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FOR EVERY PARENT, the thought of a young teenager getting their first phone has to be a daunting prospect.
Mobile phones have changed dramatically over the past decade, going from devices used to send text messages and make calls to handheld computers with full access to the internet.
For Jenny* – a south county Dublin mother with four children – when her eldest daughter got her first smartphone at the age of 12, it was a stressful time.
She said that she and her husband were completely unaware of what the phone could do.
“We just couldn’t keep up with what the phone could do, we were so naive at the time,” she told TheJournal.ie.
“We would have been very unaware of what could be done on the phone,” she said.
When her daughter first started to go online, her husband set up a Facebook page to monitor her activity.
“At one point I think my eldest daughter would have had about 1,200 friends on Facebook,” she said.
You wouldn’t have a clue who they were speaking to.
She recalls her daughter being completely obsessed with going online.
“I would turn off the wi-fi and bring the modem to bed with me at night.
But she would get up in the middle of the night, going downstairs and picking up the internet from the neighbour’s house.
Safer internet Day
Today marks Safer Internet Day, which aims to raise awareness around the importance of staying safe online.
According to CyberSafeIreland, the children’s internet safety charity, parents in Ireland are overwhelmed with efforts to keep their children safe while using the internet.
CyberSafeIreland’s advice to parents chimes in with what Jenny said around the difficulties of monitoring her teenagers’ online activity.
The charity has spoken to more than 4,000 children aged between 8 and 13 since it launched just over a year ago.
Its research found that over a quarter of children had been in contact with a stranger either occasionally or every day on social media, messaging or gaming platforms (5% of children on a daily basis).
The charity released an animated video (above) with guidelines for how parents could monitor their children and keep them safe on the internet. These include communication, knowing what apps and games your child is using and putting up appropriate boundaries.
Advice
Speaking at the launch of the Action Plan for Education 2017 yesterday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny also raised the issue of social media and children, telling the kids of Scoil Mhuire Óg in Dublin that “it’s not all about the ‘Likes’”.
Kenny explained that every person has different talents and told the young school children that sometimes social media tells young people they have to be the “thinnest”, the “coolest” or the “most popular”.
Don’t mind that… No one can be all of those things together.
Educating yourself
Jenny’s daughter is now 17. She has another daughter (14), and two young sons (seven and four).
As the years have gone on, access to the internet and the social media sites teenagers visit have changed. Jenny said that Facebook isn’t used as often as it was.
She finds that apps like Snapchat and WhatsApp are the most popular now.
“We’ve learnt a lot more about it now for my 14-year-old daughter,” she said.
“We’re stricter around who she contacts; tell her not to use her real name and make sure her privacy settings would be on.
It’s all about educating yourself and making them learn about the dangers and to be smart about it.
*Jenny did not want her last name used.
The yellow box is there for a reason. Lot of people don’t know how to use it.
@Yorkie1892: for parking, right?
@Yorkie1892: Commercial vehicle drivers should know. That is such an idiotic driving.
@eddie horgan: why should they know. Minimum wage job driving a light commercial possibly an agency driver with no English who doesn’t understand the rules in Ireland because the vehicle owner just wants a bum on the seat. The industry is in turmoil because of constantly chasing low costs at any price & this individual with get blamed lose his job & be replaced by another low cost agency worker. It’s only not funny because someone is going to be killed.
@Yorkie1892: Hijacking to air a pet peeve. What’s with the “Keep Clear” boxes? I don’t notice them the way I noticed yellow boxes. Keep it consistent!
@Allora: I’d accept your point about minimum wage etc, but isn’t that the same as every other country? The barriers are the same all over the world, there’s nothing unique about them. It’s just down to stupidity, nothing more
@Yorkie1892: A high percentage of drivers don’t have the patience to wait at the barriers and don’t have a clue how to drive within a city area.
@Yorkie1892: people know what a yellow box is for, they just care
@Yorkie1892: I would be more concerned with the gate coming down than the yellow box.
@DReynolds: stupidity is a possibility or an unfamiliar environment like driving on the wrong side of the road & different signage & rules. Also maybe poorly educated drivers who accept low pay jobs.
It’s going to be a very black Friday for that driver. #unemployed
@Peter Cavey: why should he get sacked we all make mistakes.
He should be sacked because he’s clearly incompetent at following the basic requirements of the job. We can’t just chalk this down as a ‘we all make mistakes’ and let him do it again.
@: Not at a rail crossing and especially not where the driver is expected to be professional. Compounded by forcing his way through the barrier.
@: I think hitting a bridge or other infrastructure like railway crossing is an offence. No business owner can afford to tolerate breaking a law.
@Conor King: Pretty sure this is the one person that will never do this again…
@Cynical There are consequences for stupidity. That’s just the way it is. He should have his licence taken off him as well as his job.
But cyclists are the most dangerous things on the road
@Craic_a_tower: The truck driver – typical cyclist – is wearing neither helmet nor hi-viz.
@Craic_a_tower: we see what you’re doing and we’re not taking the bait. #tool
@Craic_a_tower: if only these road users were trained and had a licence and insurance…oh wait!
@Conoroconnor: and what about tax….don’t forget the tax :-)
@Craic_a_tower: most dangerous thing to themselves
@Thomas Maher: obviously not given this year 2 motorists who weren’t looking at the road ran over a cyclist each. Completely guilty and at fault and didn’t spend a day in prison. Motorists are found to be at fault. If you want you can post up a case in the last year where a cyclist was found at fault for their death by being knocked down.
@Thomas Maher: that’s provably untrue, do some research before you spout your poisonous and dangerous cliches
@Craic_a_tower: you’re a moron
@Craic_a_tower: It wasn’t a cyclist who damaged the gates at a level crossing
Expect to see Shane Ross giving updates from the plinth shortly
What an @sshat. These drivers should be fined heavily and get penalty points for doing this and driving into bridges. The amount of disruption they cause is huge.
No point to talk who is guilty. Train services shouldn’t be suspended. An emergency signals should be there. EOT
I blame Trump!
Same thing just happened to the level crossing in Killarney .. strange.
Sure he was wearing hivis so he is ok.
@Joe Dobias: if only the barrier was wearing a hi viz vest!!! Bloody barriers, asking for trouble.
People should lose their licenses for their incidents like this
At least the second time this year that that has happened, if I’m right
@Ewan O’Doherty: at the very least, because it has happened twice today alone.
He was parked forward of the barrier, so it stopped coming down, then it and the barrier on the far side started to rise again (I assume so the truck could get off the crossing), he couldn’t see the barrier he was under and just drove on…
This is because there is a right turn into Serpintine Court just after the level crossing and the traffic moves but then gets stopped when someone takes a right turn so you get stuck in the yellow box.
have your say