The FINANCIAL — European 11 – 16 year-olds are more likely to be exposed to some online risks, including receiving hate messages, seeing pro-anorexia or self-harm websites and being cyberbullied, compared to four years ago. However, they are less likely to make contact with a stranger online today than in 2010, according to London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The percentage of children and teenagers encountering hate messages online has risen from 13 per cent to 20 per cent and those experiencing cyberbullying has gone from seven per cent to 12 per cent, according to the research by EU Kids Online – a research project based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Thirteen per cent of young people said they had encountered websites promoting anorexia in 2014, compared with nine per cent in 2010. Eleven per cent had seen websites promoting self-harm compared to seven per cent four years ago.
In contrast, the proportion of young people making contact online with someone they don’t know face-to-face is down from 32 per cent in 2010 to 29 per cent in 2014 – possibly because awareness raising efforts about ‘stranger danger’ are proving effective. However, they are slightly more likely to meet an online contact offline, according to LSE.
Fewer than one in five 9 – 16 year olds say they were bothered or upset by something they had seen on the internet in the past year. This figure has risen slightly since 2010 from 13 per cent to 17 per cent with girls and teenagers being particularly affected.
“There is a real need to target safety resources on girls and teenagers. It is also vital to understand why they are increasingly likely to experience harm linked to internet use than other young people,” Professor Sonia Livingstone, project director of EU Kids Online and professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE, said.
“However, the incidence of harm online is much less than many panicky media reports would have us believe. And it is less that might be expected given the rise of personalized internet use. Possibly the many safety and awareness raising initiatives are proving effective,” she added.
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