Malta Independent

A small world

The world is more connected today than it has ever been before. Over the years, the way people could interact online has changed. At first, people would use emails, forums and comment sections beneath articles.

As time passed, the way people used the Internet evolved further, through instant messaging, live video and audio chat programmes, platforms where people could post videos that could potentiall­y be seen by hundreds of thousands or millions of viewers. The world today is smaller than it has ever been, in the sense that you could make contact with someone across the world in the blink of an eye.

But while great leaps in terms of technologi­cal advances have been made, risks have also grown. The Office of the Commission­er for Children recently released a statement, which read that : “Children spend a lot of time online, they use the Internet for school, entertainm­ent, to get informatio­n and to be in contact with families and friends. Even though the Internet offers many benefits, children are exposed to various risks online including excessive use; exposure to harmful content; sexual exploitati­on and abuse; cyberbully­ing; and misuse of their private informatio­n. We must ensure that children encounter positive online experience­s and that they have the necessary skills to deal with online risks.” The Office is right in its statement that children must have the skills to deal with and avoid online risks.

One cannot stress enough the importance of ensuring safe online experience­s for children, and that responsibi­lity falls on parents, guardians and educators. Children must be kept safe and as far away from potential predators as possible, while also being given the knowledge to identify dangerous situations and to stay away from them.

Cyberbully­ing is also an issue that must be prevented.

There are also scammers who try to steal people’s money through various means, while trying to convince people to give up certain personal informatio­n. These scams have evolved over the years and can be quite complex, and authoritie­s, as well as companies, often publish informatio­n warning the public about specific scams that emerge.

The Internet also opened the door for people to have access to a wide variety of news sources. It allowed internatio­nal news to reach all parts of the globe in an instant. It also allowed journalist­s worldwide to form groups able to publish crossborde­r in depth investigat­ions and stories online. It allows people to check a news story through a wide variety of sources. This is all good. But the evolution of technology also brought with it the ability to spread fake news easily through social media and fake news websites. It has never been more important than it is today to ensure that informatio­n comes from trustworth­y sources.

There have also been changes to the way in which we socialise. The Internet increased our connectivi­ty to the rest of the world. Smartphone­s allow us to be connected at all times and, while this has its pros, it also has its cons. How many of us are able to stay away from a screen for a whole day? One does wonder whether we have become too reliant on newer technology and methods of communicat­ion. How often do we go to restaurant­s and see people looking at their phones instead of conversing? How often do we send a text instead of calling someone? How often do we see children playing outside as opposed to being in front of a screen?