Hello, my name is Sangophone, but you can call me Sango.  

 

I am a Japanese phone. I live in Tokyo in a family of three children – brothers Kiko, who is 4, and Yoko, who is 10, and their big sister Kim, who is 15.

As my use exposes them to all kinds of risks, I decided to be a revolutionary phone that alerts them and helps them fight against the dangers of the internet. And, believe me, I have my work cut out for me every day!

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There are many different risks, depending on the age of the children. For example, Kiko watches videos on unsafe web pages, Yoko plays games that do not correspond to his age, and Kim shares photos of herself on social media…

So I thought of several ways to warn them about the risks and protect them from bad online habits.

 

For example, as soon as I am in little Kiko’s hands, I activate the parental control to block all sites that could potentially be unsuitable for his age. I also set my timer to go off after 15 minutes, because too much time online isn’t fun. 

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When 8-year old Yoko plays online games, I only allow access to those that are age-appropriate, so that he is does not see things that he feels uncomfortable or unsafe with.  I also ensure Yoko uses pre-registered IDs that do not give any information about his real identity, and I display an alert message that reminds him to always be cautious of the people he plays with online, because one cannot be certain of their true identity. Finally, when his connection lasts too long, I don’t hesitate to put myself on standby to remind him that it would be nice to go out and play with his friends offline. 

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As for Kim, I make sure she takes more care on social media platforms. Once I blocked a photo that  a classmate posted of her, which could have been hurting for her, because  the comments were not very nice. Sometimes I ask her if she is really sure  that she wants to post the picture that she just took of herself. Does she really want everyone to see? She now understands that posting something online, is like wearing it on your shirt, showing it to your parents, grandparents or teachers. This is why now she thinks twice before posting something online. 

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Finally, for all three children, I put my at-sign headband on my camera to prevent any intrusion into their private life and that of their family!

 

This is how I fight to help my friends!