If you’re the parent of a teenager, you can likely attest to the fact that Australian teens are a tech savvy bunch, accessing the web at all hours from smartphones, laptops and tablets. It seems strange now that not too long ago a family would share one computer that lived in a central area of the home. Internet access for kids now takes place behind closed doors so, what exactly is it that they’re doing online?
A recent study by McAfee has some of the answers and despite the fact that 80% of parents have had conversations with their kids about cybersafety and 50% insist their teens browsing habits are transparent, the results show parents are still very much in the dark when it comes to their kid’s browsing habits.
Steve Redman, President McAfee Asia Pacific said, “Whilst most kids feel safe online and the majority of parents don’t feel the need to control or restrict teens access, one third of teens surveyed are breaking the law though piracy, just over two-thirds post personal information online leaving them vulnerable to cybercrime, and almost one quarter intentionally access nude or pornographic images.”
The research, which saw five hundred teens surveyed, showed some alarming statistics.
At a glance…
- Over 40% of teens said they know how to hide what they do online from parents and guardians
- 66.5% said their parents or guardians don’t know everything they are doing online
- Almost 40% would change their online behaviour if they knew a parent or guardian was watching
- 54% admitted to viewing nudity / pornography online either accidentally or intentionally but Parents guess that number would be 37%
- 5.8% said that they met up with strangers who they met online
- 8.5% admitted to entering into private chat with strangers they met online
- While 24% of teens reporting being the victim of cyber bullying, only 17% of parents would have guessed their own teen had been the target of cyber bullying
- 6% of teenagers admitted to sending or posting revealing photos online
- 36% minimise the browser when parents walk in the room
So what can we do?
Redman said “These teens don’t realise or properly understand the consequences of their actions. They also don’t understand that once personal information has been posted online, it can’t be taken back.”
Given this, it is clear the way forward is education. McAfee have announced a partnership with life Education Australia to deliver a national cyber education program to Australian children.
From February 2013, a new Life Education Social Skills and Cybersafety module for middle primary students will be rolled out across the country.
The cyber security element of the program will align with the State, Territory and future National Curriculum covering communication, relationships, decision-making and safety. It will provide knowledge, skills and strategies to empower children to use technology safely, build positive relationships and contribute to the safety of others online.
“Children’s online behaviour becomes entrenched very early on and if they are not properly educated about cyber safety, they will not be prepared to handle the situations they will certainly face online as teenagers,” Redman said. “This is why we are joining with Life Education Australia to educate children about cyber safety starting in the middle primary years.”
This new initiative is long overdue and parent’s will be relieved to hear their kids will be taught how to deal with unsafe situations online, use technology safely, build positive relationships and contribute to the safety of others online.
Do you monitor what your child does online? Are you pleased about this new initiative or do you think it is unnecessary? Let us know on Facebook.
