Parents 'in the dark' about internet safety
Most parents are failing to address online safety with their children, new research by the AVG internet security company has found.
The study of parents’ views about internet safety was conducted with Plymouth University. It found that 95 per cent of parents think that online safety education should be mandatory in schools and 89 per cent say that the Government should be doing more to teach children about safe use of the internet. But, while 66 per cent also say they have the ultimate responsibility for teaching their child about online safety, more than half (56 per cent) of parents of primary and secondary school-age children and 42 per cent of parents of teenagers have never had a discussion with their children about sexual online adult content. One in ten parents of teenagers haven’t discussed sexual adult content online because they think their child is too young and a quarter (23 per cent) ‘simply haven’t got around to it’, despite evidence that the majority of 14-year-old boys and many teenagers have accessed online porn. The study also found that nine out of ten parents of primary and secondary school-age children and 86 per cent of parents of teenagers believe their child has not been involved in cyberbullying or sexting (as either the perpetrator or victim), despite evidence highlighting these as the most frequent internet issues for children. The researchers say that parents’ confidence is ‘staggeringly misplaced’ and many are still in the dark about how to protect their child’s safety online.
BACP Therapy Today (AVG Technologies)
The study of parents’ views about internet safety was conducted with Plymouth University. It found that 95 per cent of parents think that online safety education should be mandatory in schools and 89 per cent say that the Government should be doing more to teach children about safe use of the internet. But, while 66 per cent also say they have the ultimate responsibility for teaching their child about online safety, more than half (56 per cent) of parents of primary and secondary school-age children and 42 per cent of parents of teenagers have never had a discussion with their children about sexual online adult content. One in ten parents of teenagers haven’t discussed sexual adult content online because they think their child is too young and a quarter (23 per cent) ‘simply haven’t got around to it’, despite evidence that the majority of 14-year-old boys and many teenagers have accessed online porn. The study also found that nine out of ten parents of primary and secondary school-age children and 86 per cent of parents of teenagers believe their child has not been involved in cyberbullying or sexting (as either the perpetrator or victim), despite evidence highlighting these as the most frequent internet issues for children. The researchers say that parents’ confidence is ‘staggeringly misplaced’ and many are still in the dark about how to protect their child’s safety online.
BACP Therapy Today (AVG Technologies)