Kids schooled in online etiquette

Age-appropriate courses are given to youngsters on how to use computers and mobile devices wisely. Photo / Thinkstock

Children as young as seven are being taught the perils of going online in a bid to keep them protected from cyber danger, and to avoid making embarrassing posts in the future.

The perils of social media were again highlighted this week after shock jock Dom Harvey posted an all-too-revealing shot of Dancing with the Stars finalist Chrystal Chenery. The offending tweet was captioned: "Chrystal just showing Art what he missed out on."

The Bachelor NZ star Art Green was also criticised for pictures circulated on social media on Friday by his girlfriend, Matilda Rice, of his "Black Face" outfit at former model Colin Mathura-Jeffree's Bollywood themed party.

While Harvey considers the impact during a self-imposed Twitter ban, the Herald on Sunday today reveals some of New Zealand's youngest digital citizens are being schooled on social media etiquette at an increasingly young age.

As more schools adopt e-learning, New Zealand Principals' Federation representative Kevin Bush said keeping children safe was a paramount concern. Age-appropriate courses are given to youngsters on how to use computers and mobile devices wisely.

Nearly all primary schools in New Zealand now required pupils and parents to sign codes of conduct for internet use during class.

It also gave instructions on what to do if harmful or inappropriate material appeared on screens.

Online safety programmes, covering topics such as not revealing personal information or posting photos to strangers were also backed by repeated verbal reminders from teaching staff.

"At the start of the year, and touching on it every term, teachers do the whole thing around cyber safety and accessing appropriate sites," Bush said. As well as online lessons, the dangers of the internet were emphasised at assemblies.

The children were told to be suspicious of people they did not know when they were online and only connect with people they knew in real life. They were also advised about the ramifications of making posts.

"They know that whatever they put out on the internet is the same as getting a tattoo - you can't easily remove it."

Bush said schools connected to the Government's Network for Learning had a firewall that generally protected children at school from sites they shouldn't visit.

He said social media use did not become an issue in schools until the pupils approached intermediate age - about 11 - although they were not legally meant to be using many popular sites. Facebook rules state users must be at least 13 and Twitter will terminate any accounts it discovers are operated by those under 13.

It was hoped the messages drilled into the children in their earlier years would form good online habits during their teenage and adult years. Bush said it was also imperative that parents monitored their childrens' social media and internet use.