Parents are dangerously unaware of what their children are actually doing online. A recent survey suggested that more than half the 9-19 year old who go online have been exposed to pornographic material – but only one in six parents was aware that their child had ever seen such images. Some other statistics that should make all parents want to monitor child’s Internet usage include:
20% of the estimated 24 million children now online have been solicited for sex by an Internet Predator in the last year
25% of children have received pornographic images in the mail, and a tenth of these were were sent by someone the child already knows
Teens between the ages of 12 and 17 spend an average of 25 minutes each day with instant messaging applications, but often have no way of knowing who they’re actually talking to – What a Nightmare!
Recent surveys on Internet usage suggest that a wide generation gap is opening up between parents and children. In the US, nearly 50% of all children have access to the Internet from home. Of children over the age of eight, one in five has a computer in their own bedroom. Growing up with the Internet means that these children are quite comfortable and knowledgeable about the web and how it works – but that doesn’t mean that they are prepared for everything that they might encounter.
Child Internet safety is an enormously important issue, but how well is it actually being handled? Do you know what your kids are doing while they are on the internet? Do you want to know if they are chatting with an Internet Predator before it’s too late?
Tags: child internet safety, gap, generation gap, internet predator, internet usage, mail, nightmare, parents and children, pornographic images, pornographic material