Irish parents vigilant in controlling web access

IRISH parents are among the most vigilant in Europe at controlling what their children access on the internet.

However, there is a one-in-five chance children can access sites which advise about self harm — including suicide and self-mutilation — along with promoting anorexia.

New research also shows parents have little control over social networking sites, forums and blogs.

And while filters are 80% successful, in the remainder of cases they fail to work, either permitting unsuitable material or preventing content specifically designed for children.

Only a few tools exist that filter web 2.0 content which allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue, such as social networking sites like Facebook, forums and blogs or can block instant messaging or chat protocols or filter contact lists. Such sites are attracting an increasing number of children and at an ever younger age. Most are not monitored by adults while they are online, though the majority of parents say they talk to their children about what they do online. Over half say they stay close to their children when they are on the internet and Irish parents are among the most diligent. Most parents claimed they discuss how they should behave towards others online and talk about things that might upset the child such as bullying or sexual content.

Controlling what children do on the internet using smart phones and game consoles is more difficult than with computers, as not all products on the market can filter their web content.

The study, by the EU’s Safer Internet Programme, reveals close to a third of children across Europe access the internet through their phones, while more than a quarter go online through their game consoles.

“These surveys are designed to raise awareness of the importance of protecting children from certain internet content, while giving parents an objective view of which parental control software is the most effective”, said commission spokesman Jonathan Todd. The study analysed 26 parental control tools for PCs, three for games consoles and two for mobile phones and assessed how they worked at filtering content for children under 10 years of age and those older.

It assessed whether the tool worked with all the various operating systems including Windows, Linus and Mac and what it could effectively block; how easy it is for a tech savvy youngster to disable and how easy it is for parents to install and use.

* The database is at www.yprt.eu/sip.