In the digital age, it's important to protect our children from potential risks on the Internet. However, some children may be more vulnerable than others.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one to three per 1,000 children have hearing loss. Meanwhile, other studies indicate rates from two to five per 1,000 children. Sadly, hearing loss in children can affect their ability to develop speech, language, and social skills. Nowadays, children are spending more and more time on their gadgets and on the Internet.
Unfortunately, the Internet — while often educational and can provide convenience — can expose deaf or hard-of-hearing children to certain digital and online risks. At the same time, these children may resort to social media and other online communities for support and entertainment. Still, there are certain practices and precautions we can take to better protect them. Below, we'll take a look at some ways we can help manage digital and online safety for them:
Digital safety
On top of the potential risks found on the Internet, spending a lot of time online also means spending a lot of time using digital devices, from smartphones and tablets to laptops and desktop computers. This can impact different factors in a deaf or hard-of-hearing child's life.
For example, studies have found that physical activity has benefits for deaf students, including boosting social inclusion. Of course, increased digital device usage has been shown to lead to sedentary behavior, significantly reducing physical activity opportunities for deaf or hard-of-hearing children.
Aside from the reduced physical activity, increased screen time also means extra exposure to blue light, which can lead to age-related macular degeneration and even impact how well children sleep. Fortunately, there are many tools and solutions available to help manage the effects of blue light. For deaf or hard-of-hearing children specifically, hearing devices like Nuance's smart hearing glasses feature blue light lens upgrades. This means that beyond providing hearing help for our children, these glasses also help protect the eyes from overexposure to blue light.
In a previous post, we highlighted the importance of sleep time and screen time management for children. Of course, the same precautions apply to kids who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. As such, screen time management is important to ensure that their sleep is restful and they get an adequate amount of Deep and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep.
Online safety
When it comes to online safety for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, they may be more exposed to cyberbullying in online communities and may not be able to properly discern misinformation being spread around. Due to their lack of hearing, they may also be exposed to inappropriate content on the Internet without understanding or knowing.
When it comes to cyberbullying, peer bullying can exacerbate many social limitations that deaf or hard-of-hearing children already experience. Children with hearing loss may have more difficulty communicating and interacting socially, which tends to make them stand out from their peers. If your deaf or hard-of-hearing child tells you they are being cyberbullied, it's important to be supportive and ensure they have access to a support network or community outside of their peers.
To help protect them from misinformation, taking the time to sit down and teach them will help them learn how to identify reliable sources thus helping them become more independent and discerning when spending time online.
Finally, to help protect deaf or hard-of-hearing children from potentially inappropriate content on the Internet, using parental controls and safe search engines can significantly reduce the likelihood of your child being exposed to worrying or harmful content online.
Additionally, tools like auto captions and subtitles for audio and video content are also essential accessibility solutions to help your child navigate online spaces more safely.
