Aussie kids being stalked and harrased online at alarming levels
IT’S the wake-up call we can’t ignore. Shock research has revealed how one in four Aussie kids under the age of 12 are being stalked, harassed and abused online.
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EXCLUSIVE
ONE in four Aussie kids under the age of 12 are being stalked, harassed and abused online at alarming levels.
A total of 24 per cent of kids aged 8 to 12 received unwanted contact from strangers online last year and this rose to nearly half of all 13 to 17-year-olds (42 per cent).
News Corp Australia can today reveal the first ever data that looks at the full extent of the dangers and online trauma our kids are facing online.
The research from the government’s top cyber watchdog — the Office of the eSafety Commissioner — found a total of 15 per cent of primary school children aged 8 to 12 received threats or abuse online in the 12 months to June 2017 and this rose to 26 per cent for teens.
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For children aged 8 to 12 a total of 12 per cent already felt they had suffered significant reputational damage as a result of cyber abuse and this increased to 25 per cent of teens.
Of kids who had a negative online experience, 37 per cent of 8 to 12 year olds didn’t feel good about themselves after the online trauma and 35 per cent felt helpless when they were stalked, harassed or abused online.
The shocking insights into our kids’ digital lives were obtained by surveying more than 3000 young people about their interactions online.
Of those 1288 were kids aged 8 to 12.
For the first time News Corp Australia can also reveal how much Australian adults are being abused online, with a further 500 respondents over the age of 18 questioned about their online experiences.
A total of 16 per cent of Australian adults received repeated unwanted online contact last year, 15 per cent had offensive things said about them with an intention to hurt them and one in ten had their personal information used in a way they did not like.
ESafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said it was vital that parents had an open dialogue with their children about their online habits.
“Young people are experiencing a range of complex and serious incidents online,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“We know negative online experiences have a serious impact on young people’s wellbeing so it’s essential they take the right action to get help. Parents need to be regularly engaging with their child’s online lives, and ensure they know that they can come to them if something goes wrong online.”
Kristy Goodwin, digital parenting expert, said the findings were shocking and should act as a wake up call for all Australians.
“This is seriously alarming that so many kids as early as Year 3 or Year 4 are being contacted by strangers online. This should serve as a serious wake up call,” Dr Goodwin said.
She said parents needed to not close their eyes to the dangers of the online world and encouraged them to set up parental controls on devices but also engage in regular discussion with their kids about how to keep themselves safe online.
“Kids are playing in digital playgrounds and no one is doing playground duty.”
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Matt Warren, deputy director of the centre for cyber security research at Deakin University, said social media giants like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, were partly to blame for our kids being at high risk online.
“Social media companies are salient in their duty of care and the reality is a lot of these contacts or abuse of very young people are occurring on sites where they are technically not supposed to have accounts until the age of 13,” Professor Warren said.
“Governments, state and federal, need to demand more of these social media giants and actually force them into policing their age-restriction rules to keep our young people safe online.”
For more information on how to keep your kids safe online visit: www.esafety.gov.au.
KEY FINDINGS
— 33 per cent of all young Australians experienced unwanted contact, contact with strangers and unwanted content
8-12 year-olds — 24 per cent
13-17 year-olds 42 per cent
— 21 per cent of all young Australians experienced social exclusion, threats or abuse
8-12 year-olds — 17 per cent
13-17 year-olds 26 per cent
— 19 per cent of all young Australians felt they had suffered reputational damage
8-12 year-olds — 12 per cent for kids
13-17 year-olds — 25 per cent
— 36 per cent of all young Australians didn’t feel good about themselves after a negative online experience
8-12 year-olds — 37 per cent
13-17 — 34 per cent
— 35 per cent of all young Australians felt anger, sadness, fear, helpless, without power after a negative online experience
8-12 year-olds — 35 per cent
13-17 year olds — 35 per cent
— 24 per cent of all young Australians felt left out/lost friendships as a result of a negative online experience
8-12 year-olds — 25 per cent
13-17 year-olds — 24 per cent