'If we allow children online, at this age, then they need to be supervised'

CyberSafeKids is marking Safer Internet Day with a campaign to support parents in supervising their children's online lives.

Children as young as eight are at an increased risk of being exposed to harmful online content, with research highlighting a “significant” lack of parental engagement in monitoring their activities.

While calls continue for Government to introduce a mandatory online safety programme, new research shows many children have unrestricted and unsupervised access to smart devices in their bedrooms.

Many young children are not telling their parents when they have seen content online that has upset them, according to a survey of more than 2,000 primary school children carried out by CyberSafeKids.

Published on Tuesday to mark Safer Internet Day, it found more than 80% of eight to 12-year-olds are allowed to use phones and other smart devices unsupervised in their bedrooms.

The survey also found:

• Almost 30% of the children surveyed reported they could go online whenever they wanted;
• Half (50%) acknowledged they spent too much time online;
• Just 35% said their parents could see what they were doing online.

Of those children who had been bothered or upset by something they had experienced online in the last year, just half spoke to a parent or trusted adult.

A further 16% said they saw something online that they would not want their parents to know about in the past year.

Over a third (36%) of children surveyed said they had not talked to their parents at all in the past year about how to stay safe online, and a further 18% reported never having such conversations.

Lack of parental guidance

This lack of parental guidance can leave children ill-equipped and highly vulnerable to potential risks online, according to CyberSafeKids.

According to the campaign group, children having unsupervised access to smart devices in their bedrooms increases their risk of being exposed to inappropriate sexual or violent content or contact from strangers. It also decreases the possibility of them telling a trusted adult if something goes wrong.

It is launching its ‘Same Rules Apply’ campaign for parents on Tuesday.

CyberSafeKids chief executive Alex Cooney said there was an urgent need to provide better support to parents. 

“There is too much social pressure for children to be online and in many cases it’s before they are ready. Our Same Rules Apply campaign seeks to support parents in approaching children’s online lives with the same care and supervision that we apply to their offline lives. 

"It’s not all on parents, however, big tech needs to be compelled to create safer online spaces for children too."

Parents need to be more involved in children’s online lives, according to clinical psychologist Dr David Coleman.

“The fact that primary school-aged children affected by distressing content or interactions online are choosing not to discuss these experiences with a parent or trusted adult is concerning.

If we allow children online, at this age, then they need to be supervised and should never have unrestricted access. Keeping children safe online is as important as keeping them safe offline.

Derek Chambers, policy lead on national mental health with the HSE said the research highlighted a disconnect between parents and children.

“We know that overexposure to the digital world can have a negative impact on sleep, mood and overall mental health, and this research also reminds us that children’s unsupervised access to smart devices in their bedrooms increases their risk of being exposed to harmful content or contact from strangers.” 

The Same Rules Apply campaign is available here.