Project CARES for You is not only creating awareness about preventing the receiving of negative images and harassment, but also creating awareness on preventing the sending of content by children. PC4U wants all those in charge of the care of children to understand that prevention starts with communication first. The 3 C's are a way YOU can communicate the dangers of what your children share online and how they do it. In this post, I am going to talk about the 3 C's, what they mean, and how you can use them to communicate to your children.
The 3 C's:
Connect: How does an image "connect" with the message being presented in a post? How is the image related to the context?
Concern: How can or could this image have an affect on my life? Does this image give away personal or sensitive information that should be kept private?
Choose: Should an image be used or changed depending on the decisions based on the first 2 C's? Take into account everything that has been thought about and consider if it is a negative or positive choice.
Connect
Every day has the potential for positive as well as negative affects on children. With the establishment of social media in our every day lives children are finding their lives affected on a daily basis as an outcome of its use. One way YOU can begin to create a healthy relationship between your child and their social media is by talking about the photos they send. The first step in this process begins with a connection. The posting of images can be seen as harmless until proper consideration is taken. Connecting the context of an image is essential in first understanding if it is safe to share to others. If an image is not being sent for the right reasons then the connection is severed and it should be discarded. That is why connection is the first step as it is the quickest way to determine a picture's safety.
Concern
The next step in the process is questioning what concern an image could be presenting. Does this image have any reason that it could be seen as unsafe, scandalous, or in any way negative to the developmental thinking of your child? Concern is establishing that the image has no way of bringing negative affects to your child or their mental and emotional development. More things to consider are what can be any ramifications of sending an image? Does this image show your location? Does it have any legality problems? Once you have established that there is no concern with an image you can move on to the final C.
Choose
This is the last of the 3 C's as it is the final step in choosing the safety of an image. Once all possible concerns have been talked about and the connection to the image is safe, then YOU may choose if you want to post or share an image. Although choosing seems as if it should be easy, this is the most difficult. When choosing, YOU have all of the possible outcomes laid in front of you and can decide if you are safe and ok with any of those outcomes. The reason this step is so important is that it can aid you and your child in creating a positive and healthy use of the internet. By using the 3 C's your children can begin to understand the negative affects of specific image sharing and can start to increase their rational thinking when it comes to social media.
Once an image is sent or posted, some times it is no longer able to be rescinded. Thus, it is out there forever and YOU need to stress to your child that any image sent over the web can be intercepted by someone other than the intended recipient. This is why prevention and following the 3 C's is one approach to minimizing any negative impact towards you or a child.
Make sure to read our other blogs and pamphlets on child safety. Don't forget to take our surveys and provide feedback on topics that are important to you, and always remember; Project CARES for YOU.
Comments