Parents in the East expect their child to spend more time online this summer
Research by Vodafone says it comes with a bigger concern about online safety and cyberbullying over the summer holidays
A new report has shown that 59% of parents in the East believe their child will spend more time online during the summer holidays compared to term time.
The research by Vodafone has highlighted the concerns on cyberbullying, online safety and screen time.
One in five parents don’t feel they could confidently teach their children about online safety.
Where parental control is concerned, almost six in ten say they are unaware of how to monitor their children’s online activity and over half don’t know how to block certain websites from being accessed.
Emma Robertson, is co-founder of Digital Awareness UK: “We do have a responsibility to get the right kind of parental controls in place to make sure that they can’t just land on this stuff, as well as not being able to search for it.”
According to Digital Awareness, UK teenagers are spending the equivalent of an adult working week online.
Emma tells us it’s about finding balance with using the internet in a positive way and also being able to switch off: “When you’re young and you are impressionable and you can get the right sort of habits in place from a young age… it’s super, super important because it’s about teaching our children that finding balance is important now, and always will be."
The research also shows that one in seven worry their child doesn’t understand the risks of using the internet, apps and online gaming; and almost 20% are concerned about the risk of online bullying.
As well as the worry about being a victim to cyber bullying, it’s also important to teach children about being kind on the internet.
Emma added: “As parents it’s important to talk to our children about not being racist, not being homophobic and being a kind person and treating people with respect.
"And that translates into the online world through social media.
“There is this wave of online hate speech flooding social media platforms and gaming networks at the moment… there is so much opportunity out there for us to sit down and say ‘As a family, how do we feel about this? What could we do to stamp some of this stuff out? How should we be behaving?"
The research comes as Vodafone has announced it will be offering 10,000 free digital copies of author Jeanne Willis (Dr. Xargle) and illustrator Tony Ross’ (Horrid Henry, Little Princess) Internet Safety picture books for children to help parents keep kids occupied over the summer and educate them on online safety.
The three books available explore themes of internet bullying, managing screen time and being mindful of internet predators in fun and engaging stories.