Half of children lying about their age online

Children are getting around online access restrictions by lying about their age to access social networks or other websites, a survey suggests.

A study of 1,140 children aged 10 to 17 found that half have adjusted their age online, with slightly more boys than girls admitting to having done so.

The survey for the Irish Computer Society, a national body for IT professionals, found that 45% of boys say their parents are not aware of what they are doing online. Just under 40% of girls said the same thing, and 7% of all 338 girls and 800-plus boys said they have given personal information to strangers online.