supplied
Leanne Lee knows first-hand how important it is to protect yourself online.
Since starting her channel in 2021, Leanne’s 1.25 million YouTube subscribers have followed along through the highs and lows of parenting two kids while working from home. As a Chinese-Canadian who often speaks about being part of the Asian community, she began to notice over time that there were some distasteful comments on her videos. Thankfully, Leanne was able to easily customize her YouTube settings to create a more welcoming space for her community and audience.
“I feel good knowing the safety features are there. It makes me feel like I’m protecting my own mental health,” Leanne says. “And not just mine, but people who follow me. I wouldn’t want their opinions swayed or their mental health affected by just reading some comment.”
Her approach to safety online is something she also thinks about for her family. As mother of a five- and nine-year-old, Leanne wants to ensure her kids are always protected online.
Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts, a Canadian digital media literacy charity, says Leanne’s unease is felt by most parents. “They are increasingly concerned about how much time their kids are spending online and the content they’re exposed to,” he says. But it can be challenging for families to know how to create a safe online experience.
Four ways to empower your kids to be smart digital users
Issues around online safety can be daunting for parents. Research done by MediaSmarts shows they can be overwhelmed by attempts to mitigate the reported risks of spending time online. Johnson recommends the following approaches for families to help children have a positive online experience:
1. Talk to your kids about online safety early and often
Johnson says parents should have conversations with their kids as soon as they’re experiencing media of any kind. “You can start when they’re asking you questions in the grocery store and notice a cartoon character is on a cereal box,” he says. “As they explore new online platforms and new media, our conversations have to keep pace with that — that’s why it’s so important for this to be an ongoing conversation.”
In an effort to help parents safeguard their families online, Google and YouTube have developed safety features with families in mind, taking the guesswork out of the process. Through these built-in features, parents can mitigate risks for their children, while fostering healthy digital habits and literacy. For example, Family Link¹ helps parents or guardians manage how their child experiences the online world. Parents can set screen time limits, manage and secure their child’s account and data settings, and keep an eye on their digital habits.
2. Set some ground rules
Let your kids know they can come to you if they ever see something online that makes them feel uncomfortable. Discuss the problem with them, ask about their feelings and opinions, and, most importantly, help them come up with a solution. “You’re setting a pattern that says no matter what happens to them, they can come and talk to you and you’re going to help them solve a problem,” Johnson explains.
It’s also important to make sure kids use apps online that are made for their age group. Kids under 13 can benefit from age-appropriate apps like YouTube Kids², designed for parents to approve what they watch, select content based on their age, set screen time limits, or block videos or entire channels. As kids get older and outgrow YouTube Kids, Supervised Experience on YouTube is available. The supervised account allows you to select a content setting that limits videos and music that youth under 18 can play. You can also change the features they can use, change the default account settings, and restrict the types of ads they see.
Teens shouldn’t create their own accounts until they’re 13 and ensure that they provide their correct age when they do, so that they’ll benefit from protections for users 13-17. For instance, not being served personalized ads or sensitive content.
According to Johnson, Google and YouTube’s efforts to create age-appropriate experiences is incredibly important. “It’s heartening to see platforms do things like changing the default settings for users in that 13- to 17-year-old group.”
3. Go through the parent or safety centre together
Most apps have these centres, with lots of good, specific information and resources. “It’s a great way to learn together,” Johnson says. “Go through and find answers to questions like ‘How can I limit who can contact me?’ Or ‘What do I do if something I post gets shared and I don’t want it to be shared?’”
Features like SafeSearch are also helpfully designed to automatically filter out explicit content in Google Search results (think graphic violence or sexual activity), by either blurring explicit images or blocking any explicit content that’s been detected. SafeSearch is set to filter by default for anyone signed in under the age of 18, but can also be a feature that parents use all the time on their computers.
4. Model good digital behaviour
As parents, it is important to try to model healthy digital behaviour and habits. Johnson suggests showing that digital devices are tools, used for a particular purpose at a particular time. “Whenever we need to do something on our phone or online, narrate why you’re doing it, and then put it away when you’re done. Model the idea that these aren’t things we have on all the time and we don’t turn to them when we’re bored.”
Lee feels better knowing her kids — especially her eldest, who regularly explores YouTube Kids - have added levels of protection while using the app. She found that safety features on YouTube Kids and Google were easy to implement, and she loved that she could set them up from the get-go.
“It gives me a sense of relief to have that added level of security,” Lee says. “I know my daughter is sensible, but boundaries can really be pushed on the Internet. With these types of securities on top of her sensibilities, I know she’s protected that much more.”
¹Family Link is not available in Quebec.
²YouTube Kids is not available in Quebec.
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with YouTube Canada. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.