The online threats faced by children are very real, and many youngsters have fallen victim to one or more attacks.
Digital identity, privacy and social media protection company Digimune surveyed 200 South African parents in February 2021 to gauge their views and concerns around children and digital threats.
The results revealed that children in the respondents’ communities have been a victim of the following cyber threats:
* 35% of children have been a victim of cyberstalking;
* 36,5% of children have fallen victim to online shaming;
* 43,5% of children willingly share their personal information on online platforms;
* 54% of children have accessed inappropriate content via digital platforms; and
* 51,5% of children have been cyber-bullied.
More than one out of every two children in the respondents’ communities have been victims of cyberbullying, or have accessed adult or otherwise inappropriate content online. In addition, more than two out of five children have shared personal information online, and more than three out of ten have been cyberstalked or been a victim of online shaming or revenge porn.
Further results from the survey include:
Digital concerns
Parents’ top five digital concerns for their children are:
* Shaming/revenge porn;
* Cyber bullying;
* Accessing adult or otherwise inappropriate content;
* Grooming; and
* Identity theft.
Access to devices
The vast majority of children have access to a wide variety of online devices–either shared, or their own device – from a young age. By the age of 10, 30,5% of children have their own smartphone and 41,5% have access to a shared smartphone. But there is also a proportion of parents who indicated in the survey that their child will never have any access to specific devices.
“Today, being online and having access to a variety of digital tools and platforms are a must-have, not a not a nice-to-have. From learning, to creating, socialising and exercising, our online life is as important as our analogue life. Unfortunately, this has been weaponised by criminals wanting to profit from and wreak havoc in our, and our children’s, lives,” says Simon Campbell-Young, co-founder and vice-president: global sales at Digimune. “Parents need to protect themselves and their families by harnessing technology as an important early warning system and an effective line of defence.”