We live in an era where technology is taking up more and more space. Even though it’s only been a few years, a few decades or even technology has taken its place today, it’s still important to know how to equip yourself to protect your child when he plays online.
There are many ways to protect your child. This can be done through parental control, verbal etiquette and in writing. There are various ways to protect your child and even organizations, such as the Virtual Guardian Foundation,have been set up to counter this scourge. Here’s a guide to helping your child fight cyberbullying.
1. Parental control
Parental control is one of the first things to do when you receive a console that will be used for young people who have not yet reached adulthood. It is recommended that parental controls be put in place until you are about fourteen years old. It all depends on how you feel it is necessary for your child.
Parental control over the majority of consoles only serves several purposes. It can limit the amount of time your child spends in front of a screen, limit online spending, and limit or prevent your child’s contact with people online. If you suspect your child is experiencing cyberbullying, this is a very good tool that will prevent your child from coming into contact with dishonest people. It also allows the restriction of malicious sites that your child can use to navigate the web interface. And finally, it limits access to certain games that can be judged more violent by the ESRB rating. It is therefore a very effective tool offered on various consoles.
Here’s how to do it for the various consoles:
Nintendo Switch:
Here’s how to access parental controls on the Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite:
What’s nice about this console is that the parental control account also has an app that you can download to your cell phone.
PlayStation 4:
Here’s how to access parental controls on PlayStation 4:
PlayStation 5:
Here’s how to access parental controls on PlayStation 5:
Xbox One:
Here’s how to access parental controls on Xbox One:
Xbox Series:
Here’s how to access parental controls on the Xbox Series:
What’s nice about this console is that the parental control account also has an app that you can download to your cell phone.
2. Verbal and text label
It has been proven that video games do not breed violence and this information is becoming more and more publicized. We now know that video games, when not used excessively, are actually very beneficial. However, there is one negative aspect of the community that remains that could affect or harm your youth, and that is verbal or textual abuse. This creates and generates a toxic community.
We often forget that verbal and textual etiquette is an important part of our lives. We live in an era where everything happens very quickly and social networks are taking up more and more space in our lives. But ways should remain and young people are not always aware of the meaning of certain words.
When your youngster is online, he can enter into a spirit of competition and insult his opponents. However, today, some people may take this seriously. Since your young person might say or send defamatory comments, he or she could go through the same thing. So keep some things in mind when your young person is experiencing cyberbullying.
While there is no concrete law yet for this aspect of bullying, there are online resources to defer the bully. There is also the function of blocking players in some settings. These features can be found in user settings. If your child is being harassed, it is now possible to file a complaint with the police. We take more and more seriously the things that happen online and that’s good. This creates a healthier environment and starts in each of us with respect for others.
3. Resources
If you don’t yet know where to turn to start guiding your child, there are some communities that are fighting to end virtual violence and the Virtual Guardians Foundation has set itself this goal. It promotes quality of life online, support and help when online violence occurs. It’s an important resource when it comes to helping your child.
There are also other online resources to help people in distress. You can dial 811 and use the social information function if your child is suffering from psychological distress due to cyberbullying.
All in all, for the past few years we have been taking online bullying seriously and there are more and more people trying to promote a healthier virtual environment that will only benefit your child. After all, you can find a game infuriating, but it doesn’t give anyone the right to insult, belittle or harass someone online, for whatever reason.
