In any space that children use online, there is a risk of platforms using their data in various ways. To help parents and carers manage this potential risk, experts John Carr, Karl Hopwood and Allen Tsui share their insights and advice.
What are cookies and why are you asked about them on websites?
A cookie is a piece of data or information from a website that you’ve visited. Websites store it for access again later. Websites use cookies for lots of different reasons. We see those notifications about them now because of a law requiring companies and websites to have our explicit permission before they collect and store information about us.
When teaching Media Literacy, I explain that cookies are files which contain or deposit information from websites we visit onto the devices we use. Some cookies also store information about those devices. Websites use these cookies ‘to enhance the user experience’.
Your browser stores cookies which can perform any or all of several different functions. Websites ask about them because they contain personal information e.g. about the kinds of things you are interested in. To collect any personal information, the site needs your consent.
How do cookies and consent impact children’s online experiences?
In theory, cookies can provide a better more bespoke experience for users. Some can give the owners of a website information about us and our browsing habits while others create a more personalised experience the next time you visit a particular site. There is some useful information from the Information Commissioner’s Office, which explains more about the types of cookies and what websites use them for.
For emerging readers, the presence of cookies and buttons to click or tap on is simply a step that some young users take for granted.
As with the terms and conditions of many online services, the wording that websites use to explain their cookies is written in such an incomprehensible way, it will deter even the most accomplished and strongest readers.
It is unsurprising then that adults and children alike will simply click past and through the cookies and consent request notifications.
If you accept the cookies on a website, you will almost certainly find ads directed at you based on what you visited on the website. Then, when you return to the same site, it can take you back to where you left off.
So, if the site was not suitable for a child in the first place, and even if the child left the site because they realised it was not suitable, they are kind of dragged back.
What can parents and carers do to help children full understand cookies and consent?
Ideally, we shouldn’t just click ‘okay’ or ‘accept’ when notified about cookies. Instead, we should consider whether we are happy for websites to keep and share our information. But in reality, that isn’t what happens.
Parents should make sure that children and young people think carefully about what they agree to online — whether with cookies or terms and conditions for a site. Hopefully we will start to see more user-friendly terms and conditions and cookie policies in the near future.
Agree and accept that this is the way the World Wide Web works. Understand that when we visit any website, the pages we read, the videos we watch, the audio files we listen to or the images we might like to copy and keep are subject to terms and conditions.
Those terms and conditions likely mean that websites will store information about the device that’s visiting the website and the pages we visit. This is often true even when using a browser in ‘incognito’ mode, which is not ever completely private.
How do algorithms work on content platforms?
Content platforms often use algorithms to recommend content. Some of this content is tailored to the interests of a particular user — so you end up seeing things that you want to see. However, other content is more likely to keep a user hooked and encourage them to spend more time on a particular platform.
Essentially, an algorithm will choose the content that a user will most likely connect with. Various digital actions influence the algorithm. This includes liking posts, engaging with content more than once (e.g. watching a video again and again and again!), leaving comments and sharing the content with other people.
Again, when teaching Media Literacy, I explain that the World Wide Web is like a huge public library. Those people who work in the library are like web crawlers who know exactly where to find every book. As a result, when somebody ‘searches’ for a title, the web crawler ranks the displayed results just like a librarian might suggest the most relevant book titles. How recently the website was created or published, the number of visitors and the search term will rank the results displayed.
I also explain that content platform algorithms can be written and controlled to promote particular web pages. For example, when searching for any content using a search engine, the first few links listed will or may be ‘sponsored’ by companies trying to sell a product or service.
Content platform algorithms on social media websites work in a similar way to promote information that is ‘trending’ based on the number of interactions that the shared content generates.
Algorithms can work in a similar way to cookies. They learn what interests you and can start, automatically, sending you more of the same.
How might algorithms impact children’s experiences online?
Unfortunately, the smallest change in our behaviour can influence the algorithm. Watching a video a couple of times because we were horrified by it can mean that the algorithm thinks we’re actually interested in it and would like to see more of it. Algorithms can also malfunction.
Because of the way content platform algorithms work, every user should understand that when searching for information or simply browsing for content, the content will be ranked. It’s also ordered so that the top links might not be directly relevant or potentially the most useful.
Similarly, cookies will also affect the way content platforms display information. If you watch content on a popular video-sharing website, the next videos that are displayed are based on the videos that the browser has been used to visit before.
If a child was curious about something dangerous or horrible, an algorithm could keep dragging them back there.
What can children and young people do to manage algorithms online?
Most of the main social media platforms do allow us to re-shape the algorithm. For example, if you hold your finger on a piece of content on Instagram or TikTok (as well as other platforms), you’ll see an option to say that you’re not interested in that content.
The algorithm re-shapes fairly quickly because platforms don’t want to show you content that you’re not interested in. This is because showing relevant content keeps you on the site and sending you away won’t make as much money, which is the bottom line here.
There are also options to have a fresh start. You can remove all of the information that an algorithm uses about you to determine what to push to you. If you end up down a bit of a rabbit hole where your feed is dominated by one particular type of content, then this is a good solution. See how with this guidance from Instagram and TikTok.
It’s important to teach children to stop and think about what they see, read, watch or listen to when using a connected device. Try to set up their own profile or settings for the web browser or devices they use.
Secondary schools are particularly good at making sure students do have their own personal profiles. Primary schools may manage their web browser devices by using software that constantly keeps their devices clean and clear of cookies so that the ‘trace’ of visited websites is not stored on any specific device.
However, families should also understand that for safeguarding purposes, many schools have measures in place to track and trace all browser traffic. This helps ensures that students and staff are not accessing inappropriate content.
