Children put themselves at risk online
Real Radio can today reveal the worrying number of Scottish teenagers who are agreeing to meet up with a stranger they’ve chatted to on the internet.
Our exclusive Websafe survey of thousands of schoolchildren, shows one in 10 have set up a meeting with someone they haven’t already seen face to face – with 15% telling nobody what they were doing.
More than one in every 10 has given out personal information to an online stranger – such as photographs, phone number and school details or address.
Chris Cloke from children’s charity the NSPCC said: "It’s very easy for people to go online, to make up identities and pretend to be someone they’re not. As parents, we need to emphasise to children and young people that they have to be very wary of forming relationships with people online.
"They should never give out personal information about what their name is, where they live, what their address is – and they shouldn’t put up photographs of themselves.
"Social networking, internet, email, cyberspace and mobile phones are really taking off and becoming more popular. I think what can all too easily happen is that children and young people get carried away in the spur of the moment and give out that sort of information.
"We welcome the results of this survey. It’s quite worrying and highlights the digital divide among generations. I think this is a real wake-up call for parents."
The Websafe survey reveals not enough mums and dads are taking an interest in what their children are doing on the internet.
Our study shows just one in 10 are regularly checking their teenagers – with 35 per cent never supervising them while they’re online.
Real Radio questioned 3,680 secondary school pupils aged 11 to 15-years old across the UK between May and July 2009.
The number of teenagers with access to the internet in their bedroom has increased sharply in the space of three years.
Almost two thirds – 63 per cent – can now log on in the privacy of their own rooms, possibly down to the explosion in wireless broadband, internet-enabled phones and laptop computers.
This goes against the official guidance to parents to keep the computer in a place where they can see it – such as the living room.
Cyberbullying remains a problem with almost a fifth telling us they’ve experienced some sort of online abuse – with five in ten telling no-one what they were going through.
Chris Cloke added: "Cyberbullying is one of the worst, most menacing forms of bullying because it can be so hard to escape. It can follow children around 24 hours a day, targeting them whenever they are online or on their mobile, even at their home.
"It is especially worrying that some are still not reporting it. I would urge any young person to tell someone they trust, like a teacher or a parent or ChildLine. Bullying online is as serious as bullying in the real world and must not be tolerated."
The research also reveals 15 per cent of teenagers have been asked inappropriate questions while on the internet, 18 per cent have lied about their age, and over a quarter (27%) try and keep what they do online a secret from their parents.
Chatting is the thing they like to do most on the internet, with instant messaging and social networking site Facebook among the most popular applications used.
