Prevalence of inappropriate online content adds to parents’ woes amid times of distance education

AMMAN — More children are relying on the Internet as a resource of knowledge and learning at a time when parents believe that most of the content available on the virtual world is not in reality beneficial to the mental and social development of their children.

Sara Sawaf, a founder of a company providing animation content for children, argued that the majority of the content that children are exposed to contains violence or contexts that do not reinforce “good values”.

“There are YouTubers who use some violent jokes and inappropriate language to entertain viewers. When children are exposed to this content, they may think that violence and profanity are funny and acceptable. This in turn gets reflected in how they conduct themselves with others,” said Shaza Al Hakim, a mother of four children aged one, seven, eight and 11.

Many cartoons disguise content that is inappropriate for children, according to Rajaa Shakhtour, a mother of two children aged 7 and 10.

“I have been trying to block such content but to no avail; it keeps showing. Particularly worrying are the sexual implications found in such shows despite the fact that they are intended for children,” said Hakim.

According to Hakim, many children think that life is about shopping, food-tasting and other extravagances. This is the direct result of constant coverage of celebrities, fashionistas and others who lead lifestyles that are unrealistic or not applicable for most, Hakim added.

However, she reminds of the myriad of positive and educational opportunities found online. In this context, parents bear a great responsibility to steer their children in the right direction.

According to parents, measures that can be taken in this regard include the following: Monitoring of children during screen time, filtering of Internet content, teaching children on the correct use of the Internet, raising awareness of the harmful effects of negative content, and directing children to rich and safe content.

Despite the negative sides, Sawaf believes that there is also a lot of positive and educational online content. Parents are strongly encouraged to do their research, seek it out, and expose their children to it.