Press Release
March 1, 2019

HONTIVEROS TO PARENTS: KNOW WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE WATCHING ONLINE

Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday urged parents to monitor what their children are watching online after reports of a "Momo challenge trend" urging children to commit harmful acts went viral online.

Hontiveros, who is Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said that parents should constantly talk to their children regarding their online activities and behavior.

"Even as we determine the veracity of these reports, I strongly encourage my fellow parents to monitor what our children are watching on different social media platforms and always communicate with them to avoid any harm that may be inflicted on them as a result of potentially dangerous online content," Hontiveros said.

"May this serve as an urgent reminder to us parents to dutifully supervise our children's online activities and ensure that they are aware of the dangers of not being discriminating in what they view or read online. We do this as we continue to let them enjoy the internet as a tool for learning and entertainment. The key is open communication and trust," Hontiveros added.

Hontiveros offered tips to parents on how to monitor their children's social media activities and behavior.

1. Allot quality time to talk to children to familiarize themselves with their children's social media activities as well as their issues and concerns online.

2. Set up parental controls for the different online devices at home to regulate what children can watch, and monitor their activities.

3. Check first the validity of "viral scare stories" before sharing with others so as not to help in promoting online hoaxes.

The Senator also appealed to the responsible authorities, particularly the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to confirm the authenticity of the said reports.

"This is a wake up call for all of us to be diligent about the information our people, especially children, consume online. With the rise of technology, we face new and modern threats and challenges. Technology will continue to contextualize our direction as a society, so we must urgently respond and find innovative solutions and policies to ensure that the online world is a safe and truthful place for our children to thrive in," Hontiveros ended.

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