The document discusses risks and opportunities children face online. It summarizes research from a 2010 EU Kids Online survey of 25,000 children which found that internet use provides both opportunities and risks for children. While many fears about online risks exist, actual reported harm is often lower. Risky behavior tends to come from older, male, or more vulnerable children and increases with greater internet use and knowledge, though harm may decrease with age. The document provides strategies for parents to engage with children online to help manage risks.

1. The Internet and Child Safety
Joe Drumgoole
http:/twitter.com/jdrumgoole
http://blog.joedrumgoole.com

2. The Social Network Generation
• Social Networks
– MySpace : 2003
– Facebook : 2004
– Bebo: 2005
– Twitter: 2006
• Social Media
– YouTube: 2005
– Flickr: 2004
• Smart Phones
– iPhone : 2007
– Android: 2008
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3. Generational Fears
• Sexual Predators
• Grooming
• Cyberbullying
• Inappropriate Content
• High Risk Behaviour
• Privacy
• Fear of the unknown
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4. EU Kids Online
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/Home.aspx
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20II
%20(2009-11)/EUKidsOnlineIIReports/Final%20report.pdf
• 25,000 Children aged 9-11 and their parents surveyed in 2010
• Evidence based analysis
The purpose was to provide a rigorous evidence base to support
stakeholders in their efforts to maximise online opportunities
while minimising the risk of harm associated with internet use.
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5. Children Going Online
• Internet use is individualised, privatised and
mobile
• Internet presents opportunities & risks
• Increasing opportunities increases risk
• Risk is not equal to Harm
• Risky opportunities allow children to develop
coping strategies
• Many children who use Social Networking
sites are underage (<13)
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6. How Children Go Online
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7. How Children go Online
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8. What Children Do Online
23% : Chat
rooms,
blogging, virtual
worlds
56%: Download
music, videos and
play with others
Opportunity
online
Risk
75%: Use Internet for
communication
86%: Watch videos online
100%: Play games do and school work
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9. Good vs Bad Online
Irish Children have
more bad experiences
on line than their
peers
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10. Risky Behaviour
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11. Which Children Engage in Risky Behaviour?
• Older children, boys, and children higher in self-
efficacy and sensation seeking
• Those who use the internet in more places, for
longer, and for more activities
• Children who encounter more offline risks
• Children with more psychological difficulties
• Children who say it is “very true” that “I find it
easier to be myself on the internet”
• Children with more digital literacy and safety
skills
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12. Social Networks
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13. Sexual Content
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14. Sexual Content
• Vulnerability Matters
• Risk vs Harm: Older children see more content
but report less harm
• 40% parents are unaware that their children
have seen pornographic images
• Private access increases risk
• 15% of 11-16 yr old have received explicit
phone messages
• Risks Migrate
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15. Online Bullying
• More an offline than online problem
• People who are bullied offline get bullied online
• Bullying and being bullied go together
• Less than half tell an adult
• Less than half know how to block a bully online
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16. Meeting New Contacts Online
• “Stranger Danger”
• Making new contacts online: Common
• Meeting contacts offline: Uncommon
• 11% who went to offline meetings found them
upsetting
• Tended to be younger and more vulnerable
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17. New Risks
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18. Risk vs Harm
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19. Risk vs Harm
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20. What do Children do?
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21. Top Ten Myths
1. Digital Natives 4. Everyone is 7. Offline risks
Know It All watching porn online migrate online
2. Everyone is 8. Putting the PC in
creating their own 5. Bullies are baddies the living room will
content now help
3. Under 13’s can’t 6. People you meet 9. Teaching digital
use social networks on the internet are skills will reduce
so no worries strangers online risk
10. Children can get
around safety
software
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22. Strategies
• Talk to your kids
• Engage in the same online activities
• Make sure your children know about
privacy/blocking/sharing controls
• Prepare them to cope by themselves
• Check their activities online
• “Friend” them but don’t participate
• Don’t “friend” their friends
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23. Tools
• Anti-virus: Microsoft Security Essentials
• Anti-spyware: Spybot
• Dedicated Accounts
• Parental Controls
– NetNanny
– Facebook - Social Monitor
– Norton Family Safety
– OpenDNS Parental Controls
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24. Conclusions
• Beware False Fears
• The Internet is a relatively safe place
• Risk increases with knowledge and use
• Risk increases with age
• Harm decreases with age
• Harm is correlated with lower age and
vulnerability
See http://slideshare/jdrumgoole for a copy of the deck
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