Connected Blog

As part of a series of posts, we examine the latest research on how young people and the wider population in the UK use the internet, and what it means for Local Authorities, schools and teachers.

Many parents argued that, superficially at least, the internet felt safe. Children could surf the internet in the safety of their own home. It kept them off the streets and gave them something to do.

Rules do exist to address concerns about the net. Current concerns are mostly surrounding illegal uses (44% are concerned about this), viruses (13%), innocently viewing pornography (11%), and only 6% are concerned about ID theft. 43% of youngsters don’t go anywhere for advice, 33% to parents and the same for schools, 20% to the net itself.

Parents need the most information – 57% don’t know where to go for information. 4 in 10 wouldn’t know who to complain to about content on the web.

“I wouldn’t listen to my parents anyway, as they don’t know enough.”
17 year old girl, London

“My Mum and Dad haven’t got a clue, I set up the virus software and parent filter, to control my brother, they should make it easier for parents to set up. The AOL has loads of options it’s really complicated”
16 year old girl, Cardiff

The level and nature of parental monitoring and controlling of their children’s internet use was very varied and often dictated by personality type and level of parental experience, as well as factors such as the age, personality and birth order of the child, previous exposure to on-line safety issues, and layout of the home. Many parents found internet usage hard to monitor and control and many did not even try. It was common for ‘rules’ to develop in an ad hoc way as parental knowledge grew.

Most kids don’t perceive there to be rules from parents, and don’t perceive conventions in the same way as real world. Meeting people for real is the main area where the safety message has not got through. Most recognise rules for publishing photos and personal info. Most friend surfers / lurkers are male and most attention seekers are female. Young females are also most likely to play with their identity.

There are different concerns about the internet between the sexes. Concern is generally greater for girls than it is for boys, more protective. Parents saw them as being more vulnerable to predators (especially as they used the internet more for chatting and socialising). Parents acknowledged that boys were more likely to access questionable material but often felt reasonably relaxed about this. They expected boys to be more experimental. Parents of sons were, typically, more relaxed about some sexual exploration arguing that boys would be boys and that it was fairly ‘normal’ for them to seek out porn at some stage or other. Many gave examples of their sons downloading pornographic ringtones or downloading and watching porn on-line. However, on reflection, some expressed concern about the extent of hard core porn on line.

Also, parents of children from more socially disadvantaged backgrounds are less able to protect against the risks of the internet and require additional support.

When asked where responsibility for protecting children is seen to lie, most in the UK say it lies with parents (97%), then schools and ISPs on equal measure and lastly government. Yet, at the same time, children themselves are seen as the number one source of help and information on the net (66%).

Categories: Digital Literacy, Research