Safer Internet Day (SID) is an EU wide initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people.
It is promoted in Ireland by the PDST Technology in Education and Webwise.
The Theme for Safer Internet Day 2018 is “Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you”.
Alan Ryan, from RíomhaireTech, works as a computer tutor across a number of schools in Laois.
As part of Safer Internet Day, he has conducted some research concerning internet usage of 5th and 6th class students in Laois schools – and some of his findings are rather startling.
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As the dawn of “Safer Internet Day 2018” is upon us I looked at how 5th and 6th class students in Laois spend most of their time while on the internet.
The internet is an excellent educational and recreational resource for everyone to use. Whether it is logging on to keep in contact with friends through social media, watching talking dogs on YouTube, or working from home, the internet and its awesome capabilities are here to stay.
Great! However, what does this mean for our younger generation of users, many of whom claim to know more about the workings of a tablet, iPad or P.C than their parents do.
Well, I caught up with one hundred 5th and 6th class students throughout five schools in Laois to ask them what they spend their time doing while online.
The following was revealed to us by students who partook in an anonymous online survey.
Of course, there was no surprise to find out that 85% of students surveyed use YouTube to watch videos, listen to music and follow their YouTuber idols.
61% of students use Snapchat while 37% use Instagram, two of the more popular social networking Apps for the younger generation.
51% of students access the internet for online gaming with friends and strangers alike. When it comes to internet usage, 11% of students admit to staying online for more than four hours per day.
16% admit to spending three to four hours per day online, while 25% spend two to three hours per day online.
27% of students use the internet for one to two hours per day, while 21% of students use the internet for less than one hour per day.
From the students surveyed 33% have made what they referred to as a new “friend” online. Of the people surveyed 9% have been asked to meet someone who they have met online; a worrying statistic considering that many students do this without parental knowledge or consent.
When asked about their state of wellness while online, 25% of respondents have admitted to being picked on, insulted, or made feel uncomfortable while online, quiet a high percentage for those who spend so much time online.
When asked what action they took to stop this, 46% of students blocked the perpetrators, 41% told an adult, while 32% did not respond to the abuse.
When asked if the students had ever received inappropriate images of nudity from friends or strangers, 7% admitted that they had, a figure which may be a tad understated in this survey.
So where does this information fit in with Safer Internet Day 2018? Well honestly, it just proves what we already know, young people spend a lot of time online!
Is this a good thing? Well it depends on what way parents wish to rationalise it.
On one hand we can take the approach that our children are happy when they are online, they are quiet, and they make lots of friends.
On the other hand, we can take the approach that social media can lead to addiction, social isolation, sadness, jealousy, time wasting, false profiling, cyberbullying and the list goes on.
The key in many professional’s opinions is to:
- Strictly limit the time which each child can use the internet for.
- Monitor your child’s online activities regularly so that you know that they are in a safe online environment.
- Use parental controls to ensure that your child does not access inappropriate material when online.
Visit www.webwise.ie for more information about how your child can stay safe online.
Happy Safer Internet Day 2018 from www.Ríomhairetech.ie
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