Adhering to local hygiene protocols and social distancing, children in
some World Vision communities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao gathered to teach
and learn about online safety to prevent online abuses and sexual exploitation
of children.
Using the hashtag term “#MayForeverOnline”, children and youth leaders
led the orientation about online safety, reminding their peers to be extra
careful when posting information on the Internet and social media.
“The #MayForeverOnline campaign is our way of reaching out and telling other children and youth to be extra careful when posting information online because anything we post online are there forever even if we deleted them from our social media pages,” Francis, 21, World Vision’s National Children’s Federation president, explains referring to the digital footprints that leave trails on the Internet which can be used by other people to steal personal information and take advantage of a child.
The children’s campaign is in response to the growing population of Internet
users in the country. According to the Dateportal.com report entitled “Digital
2021: The Philippines”, there are 73.91 million Internet and 89 million social
media users in the Philippines.
The same report also showed that Filipinos spend an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes on social media, making the Philippines as the top country with the most time spent on the internet and social media. The leased obsessed with social media are the Japanese, spending only 51 minutes online on average.
The growing trends in social media usage also pose risks to children. A
report of the International Justice Mission (IJM), an
international organization that protects people in poverty from violence,
showed the Philippines with 237 new referred cases of online sexual
exploitation of children (OSEC) between 2010-2017 compared with three other
leading countries: Mexico with 27 referred cases, Brazil with 19, and India
with 18. The country also has the largest known source of sexually exploited
children online.
IJM, World Vision and Compassion
International, another Christian child-focused organization, are currently
working together to prevent and end sexual exploitation of Filipino children in
an advocacy campaign called It Takes a World to End Online Sexual Exploitation
of Children.
The main highlight of
#MayForeverOnline campaigns are the creative ways children answered two major
questions: “What are the things you don’t want to remain online forever?” and
“What advice would you give to other children about online safety?”
Children’s groups answered the questions in slogans, games and colorful posters. In one slogan, a group of children reminded everyone that “Children are not dolls. They have dignity and feelings to preserve.” The children’s group from Bukidnon calls to stop malicious content about children that are being posted online.
Another group of children from
Leyte reminded other children to be aware of children and youth are posting
online to avoid being cyberbullied. “Never post negative comments to avoid
being bullied online,” the children’s written reminder states.
A group of children from
Camarines Norte, likewise, wrote similar reminders, and advised children to
“Treat Internet as Internet not as diary.”
The National Children’s Month is
held in the Philippines every November. The month-long celebration commemorates
the country’s adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the
United Nations General Assembly in November 1989.
To know more about World Vision, please
visit https://www.worldvision.org.ph.
You may also follow /worldvisionph on Facebook and @worldvisionphl on Instagram
for updates.
About
World Vision
World Vision is a global Christian relief,
development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children,
families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision
serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
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