A new survey by Censuswide and the International Cyber Expo found that over a third (34%) of parents are unaware of what online accounts their children are using, highlighting a worrying lack of awareness surrounding their children’s online activity. The survey was conducted amongst 600 parents across the UK.
The survey did find that over a fifth of parents claim to know about all their children’s accounts, but they’re unable to easily access them to monitor what their children are doing and who they are interacting with. Interestingly, 15% of the respondents admitted that they allow their children to have total online freedom.
The results of the survey reveal an overall lack of awareness around children using the internet. With trust around online use being an issue too, with 8% of parents surveyed admitting that they believe that their children are dishonest about their online activity.
Simon Newman, International Cyber Expo Advisory Council Member and CEO of Cyber Resilience Centre for London, commented: “It is challenging enough to ensure children are safe in the ‘real’ world, let alone worrying about their presence in the digital world. As threats become harder to identify online, it can be easy to fall into the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality.”
The survey also asked parents about their children’s experiences of cyber bullying and trolling, both as victim and bully. Shockingly, 14% of parents admit their children have bullied or trolled others, with 54% of those perpetrators being 10 years old or younger. Conversely, 13% have experienced cyber bullying online, with 41% of those victims being 10 years old or younger.
The internet can be a scary place for uneducated users or users lacking full awareness of online safety. Newman also adds: “as we know, children can be highly susceptible and easily fall victim to dangerous and/or abusive behaviour. In some cases, they may even be groomed by online criminal groups to carry out illegal activity on their behalf. Therefore, it has never been more important for parents to take an active interest in their children’s online activity.”
The survey was commissioned by the International Cyber Expo, the annual cybersecurity expo, created for the community, by the community, held at Olympia London on the 27th – 28th September 2022. The Expo endeavours to be the hub of global and inclusive collaboration, focusing on connecting cybersecurity vendors with decision-makers such as CISOs, CIOs, and Head of Information Security from mid-large sized enterprises, government, critical national infrastructure, and public sector organisations.
You can register as a visitor for free now: https://ice-2022.reg.buzz/e1
