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How can you make your children aware of how to protect their own data?

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Children and adolescents are on the Internet even at an early age. They play, surf or watch videos first on their parents’ devices, but also quickly on their own. About 50 percent of eight-year-olds are already online and from 12 years, it is 100 percent. Your children should deal responsibly with the possibilities on the Internet. How can you make your children aware of the importance of protecting their own data?

Age-appropriate sensitisation

A focus group test has shown that when addressing children and adolescents on the subject of data protection, a distinction should be made by age groups.

At primary school age, your children have a high sense of justice and a desire for more independence. Discuss the topic of data protection under the fairness aspect. Emphasise that all persons — including your children — have a right to the protection of their data. Explain to your children how they can protect their data and others’ data (e.g. by using encrypted messengers and by disclosing only a few data).

10 to 12-year-old children already safely surf the Internet. Your children then have an idea of what privacy means. However, they consider this topic complicated and annoying and have little desire to deal with it. Just because some negative experiences have already been made, it is your challenge to create openness and sensitivity concerning this topic. For example, use reports in the form of videos from children of the same age in order to provide a good approach to the topic of existing risks.

Older children already have background information and knowledge about data protection, which however has absolutely no significance in everyday life. They already know that they regularly share data and that this can also be problematic. They do not know why exactly this is problematic, nor what is hidden behind cookies when clicking on “yes”.

Information pages for you on the Internet

On the Internet, you will find information pages dealing with the topic of children and data protection. The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) participates in the youth portal of the independent data protection authorities of the federal government and of state governments, as well as in the portal of the canton of Zurich “youngdata”. In addition, there are the two own publications Pixi book “That’s Private!” and Pixi Knowledge “What is Data Protection?” In the Pixi book, in everyday situations, the meaning of privacy is explained in a very funny manner. The BfDI recommends the story for children of kindergarten age as well as for primary school children up to the 2nd grade. In Pixi knowledge, for example, by using everyday examples, the topics “Social Networks” or “Who protects my data?” explain data protection problems and solutions to children. The BfDI recommends these topics for pupils from the 3rd  to the 7th grade.

Further information on Internet offers can be found below. In the end, however, as so often in life, you, as parents, need to be sensitive to your data from the start in order to raise your children’s awareness for the risks on the web.

So be sensitive to the protection of your data, as well as to your children’s data.