Warning to parents over internet bullying

Sixty eight per cent of parents of children aged 11-15 polled for the UK Safer Internet Centre said they had discussed at least one key internet safety issue with them.

But only 19 per cent polled ahead the 11th annual global Safer Internet Day (Sid) said they discussed with children how to report problems encountered online.

It comes after high profile cases of Twitter abuse, including two people being jailed for sending threats to feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez.

Prime Minister David Cameron has thrown the Government’s support behind Sid, whose British organiser the UK Safer Internet Centre is calling for parents to speak to their children about online safety.

Medal-winning gymnast Beth Tweddle, who has backed the campaign after being subjected to abuse on Twitter, said: “It’s really important young people feel safe and empowered online and know how to report anything that upsets them or to tell an adult. It’s also vital that parents feel confident enough to discuss online safety with their children.”

More than 500 organisations have pledged their support for SID, ranging from schools and community groups to organisations including the BBC, Tesco, Microsoft, Facebook, Google and the NSPCC.

The research shows just 37 per cent of 1,100 parents have spoken to their children about what to do if something upsets them online.

Almost half of parents say that they have spoken about meeting strangers on the internet and 43 per cent discussed protecting personal information online.

The Safer Internet Centre polled 21,000 children online and people being unkind online was their top concern.

A separate poll for the BBC shows almost one in five children who use tablets or smartphones have been upset by something they’ve seen on them in the last year, double the number parents thought had been upset. Half of those children, who were aged eight to 16, were worried by sexual content or “rude things”.

Subhajit Basu, associate professor of cyberlaw at Leeds University, said the safety of children was paramount but, in most cases, cyberbullying was carried out by other children.

Parents should be more proactive “but in most cases parents’ interference can be counterproductive - they often lack the resources and the knowledge to deal with cyberbullying.”

He said: “Most of them have very little understanding of social networking sites let alone what is cyberbullying and how intrusive or abusive it can be. Social networks, located all over the world, are notoriously difficult to regulate; parents do not block content because they don’t know how to.”

North Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Paul Kennedy said: “I encourage parents and guardians to take some time to look at the resources that are available before sitting down with their children to discuss how they keep themselves safe and know that there is somewhere to turn if anything worries them. Police officers are visiting schools to speak with young people about making sure they don’t give any information out that could cause them issues.”