Keep Her Digital World Safe and Secure
The thought of keeping your girl safe online can be overwhelming. There’s a lot to consider, from cyberbullying to password security. Empower her to be the boss of her online time by helping her build intentional online habits. Here are a few ways to help give her the tools to explore the internet while staying smart and safe.
Create safe passwords
To help her keep her personal information safe, teach her how to create strong passwords on her accounts. Make account passwords memorable, but don’t use names or birthdays that others could easily guess. The most secure password is actually a passphrase that contains random words connected with numbers, and incorporates caps and symbols. Remember to tell her to avoid using the same password across different sites and apps. Tools like Google Password Manager can help generate unique, hard to hack passwords and can also help keep track of passwords across sites.
Keep personal info private
Teach her the importance of keeping personal information safe and secure online. This includes being smart about passwords and what information you share online. She might be tempted to share a password or information about where she lives with a friend, but help her understand what could happen if someone gets a hold of her passwords or other private information. She might trust her friends, but what if that friend isn’t careful and accidentally exposes her password to someone who isn’t as trustworthy? If she hasn’t met someone in real life, she can’t know for sure that they are who they say they are, so it’s best to never share personal information online.
Share with Care
Good (and bad) news travels fast online, so posting on social media could put your girl in tricky situations with lasting consequences. Before she posts or comments online, she should ask herself, “How might others see this message differently than me?” Just thinking about how others may interpret things you say online before posting is an important habit. Help her learn to be aware of the visual cues people use to communicate to avoid misunderstandings—even emojis can mean different things to different people.
Focus on Learning
Foster intentional online usage by emphasizing using digital platforms to learn—like completing homework assignments or exploring new hobbies. Perhaps she’s interested in learning to play the guitar and can use a YouTube tutorial to practice. Or maybe she’s really into nature and can use an app to learn about local plants and wildlife. Emphasize the importance of healthy screen time and a good balance of activities offline and online. Make sure she gets plenty of time for outdoor activities, hobbies, seeing friends, and experiencing the world outside of the internet every day. Your own actions can influence your girl’s online habits and set a positive example for her online behavior.
Know when to say something
As a parent, it’s essential to be aware of the signs of bullying or concerning behavior and keep an open dialogue with your girl. Tell her she should always come to you or another trusted adult when something makes her uncomfortable. Discuss online bullying with her; if she feels unsafe or sees someone else being bullied, let her know that she should talk to you. Encourage her to speak up against and report any online bullying she sees.
Explore more resources on this topic:
Be Internet Awesome: Google’s Be Internet Awesome empowers kids with tools and education to confidently and safely explore, grow, and play online.
Raise an Awesome Girl: Check out Raising Awesome Girls for tips and advice on supporting parents and caregivers in raising the next generation of confident girls and young women.
Support Mental Wellness: Learn more about mental wellness with Girl Scouts’ Resilient. Ready. Strong. Challenge, Mental Wellness patch program, and other resources.
Become Digital Leaders: Girl Scouts can check out the Digital Leadership and Cybersecurity badges for each level. Adults can find ideas to support and inspire their Girl Scout’s interest in technology with the STEM Playbook.
Explore the Google family challenge, fun patch, and other articles.
Made possible by a generous grant from Google.
