Children need more protection from programmable computing devices that contain sensors and stream data to and fro the internet. Researchers from Lancaster University state that these risks include peer-to-peer abuse or bullying, dangers of abuse by adults, risks related to usage, exploitation, commercialization, or insecure management of any data the children generate by using the devices. Children are already becoming hands-on by using small-scale easy-to-program devices like the “BBC micro:bit”. This is being used for experimenting and getting creative with digital technologies.
“Children who are learning to program IoT [Internet of Things] devices still have critical gaps in their understanding of privacy and security,” mentioned Dr Bran Knowles from Lancaster University’s school of computing and communications.
Also, it is to be considered that several parents may lack technical understanding of IoT. This makes it difficult for them to make out if their children are managing their privacy, decency and keeping safe on the cyber world.
“Formal training is available for online safety issues such as social media bullying and sexting, but, as yet, there is no IoT component to this curriculum,” added Knowles.
Our research provides a framework to help designers approach these critical risks with their own devices, while still enabling these devices to have enough functions activated so that they still provide a fun learning experience,” she stated.
