Parents and schools need to be up to date on technology

Child protection expert Teresa Hughes outlines internet dangers for pupils at Jumeirah English Speaking School. Pawan Singh / The National

DUBAI // Despite the relative safety and comfort of life in the UAE, schools and parents need to be more savvy when it comes to the latest technology and apps if they are to protect children from the many dangers lurking online, experts say.

Teresa Hughes, director of the Centre for Child Protection, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research at the University of Kent, UK, on Tuesday warned teachers, parents and pupils against complacency. Ms Hughes emphasised the need to keep up to date with tech trends at a series of workshops in primary and secondary schools.

Covering issues such as online privacy and what happened to photos posted on Snapchat, Ms Hughes, a former detective with Surrey Police in the UK, said she aimed to empower children to “protect themselves”.

She said the issue went beyond cyberbullying and touched on everything from grooming to sexual assault.

“Parents can worry too much about the latest app that comes out,” Ms Hughes said. “You have to look at what the risk is and then have a look at it yourself, which is another thing they don’t do enough of.

“Go on there with them, go and use it, see it for yourself.”

Of the 250 pupils at Jumeirah English Speaking School who attended Tuesday’s session, almost all used Instagram and two thirds used Snapchat.

“Parents need to be involved and to understand the issues and dangers, which they do when it comes to things like crossing the street, but not always when it comes to the internet,” said school director Mark Steed. “Because children are in their own home, parents think they’re safe, but it’s an illusion.”

Ms Hughes said low crime rates in the Emirates meant residents could easily be lulled into a false sense of security, but she aid that problems online had “no boundaries”.

Tona Cavanagh, a teacher at the school and a parent of two children, aged three and five, said the workshop was useful.

“You feel very protected in Dubai but it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, you are as vulnerable as everyone else,” she said.

“Having someone from outside the school come to discuss this helps to reinforce the importance of online safety.”

Mother of two Deane Marwa said she learnt a great deal from Ms Hughes. “I didn’t know you could message through games,” said the school’s deputy head. “That through gaming, people had access to my son. It’s really scary.”

Sarah Sneesby, mother of a nine-year-old and a 15-year-old, left the session with a greater knowledge of some of the safety protocols parents could install to make the internet safer.

“I went in thinking I had a reasonably good understanding of at least some of the dangers,” she said.

“I thought I knew what was out there, but I didn’t have a clue.”

She admitted not knowing that even YouTube had parental controls and applauded Ms Hughes for encouraging the children to speak up about things they felt uncomfortable with.

“The more the children know, the less likely they are to fall victim to people and the less likely they are to be exploited.”

Teacher Bianca de Vos joined the school from Australia, where her workplace was active in online safety. “Parents don’t realise the risks. They didn’t grow up with it. It was really valuable that we all saw the presentation, but also that parents had the chance to see it. It’s important we work together.”