Parents should pay attention to their children’s viewing habits on computers, smartphones and other digital devices, the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday, amid of reports of cartoons and videos containing violent, sexual and otherwise disturbing content.
Officials cited findings from the National Development Council in the Personal and Household Digital Opportunity Survey Report, which was released last year.
Last year, a record 98.2 percent of Taiwanese over the age of 12 had a mobile or wireless Internet connection, while 97.7 percent had a personal smartphone, the report said.
As children have more free time during the summer holidays, parents need to monitor their children’s Internet usage and set down rules, the ministry said in a statement.
“In the past, parents only had to check on how and when their kids used the computer, but we are now using mobile devices … that have changed the way that kids access and use the Internet,” said Hsu Ya-fen (許雅芬), senior administrator at the ministry’s Department of Information and Technology Education.
“Now that everyone carries a mobile phone, with Internet connections available everywhere, it is much more difficult to prevent kids from accessing inappropriate digital content,” she said.
Government agencies and civic organizations have made an effort in this regard, she said.
Citing Article 46 under the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法), Hsu said that “to prevent children and youth from viewing Internet content that will harm their mental development,” the authorities must implement policies and set up complaint mechanisms, and Internet platform providers should enact self-disciplinary regulations and adapt to the necessary measures.
It is still possible for people to produce and broadcast inappropriate content on platforms based in foreign countries, she added.
“In the past few years, there have been cartoons and videos circulating on the Internet that have an innocent cover picture and headline to lure children into watching them,” she said.
One cartoon has a popular cute tiger character spewing blood, and other horrible scenes, while some start as normal cartoons to entice children, but later contain violent, sexual or other disturbing content, Hsu said.
“Therefore parents should monitor their kids during the summertime, to ensure that they are using smartphones and digital technology safely. It is important to get to know and pay attention to how your kids are accessing and using the Internet,” she said.
Most computers and digital devices have built-in parental controls so that parents can limit the time the device is connected to the Internet and ensure that their children are not accessing inappropriate content, Hsu said.
“No matter which operating system or Internet platform a smartphone or computer has, it has a parental control mode, which has settings for different age groups, so this should be turned on, before parents give their kids a smartphone or a tablet computer,” she said.
Parents should also teach their children how to use the Internet and ensure that they agree to follow the rules, she said.
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