UK Children Go Online: Final report of key project findings

The research paper UK Children Go Online: Final report of key project findings (PDF) of the Children Go-Online project reveals that children are routinely putting themselves at risk on the Internet. Many children seem unaware of the dangers: nearly half have given personal information to someone they met online, 30% have made an online acquaintance and a worrying 8% have had a face-to-face meeting with someone they first met on the net.

The two-year study into Internet use and abuse is based on face-to-face interviews with 1,511 children and young people aged 9 to 19. Parents were also questioned. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) research was supported by the media regulator Ofcom, the children’s charity NCH, and the Internet Service Provider AOL. Funding came from the Economic and Social Research Council.

The risks of undesirable content

More than half of the interviewed children have come into contact with online pornography, and 25% have received pornographic junk mail. 22% have accidentally ended up on a site with violent or gruesome pictures, and 9% have visited websites containing material that was hostile or hateful to groups or individuals.

Some of those who have seen pornographic or unpleasant material on the web admitted being disturbed by it, and nearly half the older teenagers thought their first experience of pornography happened when they were too young.
An age breakdown reveals that 21% of 9- to 11-year-olds have encountered inappropriate material, leading the researchers to suggest that parents and teachers reappraise the way these issues are dealt with. Existing safeguards are failing to protect young people.

Children who use the net protect their privacy from their parents: 63% of 12- to 19-year-old home internet users have taken action to conceal their online activities.

For primary-age children, Professor Sonia Livingstone of the London School of Economics, who conducted the research, thinks the research supports the existing policy of restricting access to online material via filters and child protection software. In the study, 85% of the parents expressed their wishes for tougher laws on online pornography, and 66% want improved filtering software. Livingstone admits though that protecting older children is a more complex issue.