2024-04-09 02:48:13
Anxiety is growing
For the second year in a row, the company’s internet safety research for children* has shown that as many as 24 percent parents, when asked about the biggest threats their child could face online, cited sexual harassment, molestation and exploitation. Twice as many parents chose this answer this year than in 2023. (12 percent).
In addition, 4 out of 10 parents (44%) whose children have experienced unsafe situations online said that their children have received requests from strangers for personal photos. According to D. Drakik, the increased anxiety of parents could also have been triggered by the cases related to child abuse that were announced in the public space.
“Hearing stories of children being targeted by criminals looking for victims on the Internet also raises concerns about their children’s safety.” However, the results of the study reveal that parents are less strict with their children – compared to last year, fewer parents constantly check their child’s activities on the Internet, and more freedom is given. In part, it gives the child privacy, but due to the lack of experience, there is also the risk of encountering various threats,” says Donatas Drakickas, product manager of the telecommunications company.
According to the survey, parents also fear that their children will be exposed to inappropriate content (26%), scams and scams (37%), pornography and sexual content (21%), dating pretenders (14%) and or bullying (14%).
It is necessary to protect
The study also showed that more than a third (37%) of children have experienced bullying on the Internet, a similar proportion (34%) have infected their computer after clicking on unclear links, visiting unsafe websites and having online conversations with strangers.
According to D. Drakik, the number of threats that both children and adults can face online is constantly increasing. In the past year alone, the company’s entire group has blocked more than 5 million attempts to access pages that contain content depicting the sexual exploitation of minors. The operator automatically blocks access to malicious, harmful content or child exploitation websites.
“Parents should make sure that their children really understand the rules and dangers of using the Internet safely. First of all, if you already allow your child to create an account on social networks, advise them not to add any strangers, even children, as friends. There have been many cases of imposters hiding behind fake photos. It is also important to teach critical thinking if a child is asked for some data – the child must understand that it cannot be disclosed to anyone,” advises D. Drakickas.
The expert also points out that special Internet protection products can help protect against many cyber threats on the Internet. For example, the company’s network-level protection allows parents to block inappropriate content: prevent certain social networks from working, block access to pornographic content, gambling, and other harmful sites.
In addition, the service automatically detects malicious pages and instantly blocks access to them. Customers can be informed about hacking attempts by SMS message or e-mail. by letters. This service can be ordered on the operator’s self-service website, it works at the network level, so there is no need to install or configure anything additionally on the device.
*The research “Children’s online safety” was carried out by UAB “Norstat” on behalf of the telecommunications company in 2024. February 15-26 The survey represents the opinion of Lithuanian residents aged 18-65 who have children under 18. During the research, 400 respondents were interviewed.
2024-04-09 02:48:13