What are our kids doing online?

Children admit meeting a stranger they met online

Intel Security released the findings of the 2015 edition of its ‘Teens, Tweens and Technology Survey’, which examines the online behaviours and social networking habits of tweens and teens aged 8 to 16 years old in India.

The study also surveyed the concerns of parents, revealing that when it comes to online activity, parents believe (48 per cent) that the worst thing that could happen to their children is interacting with strangers online. This concern is warranted given that almost half (44 per cent) of the children polled would meet or have met someone in person that they first met online.

The most discussed topics are cyber criminals and identity theft (71 per cent), privacy settings (62 per cent), cyber bullying (57 per cent), online reputation (53 per cent) and popularity among friends (52 per cent).

While 91 per cent of parents claim to have had a discussion with their children about the risks of social media, interacting with strangers is not one of the primary topics. Additionally, a surprisingly low number (17 per cent) of parents are interested in finding out if their children are interacting with strangers online.

Melanie Duca, APAC Consumer Marketing Director, Intel Security said, “In analysing the responses of both parents and children, what is evident is that that there are a lot more open conversations and disclosures between them.

The good news is while there are open conversations work is required on ensuring that these go beyond casual chats. It is imperative to focus on ensuring children understand the consequences of their actions as well as agree on good Internet etiquette.”

The Trust Factor

90 per cent of parents indicate that they would monitor all of their child’s online activities across all devices if they could. However the majority of the children (64 per cent) indicate to hide (some of) their online activity from their parents indicating that even parents that do keep a watchful eye, are often deceived by what they see.

Cyber bullying Cause and Effect

43 per cent of the children active on social media claim to have witnessed cruel behaviour online, while 52 per cent indicate that they have bullied people over social media themselves through making fun of others, calling them fat or ugly and tagging on mean pictures.

“Due to the proliferation of connected devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops, an unprecedented level of personal data is now available online, expanding the risk canvas exponentially. We believe that increased education and usage of technologies like parental controls, content filtering and creation of activity logs will play a huge role in empowering parents to ensure a safe digital footprint for their children,” said Venkat Krishnapur, Head of Operations for Intel Security Group’s India Development Centre.

5 cyber parenting tips for online safety

Connect with your children: Talk casually and frequently with them about the online risks and make sure the communication lines are open. Foster discussions around relevant news stories or cases at schools.

Set password rules: To show camaraderie and trust, teens may share their social media passwords with friends or acquaintances. Friend or not, this is a dangerous practice. Put a consequence in place for breaking this critical password rule.

Read app reviews: By reading app flags, age restrictions and customer reviews on an app, you will be able to discern if an app is going to be suitable for your child.

Gain access: Parents should have passwords for their children’s social media accounts and pass codes to their children’s devices to have full access.

Up your tech knowledge: Stay one step ahead and take time to research the devices your children use. Stay knowledgeable about the newest and latest social networks. While you don’t have to create an account, it is important to understand how they work and if your children are on them.