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A NEW SURVEY of almost 4,000 children has found that 43% of those aged between eight and 13-years-old are talking to people they have never met in real life on social media and gaming platforms.
CyberSafe Ireland surveyed 3,867 children and found that 92% of them owned their own smart device and were active online.
It found that 43% of those surveyed were speaking to strangers online, with a third of them speaking to strangers every day or at least once a week.
Although 99% of children surveyed were under the age of 13, which is the minimum age required to sign up to social media sites, many reported being active on the platforms.
Snapchat was the most popular with 33% of children surveyed having an account, WhatsApp was the second most popular app at 28%.
Some 23% reported having an Instagram account and another 21% reported having a TikTok account.
CyberSafe Ireland’s chief executive Alex Cooney said: “The online service providers benefit so much from their users, without having to take the full degree of responsibility that they should.”
“So much more needs to be done and given the number of kids who are active online, time is of the essence,” she added.
More than 1 in 10 of children aged eight to 13-years old who took part in this survey said they spent more than 4 hours a day online – this included 12% of 8-year-olds and 15% of 12-year-olds.
Gaming was another issue raised by the charity as 29% said they played over-18 games, rising to 47% for boys and falling to 12% for girls. More than a third of 8-year-olds said they played over-18 games.
Teachers
The effect of online-activity among children is having a direct impact on school life as more than half of teachers – 59% – saying they are dealing with online safety incidences in the classroom.
Some 10% of those said they dealt with more than five incidences in the last year.
Of the teachers who spoke to the charity for the survey, 52% said they did not feel equipped to teach online safety messages in the classroom.
Philip Arnell, head of education and innovation at CyberSafe Ireland said it is important that parents are equipping children with necessary skills to stay safe online.
“As a teacher with 20 years’ experience I know how kids this age like to spend their time but it’s astonishing to think that 12% of the children surveyed spend 4 or more hours per day online: that amount of daily screen time equates to a total of 61 days each year,” he said.
“While technology undoubtedly brings social and educational benefits, it is vital that screen time is monitored and that it is balanced appropriately with all the other aspects that contribute to a healthy lifestyle.”
Children in schools in disadvantaged areas were 29% more likely to talk to strangers every day and 42% more likely to be online for more than four hours a day.
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It’s got to be more 40%. Anyway give a child a mobile don’t start moaning when kidie fiddlers start sniffn around. Be a perant an say NO!
There’s a world of different between reddit or a fortnite discord and being groomed – ‘talking to strangers online’ can be absolutely fine if you teach your kid what to look out for and supervise them appropriately. The parents who wring their hands over the big bad internet are the same ones using ipads to babysit for them.
Call me old fashioned but what are kids from 8-13 years of age doing with a smartphone? Also if a parent saw their child talking to a stranger outside the school or shop would they be concerned? I can’t see much difference, in fact at least the phone seems a much more dodgy option to me as they are hidden behind a keyboard with you having no way of knowing who your kid is in contact with. Scary world out there and IMO parents need to parent & not try and be their kids best friends.
@Mary Cullinane: You’re badly misinformed and extremely old fashioned.
@Sean: I’m sure some people would agree with you but really can you tell me what useful purpose giving a young child a smartphone serves? If making contact with parents is important get them a regular phone.
I have been ‘online’ for most of my life. I’m in my early twenties, yes I still remember dial-up and no I didn’t get a smart phone till I was 16. I believe children should absolutely be informed as to what to be vigilant for online and SHOULD be supervised as to what they’re doing and who they talk to. It wasn’t till secondary school that I was shown what to look out for. With kids today having social media accounts so young, they should be taught and looked after at a younger age. Luckily, I have met some of my absolute best friends through online communities, met in real life and have been continuously friends for years. Therefore, I personally don’t see it as all doom and gloom. However, there are real dangers out there thats more than just a computer virus. Be smart, be safe.
I once cautioned one of my nephews about being careful who he communicated with online.
He was rather dismissive about the dangers of terrorists (his word) popping up in a Pokémon chatroom.
So I pointed out that any stranger he was chatting to could easily be me using a fake profile to check up on him.
He got such a look of horror on his face! Heh!
PARENTS STOP TAKING THE BACK SEAT ON IT, PUT UR PHONE DOWN AND PROTECT UR KIDS!!
LA frightening scenario: a high proportion of boys, including 36 per cent of eight-year-old boys and 43 per cent of 10-year-old boys, are playing over-18s games and being exposed to violent and sexual content that is not appropriate for their age. The internet service providers and social media companies could do more to bar access. They’re only interested in money. I worked in IT. We could compose firewall rules, get algorithms, software etc to control web access and web communications and that was 10 years ago! BUT it costs money to implement controls and programming and a budget to employ security experts. No excuses. The EU could do more. Parents need to mobilize, lobby politicians and force ISP’s and Social Media Companies to fix this. It would be solved yesterday if desired!
have your say