AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In today’s tech-centric society, children, tweens and teens are spending more time online than ever before. To develop a better understanding of how this impacts the lives of today’s youth, AVG Technologies, a leading provider of Internet and mobile security, established Digital Diaries, a series of studies that examines technology habits in different age groups. AVG today shares the results of Digital Maturity, the fourth installment of research commissioned by AVG, which studies the digital life cycle of children.
Above all, Digital Maturity reveals that while the average 11-year-old isn’t managing a stock portfolio or paying the mortgage online, his or her online activity closely mirrors that of an adult’s in many other respects, specifically regarding the length of time spent on connected mobile devices and overall time spent on social networks and online gaming.
The result: tweens are forced into complex social situations that require adult reasoning – long before they’re ready.
“Technologically speaking, today’s kids can walk the walk, but they can’t talk the talk,” said JR Smith, CEO of AVG Technologies. “They might run circles around their parents when it comes to using computers, but they don’t know what to do when they get bullied or harassed or swindled. Often they can’t even see it happening to them. This kind of thing can scar a person for life.”
As a matter of context, the first segment of AVG’s Digital Diaries Research, entitled Digital Birth and released in October 2010, found that most babies and toddlers have an online footprint by the time they are six months old; Digital Skills revealed that preschoolers commonly master tech skills before basic life skills, such as tying shoes; and Digital Playground suggested that 51 percent of six- to nine-year-olds frequent children’s social sites but are generally unprepared for the dangers lurking within them.
Who Knows Best?
Digital Maturity shows that barely one in
twenty parents (seven percent) believe their 10- to 13-year-old is
better informed about the Internet than they are. Fathers are more
likely to say they know the most about the Internet, with only two
percent crediting their children with knowing more.
Yet, most parents seem not to know what their children actually do online. While almost three quarters (72 percent) of parents have logged into their children’s computers without their kids’ knowledge and with the intent to gauge their behavior, a significant 41 percent of parents allow 10- to 13-year-olds to have a PC in their bedroom, indicating there is often no consistent, real-time parental supervision in place.
In addition, today’s 10-13 year olds are accessing the Internet away from home – or wherever they happen to be with their mobile devices. More than 50 percent of 10-year-olds and 65 percent of 13-year-olds use social media on their mobile phones. Digital Maturity found the average slightly higher in the U.S., with 56 percent of American kids between the ages of 10 and 13 networking online via their own mobile device, compared to just 14 percent of Japanese kids of the same age. Beyond networking via the Internet, 43 percent of 10-13-year-olds spend on average more than two hours a day texting.
Furthermore, the current generation will likely spend little time accessing the Internet with a traditional desktop with a keyboard and monitor. Almost 50 percent of 13 year olds have access to a web-enabled tablet device and nearly all (92 percent) of 10-13 year olds in the U.S. use gaming consoles to game and connect with friends.
All Things Social
While the survey suggests that a majority
of parents (93 percent) feel they are savvier about the Internet than
their children, there is also plenty more room for concern. A staggering
62 percent of parents admit their 10- to 13-year-olds have access to
mainstream social networks, despite those networks’ established age
restrictions. While the minimum age to join Facebook is 13, nearly half
(47 percent) of parents of 10-year-olds and more than half (53 percent)
of 11-year-olds say their children are on mainstream social media sites.
Twenty-five percent of 13-year-olds spend more than an hour a day on
social networks.
“Adults often take for granted the decades of training we call upon every time we engage with other people,” continued Smith. “And not even we can navigate social situations with perfect ease. Above all, Digital Maturity should encourage parents – and by extension every adult in the proverbial village – to help tweens face online networks with confidence and the safety to speak up when things go awry.”
In the coming weeks, AVG will release additional findings from the latest installment of the Digital Diaries series and provide tips parents can implement to help their children stay safe and smart online.
About AVG “Digital Diaries” Campaign
The first stage of
AVG’s Digital Diaries campaign, “Digital Birth,” covered children from
birth to age 2. The study, released in October 2010, found that on
average infants acquire a digital identity by the age of 6-months-old.
Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of children have even had their pre-birth
scans uploaded to the Internet by their parent – having a digital
footprint even before birth. The second stage, “Digital Skills,” was
released in January 2011 to show that for 2- to 5-year-olds ‘tech’
skills are increasingly replacing ‘life’ skills. In fact, many toddlers
could use a mouse and play a computer game, but could not ride a bike,
swim or tie their shoelaces. “Digital Playground,” released in June,
found nearly half of 6- to 9-year-olds talk to friends online and use
social networks. Research for all stages of the Digital Diaries series
was conducted by Research Now on behalf of AVG Technologies.
About AVG
AVG is a global security software maker protecting
more than 100 million active users in 170 countries from the
ever-growing incidence of Web threats, viruses, spam, cyber-scams and
hackers on the Internet. AVG has nearly two decades of experience in
combating cybercrime and advanced laboratories for detecting,
pre-empting and combating Web-borne threats from around the world. Its
free, downloadable software allows novice users to have basic anti-virus
protection and then easily upgrade to greater levels of safety and
defense when they are ready. AVG has a strong reseller network
consisting of resellers, partners and distributors globally including;
CNET, Ingram Micro, and Wal-Mart.
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