UNICEF Ireland polled 400 Irish teens for Safer Internet Day in early February, the results were surprising.
Answering anonymously, almost half admitted lying about their age online in order to get around built-in safety measures on various platforms. A further 6% admitted maintaining fake profiles, while 3% own a secret phone.
Full results available on www.ureport.ie
Meanwhile, three in four young participants told us they hold themselves primarily responsible for their safety online. However, 8% hold private firms responsible for their online safety, 6% hold the Government responsible, 4% say their parents bear primary responsibility, and just 1% feel their schools have responsibility.
The vast majority of young people polled, 44% (of 414 respondents), said their biggest concern about online safety is that private companies have access to their personal data. Respondents said this worried them because their personal details, the pictures they post and their search histories can all be viewed by private firms, while their data can be used to sell advertising.
Worries about businesses having access to their profiles outstripped the young participants’ concerns about the dangers posed by strangers online (10%), bullying (9%), the pressure a young person might feel from others on social media (5%), viewing sexual content (4%) or viewing violent content (3%). 25% did not report any worries about their online activity.
Around the world, UNICEF says more than 175,000 children go online for the first time every day – that is a new child every half second. Digital access exposes these children to a wealth of benefits and opportunities, but also to a host of risks and harms, including access to harmful content, sexual exploitation and abuse, cyberbullying, and misuse of their private information, the children’s agency warned.
Worldwide 1 in 3 internet users is a child, and yet – as outlined in UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2017: Children in a digital world – too little is done to protect them from the perils of the digital world, to safeguard the trail of information their online activities create, and to increase their access to safe and quality online content.
UNICEF is calling for renewed urgency and cooperation among governments, civil society, United Nations agencies and other international children’s organisations, and, most significantly, the private sector to put children at the center of digital policy by:
- Coordinating global, regional and national response. We must deepen collaboration between policy makers, law enforcement and the technology industry to embed principles of safety in the design of technology, and to work together to find solutions to keep pace with digital technology that can enable and conceal illegal trafficking and other online child sexual abuse.
- Safeguarding children’s privacy. We need a much greater commitment by the private sector and government to protect and not misuse children’s data and to respect its encryption; the full application of international standards in collecting and using data about children online; and to teach children how to protect themselves from threats to their own privacy.
- Empowering children online through more equitable access and digital literacy. Children must be taught how to keep themselves informed, engaged and safe online, including through greater collaboration between governments and technologists to develop ICT platforms and curricula from primary school through high school; supporting online libraries and expanding the capacity of public libraries to teach digital skills; investing in teacher training in digital technology; teaching children how to recognize and protect themselves from online dangers and misinformation; and making digital citizenship a core component of digital literacy instruction.
- Leveraging the unique role of the private sector. There is an urgent need for the establishment and enforcement of industry wide ethical standards on data and privacy that protect and benefit children online, including ethical product development and marketing that mitigates risks to children.
- Investing in better evidence about access, opportunities and risks for children online. We need better evidence about children’s access and activities online, so we can leverage this evidence for regulatory frameworks and policies that recognize the distinct needs and rights of children; strengthen coordination and knowledge sharing at the global level to address the challenges of a digital world; deepen collaboration with children’s organizations; and engage more systematically with policymakers and lawmakers.