Kids and teens are putting themselves and their online security at risk, according to a new survey by McAfee, and a new national education program aims to fix this, involving parents in the education.
McAfee has this week announced the findings of a study titled “The Secret Life of Teens”, highlighting the online activities of kids and teenagers in Australian households. The survey asked 500 teens and 500 parents what they were doing online, how they dealt with cyberbullying, and a whole bunch of other little things on their wheelings and dealings of the Internet, with some of the results revealing some startling information.
With network manufacturers telling us that almost every device will be net-connected within two years, it should come as no surprise that our kids and teens are spending a lot of time online, with the study highlighting an average of 3.6 hours per day for every teen.
Even that number is probably a touch low, given how much social networking, gaming, and research for homework kids are actually doing, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg for some surprising statistics revealing what kids are doing online.
According to the numbers, 72% of teenagers are online using the social networking giant Facebook every day, with many of these accounts showing a home address, home phone number, and mobile number on their accounts, putting not just their online lives at risk, but also welcoming the very real possibility of a physical encounter with disastrous consequences.
In fact, the numbers are even more surprising, with many teenagers adding strangers as friends, chatting privately, sharing photos, and even going so far as meeting them in public.
“At a real behavioural level, [kids and teens] don’t get it,” said Dr. Justin Coulson. “Once they feel they’ve had some interaction, they actually think they now know that person and they’re safe.”
In fact, according to the research, one in 20 kids will meet with a stranger, when they should probably be talking about what’s happening online with their parents.
“We’ve all been teenagers and we’re all going to have secrets,” said Dr. Coulson. “Kids are keeping secrets because they’re doing the wrong thing and don’t feel safe telling someone.”
