Parental guidance

Families are not discussing online safety enough, and the consequences could be dangerous

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Some 84% of parents worldwide are worried about their children’s online safety, according to the latest Kaspersky survey. Despite this, the report shows that globally, on average, parents only spend a total of 46 minutes talking to their children about online security through their entire childhood.

Using technology has become the daily norm. Not only is the working world tech-reliant, but globally, the education sector is evolving towards more tech-related learning – meaning that children today need to understand how to use technology to successfully get through their schooling career.

Of the respondents, over nine in 10 children between seven and 12 globally now have an internet-enabled device, smartphone or tablet. Naturally, and considering this reality, children’s privacy and security online are becoming one of parents’ most prominent concerns – but what are parents doing about it?

Some of the most dangerous online threats globally, according to those parents who participated in the survey, include:

• Children seeing harmful content, such as sex or violence (27%).

• Experiencing internet addiction (26%). • Receiving anonymous messages or content inciting them to carry out violent or inappropriate activity (14%).

There is also concern about cyberbullying.

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