Weekend Talk
Celebrating The International Day of the African Child
By Lorraine Mavunga
The 1976 Soweto uprising gave birth to the International Day of the African Child which has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991.
This was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity to honour those who participated in the uprising.
This year, 2023 the theme of the commemorations is, The Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment. This has come in handy as parents and guardians are struggling with raising children in the digital era.
As this year’s theme states, children have rights in the digital environment. These include right to freedom of expression, privacy and security.
This then becomes contradictory as right to privacy states that individuals have a right to exist freely on the internet, in that they can choose what type of information they are exposed to.
As such children have a right to enjoy digital privacy Whereas security entails preventing and mitigating the risks that are inherently involved with using digital technologies. So without parental guidance our children are not cyber safe as they over share personal information and have access to some information which can put them at a risk.
The challenge we have today is children are being taught rights without responsibilities. Rights are said to be freedoms we have that are protected by our laws, while responsibilities are duties or things that we should do, such as ethics, empathy and other responsibilities to ensure a safe and responsible digital environment for all.
Therefore, parents need to teach their children that, to be good citizens, or members of a community, they need to understand their rights and responsibilities.
We can never argue that technology is of great importance in the lives of both the young and the old as it has made the world into a global village, people throughout the world are interconnected.
The internet exposes children to a wealth of opportunities, but also has risks that may have a detrimental impact on their human rights. Some of these risks include cyberbullying, online grooming, cybercrime and child sexual abuse material.
It is also important to note that technology can negatively affect children's developing social and emotional skills, social isolation, unrealistic views of other people's lives, peer pressure., and overall ability to focus.
This can lead to more children being socially problematic, withdrawn, shy, or intimidated by social situations.
Thus, parents need to know that generally, technology use can cause social and behavioural problems in children as it minimizes the amount of time kids spend interacting with others.
So we need to make sure we monitor our children’s internet use and be aware of the types of websites they're visiting and the games they're playing online.
In as much as they claim the right to privacy, it is our responsibility to protect them from harmful, risky and unhealthy internet content.
We need model good behaviour on our own social media accounts, thus setting a good example.
There is need to set screen time limits and set rules on when screens are appropriate to use.
We also have to teach our children the importance of “disconnecting” from devices for technology-free time. Social media can be exciting, but it should be considered entertainment.
Let’s remind our children to:
Remember: once posted, always posted.
Build a positive online reputation.
Keep personal info personal.
Never share passwords (other than with parents).
Never agree to get together in person with anyone met online without parent approval and/or supervision.
Happy International Day of the African Child
International Day of the African Child is commemorated every year on 17 June as alluded by the writer, Lorraine Mavunga. She is a Family Therapist and Salvationist at Warren Park Citadel in Harare West Division. She writes regularly on her own personal capacity. - Salvationist online
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