Online Reporter
It is the most effective practical way of ending the divide between rural and urban children, and between children in well-off households and those not so well-off.
No one can deny the vast amount of positive opportunities and the good that internet access has brought to Zimbabwean children.
The Government itself has taken the lead in the rapid spread of internet access to all schools.
This access is made possible by the determination to provide electricity supply to every school from the national grid, where possible, and from solar systems where the school is off the grid.
This then allows inexpensive internet access in every school by cable or satellite, putting every child regardless of where they live or the economic status of their parents, on a level footing.
But, and there is always a downside to every major advance, the internet allows access to sites, social media and individuals who children should not be able to access.
While perhaps a majority of children, at least now, will rely on school equipment to access the internet, and schools will no doubt be able to block a wide range of websites, just as most businesses now do, we still have the growing problems brought by growing prosperity.
Parents with home computers and laptops can also block sites for the log-ins they give their children, although in many cases they might require assistance to do so effectively. We all know that in most families the technical support at home is often a teenager.
Already in some suburbs many children have unrestricted access to mobile phones capable of accessing the internet.
Considering that such phones cost less than US$100 and are readily available, we can expect that number to grow very fast as Zimbabweans become more prosperous.
And there are limits to how access to such phones can be tightly controlled by a parent. In any case, it is quite common for children to let their friends access stuff, so even a strict or caring parent will need external rather than family controls.
So more children will be open to online sexual exploitation and abuse, cyberbullying, harmful content, grooming, sextortion and privacy violations.
This sort of content can be bad enough if you are an adult, but there are serious dangers for those who have probably not yet discovered just how wicked some humans can be, and who have not had time to build up defences.
The Government has been thinking seriously about what can be done to maximise the benefits to children and minimise harm.
This week, Cabinet approved the outline of the National Child Online Protection Policy 2026, which in its own stated goals should provide a national framework for the private sector, Government, academia and communities to build practical, effective and detailed responses to the threats.
The policy takes into account Constitutional requirements, largely the responsibility to protect people while not infringing their rights, and the more detailed Children’s Act which lays down action to make sure children are protected as far as possible.
The policy is not, at this stage, prescribing any particular action, but rather laying out the areas where action can be taken by everyone in both assessing dangers and working out how to deal with them.
But the policy does include the possibility or probability of statutory measures once clear action is generally agreed and where voluntary measures are ineffective or are actively resisted by some of the online service providers.
Australia has probably gone furthest in this regard, forcing those who provide internet services in that country and designating social media sites to block children under 16.
The country is fortunate in occupying the whole of an isolated continent, so there is no spillover from less caring neighbours, and is large and rich enough that losing the Australian market would damage the designated media sites.
Even so a lot of people are waiting to see if this policy works in practice. Almost certainly there will be enough fraud and cheating to minimise the effectiveness, if only from older children and neighbours willing to allow access to their log-in codes, and in any case will need to be backed up by other measures.
Children do live in a dangerous world. But we teach them how to cross a street safely; we teach them to be suspicious of strangers, especially those offering gifts and deals; we teach them on how to avoid falling prey to alcohol and illegal drugs.
We try to create a safe space, and during their teen years, let them advance towards adulthood in steps that they can handle and do minimal harm.
So now we have to include online dangers. Fortunately, the national curriculum already has a compulsory subject on how to avoid the dangers of the modern world and adding information on dubious or evil online sites, and how to deal with social media, is simply an expansion.
The practical steps cannot isolate them for life from the downside of the internet, but can make sure that as they move towards full access they know what the dangers are, a step at a time, so they can be effective adults and in most cases parents themselves in time.
The national policy wants us all to be involved. We all agree that children need protection from the worst of the modern world; we all agree that they need to be able to deal with that modern world when they grow up; almost all of us would agree that safe spaces and gaining knowledge from sensible people a step at a time is necessary.
So national involvement is not the problem. What is now needed is for all us to be involved and do our bit.
