Children as young as eight sharing personal information on social media

CHILDREN as young as eight are sharing their home address, phone number and surname on social media as experts call for mandatory education in schools to warn of the dangers of over-sharing online.

An alarming 56 per cent of children aged eight to 13 say they are circumventing rules. Picture: istock.

CHILDREN as young as eight are sharing their home address, phone number and surname on open social media platforms as experts call for mandatory education in schools to warn of the dangers of over-sharing online.

New data from the Office of the Children’s E-Safety Commissioner shows kids are putting themselves at risk.

The research shows 39 per cent of children as young as eight who use social media have shared their real surname; 24 per cent have posted a photo of their school or uniform and eight per cent have shared their phone number and/or street address.

Teens are turning to “dark social” platforms such as Snapchat, which give a false sense of security that their information is safe because it disappears after a defined timeframe.

Facebook is still the platform of choice, with 90 per cent of 14 to 17-year-olds using the service regularly.

An alarming 56 per cent of children aged eight to 13 say they are circumventing rules in place preventing children under 13 having a profile.

Children’s E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said parents should “model” appropriate behaviour.

Most are becoming more aware of privacy settings but 9 per cent of social media users as young as eight say their main profile is public.

Children’s E-Safety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said there were real risks for children so young.

“Revealing information like your phone number, street address or school details on social media can expose children to a range of risks they may not have the maturity, judgment or resilience to handle on their own,” Ms Inman Grant said.

“In the rare or worst-case scenario, school details can also be used by online predators to find a child’s location, to befriend a child or trick them into believing they know them.”

Ms Inman Grant said parents should “model” appropriate behaviour. “Just as we wouldn’t hand our children the keys to a car without teaching them the road rules, the same guidance needs to apply to handing over connected devices to children,” she said.

“Parents should familiarise themselves with the service their child is wanting to join and take into consideration the age requirements, their level of maturity and the types of people they will be interacting with.”

The latest data comes as experts call on governments to consider making privacy and digital literacy programs an integral part of the school curriculum to minimise the harm of online sharing.