The Role of Parents in Child Online Safety

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the safety of children online. In response, lawmakers in the United States have introduced a wave of legislation aimed at protecting children from online risks.

Some of these laws, such as the California Age Appropriate Design Code Bill, address design and privacy concerns, putting the onus on the platforms to make their products safe for children. Laws in other states, often led by Republicans, put more emphasis on the role of parents.

One example of the latter is Utah's SB0152, known as the Utah Social Media Regulation Act. The law, which passed in March, requires that tech firms verify the age of users, requires companies to get parental consent for a child to have a social media account, and puts other restrictions on accounts held by minors, such as prohibitions on direct messaging, advertising, and the collection of personal data. The law enacts a social media curfew between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., unless that restriction is adjusted by a parent or guardian. And, perhaps most controversially, the law gives parents and guardians the right to access a minor's account, including direct messages.

While these laws are a step in the right direction, they do not address the full range of challenges that parents face in keeping their children safe online. For example, the laws do not provide guidance on how parents should talk to their children about online safety, or how they should monitor their children's online activities.

To help parents address these challenges, researchers at Cornell University and the University of Florida conducted a study to examine the different ways that parents mediate their children's use of social media. The study surveyed a nationally representative panel of parents of children between the ages of 10 and 17.

The study found that parents use a variety of strategies to mediate their children's use of social media, including:

Active mediation: Discussing social media with children and guiding them on the appropriate use of social media.

Restrictive mediation: Setting rules on the time children spend on social media and related activities.

Authoritarian surveillance: Monitoring and checking children's social media activities by requesting their passwords and logging on to their accounts.

Nonintrusive inspection: Surveilling children's social media activities by checking their public posts, comments, and statuses on social media profiles.

The study also found that the way parents mediate their children's use of social media is influenced by a number of factors, including:

The parents' economic capital (such as income, employment status, access to the internet, and number of devices in the home).

The parents' cultural capital (such as the parents' level of educational attainment and digital skills).

The parents' social capital (such as marital status, number of children in the household, and measures of parental involvement and parenting style).

The parents' perception of the risks and benefits of social media.

The study's findings suggest that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to parental mediation of social media. Instead, parents should tailor their approach to the specific needs of their child and family.

The study also provides some insights into how lawmakers can better support parents in keeping their children safe online. For example, the study suggests that laws should provide guidance on how parents should talk to their children about online safety, and how they should monitor their children's online activities. Additionally, laws should be sensitive to the different needs of families from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

By working together, parents, lawmakers, and researchers can help to create a safer online environment for children.

Here are some additional tips for parents on how to keep their children safe online:

Talk to your children about online safety. Explain the risks of social media and other online platforms, and teach them how to stay safe.

Set rules for your children's use of social media. These rules should include limits on the amount of time they spend online, the types of content they can view, and who they can interact with.

Monitor your children's online activities. This does not mean you have to read every message they send or post, but you should be aware of what they are doing online.

Use parental controls. Parental controls can help you to block inappropriate content and limit your children's online activity.

Be a role model. Children learn by watching the adults in their lives. If you want your children to be safe online, you need to be safe online yourself.

By following these tips, you can help to keep your children safe online.