The past 18 months created lots of challenges in education due to the COVID pandemic. It remains to be seen whether we can forget remote education for good and get back to a right balance of classroom education and digital devices in the school environment. While remote education undoubtedly improved children’s digital skills, it also increased the time they spend in the online space. This means that children now perform activities previously conducted face to face in the online environment (e.g. having informal conversations, playing games together). These activities are a major security concern for parents.
A recent study published in the UK, a country in a similar situation as Hungary, reveals[1] that parents find it more challenging to control their children’s screen time than before and they are concerned about the online activities of their offspring. More than half of parents are concerned about their children seeing content that will encourage them to hurt themselves (54%), and about the same ratio of parents worry about their children falling victim to cyberbullying. Roughly the same number are concerned by their children spending too much time online (53%) or sharing their personal data with unauthorized people (50%).
Responsible internet use helps prevent threats
Telenor’s digital education program HiperSuli is committed to the online protection of children and aims to promote responsible digital behaviour also among parents. Telenor launched a video series titled TudatosNet last year to provide information and practical advice on subjects such as cyberbullying, compromised social media profiles or fake news. The series available at www.telenor.hu/hipersuli-ajanlat now offers 13 new episodes.
“With the popularity of digital devices and apps rising, unsuspecting children are exposed to more and more online threats. This video series helps young people understand the risks inherent in online presence and the damage they may suffer in a potentially tempting situation. The series is also recommended to parents and teachers wishing to discuss with their children the precautions to take to ensure carefree internet use or the benefits of using the parental control features available in some apps”, said Balázs Koren, head of the Telenor HiperSuli program.
Ideal learning partner for digital presence and extra mobile internet
At the beginning of the new school year, Telenor also wants to help its customers obtain the digital devices essential for studying at home. HiperSuli’s offer includes tablets ideal for digital education and portable Hipernet Home+ tariff. In addition to the data allowance, the tariff plan offers the option to activate 1GB of domestic Hipernet every 31 days for 12 times in total. The extra data allowance can be used in Hungary for 30 days after activation and can be used for any purpose including the watching of TudatosNet videos.
TudatosNet videos and details about the Hipersuli offer: www.telenor.hu/hipersuli-ajanlat
[1] Ofcom conducted its survey in th UK between September 2020 and February 2021. The survey focused on the media use, attitude, and media understanding of children aged 5 to 15 and the media access and media use of children aged 3 to 4.