The Internet today is no longer a parallel world but has become a part of life. Children study online, entertain online, make friends online, and even many children make money from the digital environment.
Therefore, it would be unrealistic to just think about preventing children from accessing the internet. What is needed is how to help them know how to go through that world safely.
Over the years, we have invested a lot in technical solutions. Platforms are required to remove harmful content, network operators strengthen filtering of bad information, and functional agencies handle many cases related to child abuse in cyberspace. These are all necessary things.
But technology always "runs" very fast. Once an application is controlled, another application appears. Once an account is locked, many new accounts are created. Once a malicious content is removed, it can be posted elsewhere in just a few minutes. Therefore, if we only rely on technology "barriers", we will always be in a position to chase after.
Therefore, a noteworthy point in Da Nang's plan is to set a goal to build a "digital citizen" generation. So that children not only know how to use smartphones or master AI but also know how to protect personal data, know how to recognize fake news, know how to refuse online temptations and know how to behave responsibly in the digital space.
Of course, that responsibility cannot be placed on children's shoulders. Among them, the first and most important "firewall" is still parents.
There is an alarming reality today that many parents do not know where their children take extra classes, what they eat every day, while they do not know which channels their children are following on social networks, which groups they are joining or who they are chatting with on the internet.
Many people only give phones to their children to make them "better" and forget that each phone is also a door opening up a whole world, with both good and risky things.
After parents is the school, which cannot only teach knowledge but also need to teach its students digital skills. Technology businesses not only provide services but also have a responsibility to create a safer online environment for users. Management agencies not only handle when an incident has occurred but must proactively prevent it early.
But after all, no software can protect children better than their own understanding and bravery. Only skills, awareness and the companionship of adults are sufficiently solid "shields" to help children enter the digital world safely, confidently and maturely.
