Spotlight
Study reveals almost half of indian children admit to meeting or wanting to meet a
stranger they first met online
Intel Security has released the findings of the 2015 edition of
its Teens, Tweens and Technology Survey which examines the
online behaviors and social networking habits of tweens and
teens aged 8 to 16 years old in India. The study also surveyed
the concerns of parents, revealing that when it comes to online
activity, parents believe (48%) that the worst thing that could
happen to their children is interacting with strangers online.
This concern is warranted given that almost half (44%) of the
children polled would meet or have met someone in person that
they first met online.
While 91% of parents claim to have had a discussion with their
children about the risks of social media, interacting with
strangers is not one of the primary topics. The most discussed
topics are cyber criminals and identity theft (71%), privacy
settings (62%), cyberbullying (57%), online reputation (53%)
or popularity among friends (52%). Additionally, a
surprisingly low number (17%) of parents are interested in
finding out if their children are interacting with strangers
online. This indicates that while parents believe that
interacting with strangers online may be risky, this knowledge
has not translated into remedial action. The findings of Intel
Security's Tweens, Teens & Technology 2015 report were
released at a panel discussion with Melanie Duca, Consumer
Marketing Director (APAC), Intel Security; Venkat
Krishnapur- Head of Operations for Intel Security Group's
India Development Centre; Anindita Mishra- Cybermum,
Intel Security; and, Dr. Sunil Mittal, a leading psychiatrist in
New Delhi on October 27, 2015.
Melanie Duca, APAC Consumer Marketing Director, Intel
Security said, “As with every edition of our Teens, Tweens &
Technology survey, this year too, we see some concerning
issues being raised. In analyzing the responses of both parents
and children, what is evident is that that there are a lot more
open conversations and disclosures between them. The good
news is while there are open conversations, work is required on
ensuring that these go beyond casual chats. It is imperative to
focus on ensuring children understand the consequences of
their actions as well as agree on good Internet etiquette.”
The study says that 90% of parents indicate that they would
monitor all of their child's online activities across all devices if
they could. However the majority of the children (64%)
indicate to hide (some of) their online activity from their
parents indicating that even parents that do keep a watchful
eye, are often deceived by what they see.
Additionally, while many parents (86%) claim to know the
kind of activities that their child regularly participates in while
online, more than half of the children (56%) claim that they
would change their online behaviour when they knew their
parents were watching and 43% children use anonymous
names or aliases for their social media profiles
One in four (27%) children know other people's password and
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Curriculum November 16 2015
TOP 5 CYBER PARENTING TIPS TO
HELP FACILITATE ONLINE SAFETY:
1
. Connect With Your Children. Talk casually and
frequently with them about the online risks, and make
sure the communication lines are open. Foster discussions
around relevant news stories or cases at schools.
. Set Password Rules. To show camaraderie and trust,
teens may share their social media passwords with
friends or acquaintances. Friend or not, this is a dangerous
practice. Put a consequence in place for breaking this critical
password rule.
. Read App Reviews. By reading app flags, age
restrictions (ranks include: everyone, low maturity,
medium maturity, or high maturity) and customer reviews
on an app, you will be able to discern if an app is going to be
suitable for your child.
. Gain Access. Parents should have passwords for their
children's social media accounts and passcodes to their
children's devices to have full access.
. Up Your Tech Knowledge. Stay one step ahead and
take the time to research t H