A new study has found that almost a quarter of six-year-olds have their own smartphone.
To mark Safer Internet Day, research was conducted by Amárach for CyberSafeKids about children and their use of the internet.
The survey questioned 900 parents of children aged 5-17 and highlighted the importance of how risky the online world can be.
The research found that 24% of six-year-olds have their own smartphone.
It also discovered that 45% of children aged 10 can use their smartphone alone in their bedroom.
Over a quarter of parents revealed they are ‘extremely concerned’ about the risk of online grooming, cyberbullying, and the risk of accessing pornography, but just 28% of parents use parental controls on their child’s smart devices.
20% of parents believe the benefits of the internet outweigh the risks that are posed to children while browsing online or using social media.
The chief executive of CyberSafeKids, Alex Cooney, released a statement about the results of the research and explained that there is a “worrying gap between children’s access and their parents’ ability” to support them to be safe online.
“Parents need to be aware that the safety of any child with unrestricted and unsupervised access to smart devices is at risk”.
Cooney continued, “It’s alarming to find that children as young as five are being allowed to use smartphones alone in their bedroom”.
“Our Same Rules Apply campaign seeks to support parents in approaching children’s online lives with the same care, attention and supervision that we apply to their offline lives”.
CyberSafeKids’ newest online safety campaign, 'Same Rules Apply', highlights the importance of treating online parenting the same as parenting in the offline world.
