Most young people use the Internet - it's just a part of our lives. Some of us use it at school and some of us have it at home.
It can be used for lots of good things, like research for school projects but it can also sometimes be dangerous.
At Children's Express we decided to find out from young people what kinds of things they used the Internet for and whether or not they felt safe when they did, so we put an Internet safety survey on our website.
50 young people filled in the online survey. Most of the young people were from London, but there were one or two from other countries.
Eight young people from different youth projects in Islington also filled in the survey. The results are below.
The Findings
- 44% said they were between the ages of 8-12 when they started using the Internet without adult supervision
- 100% said that they were not normally with their parents when they used the Internet
- 65% said they thought it was a good idea for their parents to see what they were doing on the Internet
- 77% said they hardly ever used chatrooms
- 70% said they thought chatrooms were "Quite Dangerous"
- 68% said the greatest risk involved in using the Internet was meeting up with strangers.
- 10% said that they had actually met face to face with
- someone they'd met online
- 38% said that it was not possible to make the Internet a safer place for young people
Combined results from Islington youth clubs who took part in the survey, including The Rosebowl on St Paul's Road, N1 and the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road, N4, show that:
- 100% have never entered a chatroom.
- 100% use the Internet.
- 100% think that the Internet is dangerous.
- 57% think the greatest danger of the Internet is meeting up with strangers.
- 43% have no idea where they would go for info on net safety.
Top Five Tips for staying safe on the net from the Home Office:
- Always use a nickname when you log on and never give out any personal details that would allow someone to contact you (that means full name, home or school address, telephone number, personal email or mobile number).
- Never arrange to meet up alone with someone you make friends with online, but if you are going to anyway, take an adult you trust and meet in a public place.
- Try to have your online conversations in public; people are less likely to hassle you if other people can see them doing it.
- Accepting emails and opening files from people you don't really know can get you into trouble - they may contain viruses, nasty messages or annoying links to stuff you don't want to see.
- Talk to an adult you know well and ask for help if you're worried or upset about anything you've seen or been sent online.
