Enhancing cyber safety awareness among school children in South Africa through gaming

Abstract

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming an integral part of our lives. ICTs form part of our working, social and educational environment. Access to ICT devices is rapidly increasing and more ICT users in developing countries are becoming cyber users. One group of cyber users that is fast becoming active cyber citizens in the online community are children (school children). School children are exposed to ICTs from a young age and access to these devices is becoming easier and more affordable. However, school children in developing countries are not properly educated about using ICTs safely. With the use of ICTs, school children can be exposed to a number of cyber risks and threats that can range from sexting and cyber bullying to identity theft. It is, therefore, of vital importance that all school children are aware on how to use ICT devices properly and safely. In developed countries, for example the UK and Austria, this educational process has been implemented; however, this is not the case in many developing countries, including South Africa. Currently, South Africa does not have any initiatives to ensure cyber safety among school children. This research is an attempt to address this gap in cyber education by proposing the concept of cyber safety games that can be distributed (at no cost) to schools and translated into different languages. The research methodology includes a meta-analysis search and a proposed framework that can be used to design offline cyber safety games in an attempt to grow a cyber-safety culture among school children in South Africa.