Internet peril facing our kids

Dean Kirby

November 16, 2009

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ONE in three children in Greater Manchester have given away personal details to strangers they met on the internet, the M.E.N. can reveal.

A shocking survey also reveals that more than a quarter of boys and girls aged 11 to 15 have agreed to meet people they have chatted to online.

The research carried out by our sister station Real Radio also shows that nearly two thirds of children in the region have access to the internet in their bedrooms - against the advice of national child protection agencies.

Don't be scared to keep your kids safe

How to protect your kids on the net

More than half say their parents never supervise what they are doing online and more than a quarter admit they try to keep their internet activity secret. Today, we are launching a campaign with Real Radio and our sister TV station Channel M aimed at making the internet a safer place for children.

The Websafe campaign, which also marks national Anti-Bullying Week, has the backing of Victims' Champion Sara Payne. And Gordon Brown said: "We need to be aware of the need for safety on the internet and internet companies have to take responsibility." The campaign will warn parents of the dangers lurking on the internet, and give advice to help keep children safe.

The M.E.N. will be seeking the views of children, parents, teachers, charity workers, politicians, police officers and computer experts. We will also be encouraging internet companies to do more to protect children using their services.

Real Radio interviewed 3,680 secondary school pupils, including more than 360 in Greater Manchester. More than a third of local children said they had accessed an adult site, while nearly one in three said they had lied about their age online.

More than a quarter said they had been asked inappropriate questions on the net and one in ten had felt bullied, threatened or uncomfortable.

Teachers believe anti-bullying should be rated as highly as literacy and numeracy on the national curriculum. Police and child protection agencies say they are working hard to give parents advice and to catch people intent on harming children.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which receives reports from children and parents concerned about inappropriate sexual contact from strangers online, said: "These figures certainly echo our own research and what young people are telling us."

Don't be scared to keep your kids safe

How to protect your kids on the net

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Brook Lands (16/11/2009 at 08:58)

There is a slight "peril" in using the internet, the bigger peril is from parents not being responsible enough to learn about those dangers and how to avoid them if they don't know or to look after their kids better if they do.

tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (16/11/2009 at 09:50)

I fully know about all the social sites on the interent and how they all work. Plus my duaghters are only allowed to use the internet in the main room where we all sit. its the correct way to do it.

william aitken (16/11/2009 at 10:37)

its obviouse ist'n it dont let kids that r under age go online or go on the internet at all just let them play games normal games u know 1's that u can buy from a shop its more safer and no info of ur kids is getting sent out 2 the world is it now so this is just a lesson 2 all the parents out there no internet 4 kids under the age of 14 because of 14 at that age they know wot they will be doin and the risks they will be takin at such a yung age kids do not know the risks that they will be gettin in and the trouble that they cud get in

tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (16/11/2009 at 11:38)

Mr Aitken. I think fourteen could be a bit too old. As at high school my daughter had to use the ineternet for homework etc. Maybe no child under 12 for example. its a hard choice to decide what age is suitable . the internet is a wonderful tool. Maybe put restrictions on all perverts usign it. Say all convicted ones banned from internet for life. But then again how do you police this and the internet.

Andanotherthing, Mcr (16/11/2009 at 11:51)

It is a difficult one, a dilemma I did not have. I would say just have the one PC in the main room, but some schools provide kids with laptops. I think the best thing to do is have a serious talk, use the parental controls and check up on them from time to time.

tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (16/11/2009 at 12:03)

Fully agree with your comments Andanotherthing. Us parents should be the first and last line of defence. Know all our childrens passwords i.e set them up ourselves. Add unsuitable sites to the blocked area. And check the PC for the sites visted. And limit time spent on it too.

Silky Blue. The Golden Moment has arrived, Manchester (16/11/2009 at 12:40)

You can buy tracking software for home computers so that you can follow all the moves.

Englisc Stannes, North Manchester (16/11/2009 at 13:08)

I am not surprised really. If you sit at home with a computer not on the internet, then you have no problem in using the computer as a tool. But access to the internet without monitoring is asking for trouble. A lot of children have the know how in working with computers but little common sense when visiting unwarranted sites. If the schools are willing to teach IT, then they be held accountable for the correct internet usage. The internet is too open for children for such site as Twitter and Facebook and sadly parents do fail a little when not noting the traffic.

Black Flag (16/11/2009 at 13:23)

Englisc Stannes: "If the schools are willing to teach IT, then they be held accountable for the correct internet usage."

By that reasoning, you'd have to hold the school responsible for everything a child reads or writes because they are willing to teach the English language.

Brook Lands (16/11/2009 at 15:09)

If the schools are willing to teach IT, then they be held accountable for the correct internet usage. Englisc Stannes, North Manchester

And just absolve parents of responsibility? If you have kids (and I'm not saying just you Englisc Stannes) then they are your responsibility. You wouldn't let your kids out in the real world without telling them how to cross the road and not to speak to strangers would you?

Same on the internet, just people need to get used to the idea that it's not something like TV, just one way into your home, this is now both ways and can have actual repercussions on your family.

Andanotherthing, Mcr (16/11/2009 at 16:22)

Silky Blue. The Golden Moment has arrived, Manchester
16/11/2009 at 12:40

Very James Bond my friend.

Bucko (16/11/2009 at 16:36)

Not sure about PCs but on a Mac responsible parents can easily set up a separate user account and use parental controls to monitor usage and manage what their children have access to.

Englisc Stannes, North Manchester (16/11/2009 at 16:37)

Yes black flag schools should take more care in teaching IT in areas like communication and learning to spot bogus characters. By all accounts a child is still learning the art of penpaling with facebook and twitter. But the problem exist with parents allowing or not knowing what their little ones doing. Can you monitor your child email traffic or are you invading on their privacy. Within your school is this been monitored of the people they communicate with. Originally a penpal letter was just that a simple letter between another school or another country school. Now the gate is wider and maybe unmonitored. no brook lands to the child of my own argument. This is why I mentioned, the teacher is responsible in showing the correct method of internet use, on the same line as physics, geography, tech drawing. Where english and mathematics has become second place to computer usage. This is the problem from the start of computer usage, by not able think first, but think the computer has the answer. So ending up with blinkered view. If the reports of children being swayed into the lowlives who haunt the net to be believed, then the failure is in the education first. Why do the reports in newspapers clearly announce, "stunned parents amazed by how their child has been trapped". Education, Education, Education.

salfordrat (16/11/2009 at 21:53)

Englisc Stannes, North Manchester

Schools are no more responsible for the internet than were mill owners for the industrial revoution. The internet is now an integral part of our lives, everything from the world banking system to the flight of airplanes now depend on the ability of computers to communicate. No one body, person, or group is responsible for this technological (r)evolution.

ann Turner (18/11/2009 at 14:38)

We have always been told to keep main PC in living room where we can see what our young kids are doing and who they are talking too. It is not down to facebook bebo or msn to do this. If parents allow their kids on these sites then they should watch their kids themselves and stop blaming everyone when something goes wrong. Also if you are unable to watch them then there is parental controls to stop kids getting on adult sites.

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