Internet benefits ‘outweigh’ risks say parents
● Scottish parents more positive about web than elsewhere in UK
Scottish parents feel more strongly that the benefits of the internet outweigh the risks than other parents in the UK, according to an annual report by Ofcom into children’s media use.
The report from the media regulator also noticed three online trends for youngsters: the Greta effect of online environmental activism, the rise of youngsters following vloggers local to their area and an increase in girl gamers.
Half of 12 to 15-year-olds across the UK who go online had seen hateful content in the last year, an increase from 34 per cent in 2016. Children in Scotland were as likely as the UK average to claim to see this type of content – however, UK parents are now more likely than in 2018 to speak to their children about staying safe online.
Parents are increasingly concerned about their child seeing content which might encourage them to harm themselves. Similarly, two other gamingrelated problems are increasingly concerning parents: the pressure on their child to make in-game purchases of things like ‘loot boxes’, a virtual item containing rewards and the possibility of their child being bullied via online games.
Among older children in Scotland, Snapchat is the most used platform, with 69 per cent of older children using it, followed by Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
Newer platforms such as Tiktok – which enables users to create 15-second lip-sync, comedy and talent videos – are also becoming more popular. Around one in seven older children in Scotland use Tiktok – up from eight per cent in 2018, while around one in 20 use Twitch – the live streaming platform for gamers.
Yih-choung Teh, strategy and research Group director at Ofcom, said: “Today’s children have never known life without the internet, but two million parents now feel the internet causes them more harm than good.
“So it’s encouraging that parents, carers and teachers are now having more conversations than ever before with children about online safety. Education and stronger regulation will also help children to embrace their digital independence, while protecting them from the risks.”
The report also found that when it comes to going online,
UK children are most likely to use a tablet but mobiles are becoming increasingly popular and children are now as likely to use a mobile as they are laptops.
While children in Scotland are as likely as the UK average to use a tablet or mobile to go online, they are less likely than the UK average to use a laptop.
This move to mobile is being driven by older children, for whom ten is becoming the age of digital independence. Between age nine and ten, the proportion of children who own a smartphone doubles from 23 per cent to 50 per cent.