I remember those “simple” times when my parents had control literally in their hands – the remote control was a magic wand that decided what we watched and what we didn’t. Nowadays… well, let’s just say the situation is a little more complicated.

To be honest, as the father of a three-year-old, I hadn’t given much thought to digital safety. “There’s time,” I told myself. But as someone who has spent over 15 years in education, I knew that moment would come sooner than I thought.

Even though we’re fairly strict about screen time, sometimes we too “give in” to the charms of YouTube. And that’s exactly where the first red flag went up – those ads for games that are often more aggressive than the latest Hollywood blockbuster. And for any age.

Stories as the most powerful tool

A while ago we launched the startup “Blistavi umovi” (Bright Minds) – focused on supporting parents, through new stories every day, in developing key life values such as empathy, fairness, social intelligence… 24 life values in total that help children grow into happy, successful and, above all, good people.

Why stories? Because they have always been and will remain the best tool for teaching. Everything is a story – a film, a book, even those people on The Farm who “sell” their stories. But only the good ones are remembered, the well-told ones.

That’s why we need to learn stories and tell them so that children hear and understand us.

Digital Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time there was a Little Red Riding Hood, and off she went into the forest… We all know that story, don’t we? Her mother warned her, gave her clear instructions – stick to the path, don’t talk to strangers. But what’s especially interesting is that her mother didn’t forbid the forest – she sent her there, knowing that one day she would have to face the world on her own.

Sound familiar?

Today, we parents in the digital world do the same. We send our children into a new “forest” – the digital world. And just like Little Red Riding Hood, our children have to learn how to recognise the “wolves” hiding behind friendly avatars and sweet profile pictures.

The problem is that today’s “wolves” don’t have to disguise themselves as Grandma – they can be anyone, anywhere, at any moment. And while Little Red Riding Hood had only one wolf to recognise, our children encounter them every day.

Just think of the famous dialogue from the fairy tale, only now it sounds a little different:

“But Grandma, what big eyes you have!” has become “But mate, why do you need my password?”
“But Grandma, what big ears you have!” is now “But why do I have to click on this strange link?”
“But Grandma, what big teeth you have!” has turned into “But why are you asking for Mum’s card number?”

When the digital wolf knocks at the door

And these aren’t made-up stories to scare children. Last week, as if to illustrate the point, a friend came to me in a total panic: “Someone hacked my Facebook account! Can you hack it back?”

(Laughs) “No chance, you can’t ‘hack’ Facebook, or Instagram, or any of that. At least not the way you think,” I reply, like the experienced programmer I am.

What actually happened is something we call “phishing” – or, if you like, fishing. Just like the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, this “digital wolf” disguised himself too – only instead of Grandma’s clothes, he put on the Gmail logo. The scenario is simple: you get an email saying your “account security is at risk” and that you must “verify” your account. The site looks identical to Gmail, except it has a few extra ‘o’s in “Gooooooogle”. You type in your details and – there you go, you’re caught like a goldfish. And that information? It’s now the key to all your digital “huts” where you use the same email.

Technology isn’t a bogeyman, but boundaries are worth having.

Some of the greatest tech visionaries of our time were fairly strict when it came to technology in their children’s lives. Steve Jobs, the man who gave us the iPhone and iPad, wasn’t in a hurry for his children to get these devices.

And Bill Gates? The man who practically invented the home computer as we know it today didn’t give his children mobile phones until they were 14.

It might sound paradoxical, but it actually makes perfect sense. Like when a top pastry chef limits his children’s sweets – not because he hates cake, but because he knows what effect it can have on their health.

It’s all just a tool, it depends how we use it

Artificial intelligence isn’t evil. Technology isn’t bad. They’re just tools – like a fork. You can use it to eat your lunch or (God forbid) to hurt someone. It all depends on how you use it. So it’s a tool we need to learn to use properly.

Demonising technology won’t help – children are naturally curious and will only want more to discover what we’re hiding from them. Instead, let’s teach them through stories.

My child is still little, but I know I’ll tell him stories. About the good sides of technology, about the dangers, about how to recognise the traps. Because it’s better to learn through stories than through bad experience.

And yes, maybe we no longer have that magic remote, but we have something much more valuable – the chance to help our children become digitally literate and critically minded users of technology.

Dženan Hajrović