By Uchenna Eletuo
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts on Friday advised parents to restrict children’s access to phones and other digital devices until after primary school to protect their concentration and online safety.
The experts gave the advice at the 2026 LEVI EduTech Cybersmart Educators Initiative 2.0 Conference and Awards held in Lagos to mark Cybersecurity Month.
The event had the theme, “The Stranger Doesn’t Need Your Address Anymore”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference brought together educators, students, school representatives, cybersecurity professionals and other stakeholders to promote digital safety and responsible technology use in education.
The initiative highlighted growing risks associated with digital exposure and the need to protect children, schools and families in an increasingly connected world.
The event featured awards for outstanding schools and educators who participated in a seven-week professional development programme.
The programme was designed to strengthen teachers’ capacity in instructional design, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
It featured structured learning activities, seminars, quizzes, assessments, discussions and practical assignments to improve teaching practices, understanding of emerging technologies and safe digital habits.
Mr Oluwaseun Femi-Oluwasoya, a robotics and artificial intelligence teacher with Deeper Life School, won the star prize of N2 million in the educator competition.
The Best Cybersmart School Award went to Mabest Academy, Akure, which emerged first, followed by Deeper Life High Schools in second place and Osaretin Golden Academy, Edo, in third place.
In the Best Cyber Educator category, Oluwaseun Olusanya emerged first and received the N2 million star prize.
Okundalaye Faith came second, while Ekanem Esther placed third.
Speaking at the event, the guest speaker and President of the Cybersecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), Mr Olabode Agboola, described cyberspace as inadequately regulated.
He urged parents to guide their children against the harmful effects of online activities.
Agboola expressed concern over children’s exposure to foreign cultures through cartoons and other content accessed on digital devices.
He said such exposure could negatively affect children’s cognitive development.
According to him, parents should restrict children’s use of phones, tablets and other digital devices until after primary school to help them develop the ability to identify and avoid online strangers with malicious intentions.
“The amount of quality time used by children on phones and devices doing things that do not add value to their lives should be of concern to society,” he said.
Agboola urged teachers to help secondary school students develop cybersmart skills through instructional design.
He said this would enable them to use cyberspace for activities that were transformative and beneficial to society.
The Dean of the School of Computing, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Prof. Olatunbosun Olabode, who delivered the keynote address, called for responsible ICT use in teaching and learning.
Olabode urged schools to introduce safeguards for students’ use of digital devices to prevent them from engaging in activities such as online betting that could undermine their academic performance.
“Guardians should monitor and discourage younger ones from visiting sites that can pollute their minds and deform them mentally,” he said.
He also urged parents and guardians to undergo ICT training to understand how best to regulate children’s use of cyberspace.
Mrs Naomi Adesola-Zion, Head of Operations at LEVI EduTech, warned that many people fell victim to online scams through unsolicited bonuses and attractive offers.
Adesola-Zion said clicking on such offers could expose personal information to fraudsters.
She urged students and pupils to pause and verify online offers before clicking on links to avoid falling victim to scams.
Prof. Tunde Ope-Davis of the Centre for Digital Humanities, University of Lagos, and chairman of the occasion, cautioned against online requests that pressured recipients to act within a limited time.
Ope-Davis urged teachers to help students recognise and overcome online risks that could disrupt their academic and personal lives.
He said the use of digital devices had become inevitable but stressed the need to guard against their misuse for fraud, bullying and the spread of misleading information. (NAN) www.nannews.ng
Edited by Grace Alegba
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