20% of children talk to strangers online

Parents are being warned that it is “incredibly important” they know who their children are speaking to online after research shows that a fifth of kids aged between eight and ten, and a quarter of 12-year-olds, talk to strangers online every day.

CyberSafeIreland said the problem is a particular issue among young boys, with a third of eight-year-old boys and nearly half of boys aged nine in contact with people they don’t know.