1 in 9 kids having online sex chat

Posted on 17 Jul 2008 at 17:22

One in nine children have admitted to having explicit online chat, claims a survey. 27 per cent admitted to interacting with stranger online and 10 per cent revealed they had actually met someone in person, after encountering them first on the net.

The Mobile Life survey for the Carphone Warehouse surveyed 6,000 people from the UK and US, and found that those in the 11 to 18 year old category offered some alarming revelations.

Half of UK children admitted that they lie to their parents about what they get up to online, 28 per cent said they had visited adult sites and one in three confessed that they'd get in trouble if their parents knew what they were looking at online.

Meanwhile, 87 per cent of parents believed they were fully aware of what their kids were looking at online and 86 per cent said they were confident their kids weren't doing anything they'd disapprove of. Of the few parents who actually checked their children's surfing history, 26 per cent admitted they had found something they would disapprove of.

Psychologist Dr Tanya Byron said parents should express more interest in their children's online habits, and talk them through the dangers.

"I think the key is for parents to treat the issue of online safety in the same way that they would approach other potemtial danger areas," she said.

"With the increasing importance of online wireless technology and the role it plays in our children's lives, we must all learn and teach the online safety code," she added.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota

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