Almost half of UK pupils are scared to use the internet, new research suggests.
They worry that strangers will bully them or ask them to do something they are uncomfortable with. And they fear that the strangers will retain access to information that they have posted online.
In a survey, 1,000 children between the ages of 10 and 15 were questioned in order to reveal their attitudes to the internet. The poll revealed that 49 per cent were scared or worried about going online.
One in five - 21 per cent - worried that a stranger might bully them. And 18 per cent feared that a stranger might ask them to do something that made them uncomfortable.
Exposed to danger
In addition, 13 per cent were concerned that a stranger might ask them to do something illegal.
And one in 10 believed that strangers would still have access to information they had posted online even once they had deleted it.
The poll was conducted by cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab to mark Safer Internet Day today.
“The benefits of children being online and connected are numerous,” said David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab. “So it’s easy to forget that children and young people are inherently vulnerable, and may expose themselves to danger, whether knowingly or unknowingly, when using the internet.”
More than a third - 36 per cent - of those pupils surveyed said that they had regretted posting something online, because it negatively affected a friend or another person.
David Miles, a member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety, said: “Whether [children use the internet] to socialise, learn or play, we all have a collective responsibility to minimise the risks and maximise the benefits for this new digital generation.”
Tips for keeping children safe online
- Talk to them about the potential dangers.
- Encourage them to talk to you about their online experience and, in particular, about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened.
- Set clear ground rules about what they can and can’t do online and explain why you have put them in place.
- Use parental-control and internet-security software to establish the framework for what’s acceptable.
- Make use of the great advice available on the internet - for example the Safer Internet Day website or the CEOP Thinkuknow website.
Source: David Emm, Kaspersky Lab
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