Growing up digital
Worries over risk of harm as one in six children speak with strangers online
WITH most children going online every day, tech firms are facing calls to do more to protect them from harm.
Even before the pandemic, nine out of ten children aged 10 to 15 said they used the internet every day, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
Around one in six children aged 10 to 15 had spoken with someone they had never met before in the 12 months to March 2020 – equivalent to 682,000 children.
An estimated 212,000 children went on to meet up with a stranger after only speaking to them online.
However, strangers online may not be who they say they are - one in 50 children said they had spoken to or messaged someone online in the previous 12 months who they thought was their age but later found out was much older.
The content of messages can also be a concern, with an estimated 11% of those aged 13 to 15 years stated that they had received a sexual message in the previous 12 months.
Girls were significantly more likely to report receiving sexual messages than boys – 16% compared to 6%.
The ONS said it anticipates figures for the year ending March 2021 will be higher given the probable increase in the time children have spent online due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
The UK’s leading children’s charity the NSPCC also said the pandemic might result in significant online harms to children driven by “a historic failure” to make platforms safe.
Andy Burrows, head of child safety online policy at the NSPCC, said: “This insight highlights the worrying amount of children who are receiving sexual messages on social media, and the extent to which young people make friends online and meet new people in person who they’ve been speaking to on the web.
“Risky design choices by tech companies mean it is far too easy for adult abusers to exploit how children communicate on social networks.
“With the majority of this contact taking place in private messaging it is paramount these services are a focus for upcoming regulation.
“The Government’s upcoming Online Safety Bill comes at a crucial time. It can lead to ground-breaking protections for children if it gives the regulator the power and agility to hold tech firms accountable if their design choices make their platforms unsafe.”
The long-awaited Online Safety Bill coming this year will force a duty of care on social media companies – facing hefty fines and criminal liability if they fail to meet new online safety standards to protect children.
The majority of parents or guardians of children aged 10 to 15 years reported having some sort of rules in place about the length of time and when their children can go online.