drawn into terrorism, is so necessary and important.
However we must be clear here, Online Radicalisation is just another form of Online Exploitation, and there is absolutely no surprise that 'Social Media has been and is being used by ISIS and ISIL';
'Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Vine, We Chat, Kik, and YouTube, are all used by ISIL supporters, members and fighters, to post propaganda, photos, videos and sensitive information. Ask.FM Diaspora, and other closed peer-2-peer networks (eg Ares & The Onion Router) are used by ISIL supporters when asking questions of British Jihadis & female supporters about living standards, travel arrangements, ideology , recruitment and fighting'.
Whilst Online Radicalisation has highlighted the whole issue of online exploitation, and influenced greatly legislative changes (which is very positive), Online Exploitation is not confined to radicalisation, bullying, and grooming. Frustratingly online exploitation has been occurring since online interaction began and we could have done with more robust definitions and understanding when online interaction began.
Online Exploitation can be; sexual, emotional, physical, radical, reputational and can occur as a result of online grooming through online interaction within all aspects of Social Media. Interestingly most online exploitation will have a form of grooming, where grooming can be defined as ' persuading or enticing others or an individual to act in a way they were not intending to'. The online bully, the sexual predator or the extreme ideologist will all use a form of online grooming to entrap their online victim.
Understanding Online Exploitation (Risk - Danger - Harm)
Social media, social networking sites and gaming sites all have the propensity to be used by online sexual sociopathic and ideologist predators, so advice to parents, carers, educators and professionals who work with children is a priority, irrespective of the adults IT knowledge. Online safety is about understanding online behaviour, and knowing the differences between ‘Risk – Danger – Harm’. Everything we do online can have a degree of risk, however small, but not all Risk leads to Danger. This understanding will allow for the prevention of any escalation towards Danger and Harm through the correct identification and understanding of Risk. Furthermore, Exploitation or Harm may have resulted from the failure to identify or prevent exposure to online dangers as a result of failing to correctly understand online risks
Remember: Online Risks are not the same as Online Dangers which are not the same as Online Exploitation.
Definitions;
Risk - Downloading and use of applications or websites, operating systems (Windows, IOs, Android)
Danger - Illegal or inappropriate online behaviour as a result of Contact - Conduct - Content
Harm - Emotional, sexual, physical online exploitation, Online Radicalisation and Online Reputational Damage.
Risk can occur simply through the purchase and use of devices, connectivity, the subsequent visit to websites, or the downloading of applications, and can be elevated towards Online Danger through the use of different operating systems.
Examples of Risk Elevating to Danger
1. Operating System Android, which is owned by Google, allows for the Android smartphones and tablets to be of particular high risk as a result of Google data retention. Most new users of these devices will follow instructions, and upon request will supply or create a Gmail account for their device. This automatically allows for the device to synchronise the device activity with the GMail account. This activity includes all information stored, contacts and photos taken, etc therefore all 'sexy selfies' taken by younger users will synchronise with the Gmail account. Google can then take this information and store it on the Google server which becomes searchable on either the Google search engine or Google Images. The synchronisation can be switched off but users do have to 'opt out' as you are automatically opted in.
2. Of course Apple iOS users taking selfies on their iPad or iPhone may feel secure as no such synchronisation occurs, even with a registered Gmail account on the device. However should a young user send a 'sexy selfie' to a new 'special friend', even using Snapchat, the 'friend' may screenshot or keep the image, and if they have an Android then the image can be grabbed by Google as a result of the Android synchronisation not switched off. Therefore we can see that Risk has been elevated to Danger through lack of knowledge, Danger has elevated to Harm as a result of inappropriate behaviour (sexy selfie), and possible sexual exploitation or online reputational damage has occurred from the sharing of an image.
3. Location Services (GPS) on all devices allow for social media posts to be found, even with privacy settings set. Free software and websites exist that allow for searches of areas (as small as school boundaries, or as large as a country) that will show all the posts from the 10 most popular social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Flickr and Pinterest, even if the user has made their profile private. Software here allow for the most common location for posting to be shown, in most cases this would be the users home address.
These two examples show how knowledge and understanding of device, connectivity and online behaviour are key to minimising Risk. Simply switching off synchronisation and regulating GPS usage can prevent the possibility of exploitive online behaviour or unnecessary date retention.
Online Safety & social media training and messages must be up to date, current and relevant. Children, young people, parents / carers, and educators all need to understand how connectivity, devices and online behaviour can lead to Risk that can result in Danger and possibly Harm, not all Risk will lead to Harm. Knowledge and wisdom are key, young users have the knowledge and adults the wisdom. (Not sure we should use this statement).
Ongoing research into online behaviour must offer knowledge, advice and awareness that explains how current online behaviour of children and young people can lead them into areas that can expose them to Inappropriate Contact, Conduct or Content.
Jonathan Taylor MSc
Child Safeguarding & Internet Safety Consultant
Email: besafeonline@gmail.com
http://www.besafe-online.co.uk/
http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jonathan-taylor-msc/20/45/a08/
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