Youngsters More Tuned To Internet Dangers

Children are becoming increasingly alert to Internet "stranger danger." According to the findings of a new survey published by NOP Family, the various campaigns to alert young users appear to be finally hitting home.

In detail, NOP's six-monthly kids.net survey of 7 to 16 year old Internet users has for the first time in three years found a clear majority (60%) saying that they would not be willing to give out their home or e-mail address. This finding underlines the role of parents in educating their children in using the Internet safely. Over 40% of those unwilling to give their address said that their parents tell them not to, a significant improvement on the 33% recorded last November.

Filtering software is also becoming more widespread, with 52% of young users saying that they have heard of it, rising to 72% among those who use the Internet for over four hours a week. A lot of the credit for this goes to schools. Over half (56%) of those using the Internet at school say that filtering software is used on their school computers. This is in strong contrast to home use, where only 23% of 7 to 16 year olds using the Internet at home do so with filtering software.

According to Barbie Clarke, director of NOP Family, "Kids are clearly becoming far more aware of the potential dangers posed by the Internet, and are becoming more wary of chat rooms as a result. However, the fact that 1 in 10 young users tells us that they have found something on the Internet that upset or embarrassed them demonstrates that parents and teachers must continue to drive home the message, and do more to ensure the continued spread of filtering software, especially in the home."

NOP's survey was conducted on a nationally representative sample of 1,071 7 to 16 year old Internet users between 11 and 25 April 2001.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.