Help your teens handle the impact of viewing unwelcome content online. Picture: Shutterstock
Even teens who are very responsible might stumble across content that upsets them, such as videos depicting violence, self-harm, animal cruelty or even terrorism.
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If you discover your kids have seen distressing content online, try to stay calm.
What you can do:
- Comfort them if they're feeling upset
- Ask them how they feel about what they just saw
- Reassure them that their feelings are normal
- Find out how they found this content - did someone send it to them?
- Tell them you're glad you found out - if things go wrong, you want to know about it
- Remind them of the positive values your family stands for
- Help them update their security settings
- If the content appeared on social media, report it to the site
- If the content is harmful and illegal, report it to the eSafety Commissioner or the police
- If your teens keep feeling distressed, contact a counselling service like Kids Helpline or eheadspace, or a trusted GP.
What you shouldn't do:
- Snatch their devices away.
- Blame them for looking at it.
- Trivialize it by saying 'it's only a video' or 'it's probably fake'.
- Share it with other people.
To learn more, check out the eSafety Commission or Netsafe NZ.
