Survey: Children show web savvy

A recent survey has found that very young children are surprisingly wired in the internet age.

As many as 91.8 percent of children 3 to 6 years on the Chinese mainland have used a mobile phone. Tablet use wasn’t far behind, at 83.4 percent, and youngsters’ use of computers came in at 80.6 percent.

The survey was based on interviews with more than 20,000 children between 3 and 14 years and their parents earlierthis year. It was conducted by Guangzhou Children’s Palace, a children’s center devoted to the arts and entertainment, in cooperation with 18 other centers on the mainland.

Children 9 to 10 years old use mobile phones, computers and other digital products as frequently as their parents, while those aged 11 to 14 years old have become communicators and creators of new media, the survey found.

Children aged 11 to 14 years old have surpassed their parents’’ skills, the survey said.

Only 32.5 percent of the children interviewed said they would consult their parents first when asked to reveal family data online. More than 10.5 percent of middle-school students said they would directly fill in forms online when asked to do so while surfing, according to the survey.

Parents failed to set a good example in the use of internet devices, which has resulted in poor awareness about protecting children’s privacy, it said.

Nearly 62 percent of the parents never help their children select suitable application software, and nearly 68 percent set no time limit for the use of mobile phones or surfing the internet.

More than 50 percent of parents are not friends on their children’s WeChat accounts, the survey found.

Cai Liman, a professor of childhood education at South China Normal University, said parents should set a good example in using computers and digital products at home.

“Parents should accompany their children to surf the internet and guide them to correctly find the information they want online,” Cai said.