Before the age of smartphones, a mobile phone did just the basics of making calls, sending texts and playing games like “Snake.”

Today, children are capable of scrolling through the internet, downloading and using countless apps, and playing games. Recent studies show that ownership and heavy usage now frequently begin before pre-adolescence.

In the past decade, children have started using smartphones earlier and more frequently than in the past, driven by digital learning, social connection and parental reliance.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, “Children are spending more time in the digital world than ever before, often without realising it.”

From smart toys and voice assistants to video games, chatbots and learning apps, artificial intelligence has become part of their everyday lives.

These digital interactions and choices help suggest videos to watch, articles to read, music to play and even people to connect with. Many children tend to use these more during extended holiday seasons, often under the supervision of their parents.

As beneficial as these exposures are, the rise of AI-driven technology has its serious risks, especially as changes in digital platforms outpace the safeguards and regulations needed to protect young users. It has never been easier for perpetrators to contact and extort children.

One of the pitfalls of internet exposure is the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse.

Children can be exposed to adult or explicit material, which is often introduced through pop-ups, even on seemingly “normal” websites.

UNICEF noted that children can also be exposed to misleading or manipulative commercial practices.

“Personal data monetisation and misuse, exploitative digital marketing and dark patterns, in which online platforms design interfaces that trap users into doing things they didn’t mean to, all pose risks to a child’s right to protection,” it noted.

“Children can be exposed to certain individuals who can corrupt them through negative influences. We have online perpetrators who are sex predators or abusers. These people could groom an underage user by first earning the child’s trust and then manipulating them into sharing sexually explicit videos or images.

“Some of them can add victims to online platforms where explicit images are shared, or they are encouraged to share videos of themselves in unpalatable ways to confirm their membership. In some cases, sex predators can physically meet with children through the internet, abuse them and even record it. This can be happening right under the noses of parents, and they wouldn’t know.

“We see this from time to time: students whose academics are on a decline because they are addicted to social media, games or other online activities. So, it’s advisable for parents to know of tech tools that can be used to protect children from these online dangers,” an educationist, Austin Ogar, said.

These are tech tools that can be used to protect children using the internet:

Google Family Link

This is a free parental control app developed by Google that helps parents supervise their children’s devices. It is designed for families with children under 13, though it can also be used with older children who consent to supervision.

“This app sets daily screen time limits and creates device bedtime schedules for your child. It protects children from harmful sites by restricting access to mature content in Google Search using SafeSearch, manages YouTube viewing options, and limits access to age-inappropriate apps and games,” a tech expert, Solomon Nwadike, said.

Net Nanny

Using AI-powered, real-time content analysis to evaluate web pages as they load, this app identifies and blocks inappropriate content that may be accessible to children on the internet.

“Net Nanny blocks pages that contain pornography, violence, drugs, gambling and other categories of harmful content before they fully load. It also helps set daily limits, schedule internet access, and create bedtime hours when devices cannot access the internet,” Nwadike said.

Qustodio

This platform helps parents monitor their children’s social media accounts, check their web history and track their physical location in real time.

“It first views the apps children use, blocks specific apps, and sets time limits for individual apps on supported devices. It is often subscribed to, and it helps provide detailed reports on screen time, websites visited, apps used, YouTube activity, and online searches,” Nwadike said.

Bark

This is an alert-based digital safety platform that scans texts, emails and social media for signs of cyberbullying, depression or dangerous predators, sending alerts directly to your children.

Nwadike added, “Parents can use this to monitor their children’s Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and others. It also blocks inappropriate websites and lets parents customise categories of content that are allowed or restricted.”

Mobicip

This is a subscription-based parental control and digital well-being app designed to help parents supervise their children’s online activity, manage their screen time and promote safer internet use.

“Not only does this give parents summaries of screen time, browsing history, app usage and newly installed apps, it also blocks adult content, violence, gambling and other inappropriate websites using customisable content filters,” Nwadike stated.