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| The United Nations warns of the danger of increased use of the Internet by children due to Corona |
UN agencies said on Tuesday that children use the Internet at a younger age due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic that affects children. They spend more time on the internet and more prone to bullying.
The Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that 1.5 billion children have left school because they closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus and forced them to use the Internet for learning and also affected social and hobby life.
"Many children connect to the Internet even earlier than their parents expected when they were very young. Young people who do not know each other are protected from being on the Internet. Skills needed for harassment," said Dorin Bogdan Martin, president of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in an online news conference. Authoritarianism ". "Another thing is how much time children spend on the Internet after school - whether it's learning, entertainment, games and social media, go ..."
Bogdan Martin added that the International Federation, which is working to develop standards and guidelines, is working hard to accelerate the publication of child protection recommendations online and to publish them in the next two weeks.
Doctors and psychologists have warned of the effects of the epidemic, saying that the spread of the virus that causes anxiety disorders can cause pain in children. However, the International Telecommunication Union stated that the Internet was a "very important digital lifeline". This epidemic highlights the so-called “digital divide” between those who have access to the Internet and those who cannot.
Bogdan Martin said: Preventing access to the Internet can have severe consequences for children's education. The ITU is working with UNICEF to enable them to communicate over the 2G network. She added: "If the events not seen in the past few months make one thing clear, it is the liveliness of the Internet and its vital importance."
The agency estimates that about 3.6 billion people cannot access the Internet, many of whom pay high communication costs or have poor connections.