According to a survey of over 1500 Indian parents and teens, there is an evident discrepancy between parental perception and actual reality regarding the online activities of Indian teens. McAfee’s ‘Secret Lives of Teens’ survey shows that while parental concerns prevail, teens do end up sharing more dangerous information online, contrary to their parents belief. This divide is attributed to the fact that Indian teens are growing up as ‘digital natives’, with increasingly active online lives but lack of parental assistance; substantiated through some of the following statistics-
o 70% of the surveyed teens believe that they shouldn’t share their home address online but 40% of them still do. Correspondingly, only 21% of the polled parents believe teens would have actually done so.
o Although 31% of the surveyed teens have met their online acquaintances in real life, only 17% parents are aware of this.
o 20% of the surveyed teens access porn / nudity online willingly several times a day but 32% parents think teens willingly access it only a few times a year.
o 38% of the surveyed teens have witnessed cruel / mean behaviour online whereas only 16% parents are aware of this.
o Interestingly, 70% of polled parents completely trust their teens to tell them everything they do online whereas 58% polled teens strongly believe that they know how to hide their online activities from their parents.
“The results of the study reaffirm that the online behavioural patterns of children need to be seen in a different light and with lot more gravity and consciousness by Indian parents. Instead of being nurtured through their formative years, today’s teens are meandering their way through an unrestricted virtual world with disturbing experiences like cyber bullying, befriending unknown strangers, getting into relationships and accessing provocative content. Arming our kids with the information they need and talking even more openly about the risks involved and how to deal with them, is a key agenda of new age parenting,” said Anindita Mishra- McAfee Cybermum India.
As a company, McAfee is dedicated to making the Internet safe by providing resources to help educate and protect families says Melanie Duca, Consumer Marketing Director (APAC), McAfee. We do this with consumers through the Cybermum campaign and cyber education programs in schools. Commenting about the relevance of the survey in this context, “We commissioned this extensive research exercise to uncover the digital divide that exists between Indian parents and teens today. It’s very challenging for parents to educate their technology savvy children. We hope this study provides Indian parents with some key insights and learning’s on how to protect their children online.
McAfee Family Protection Offer
In the context of these challenges, McAfee Family Protection is proven to be easy-to-use and built to empower parents to say “yes” to their children’s online interests knowing they will be safe as they learn and explore. The product’s unique YouTube filtering technology prevents exposure to objectionable content yet gives children access to appropriate videos. If parents are always on-the-go, they can be notified instantly by email if any access to inappropriate sites is attempted. With McAfee Family Protection, parents have the peace of mind that children are safe to learn, explore, and enjoy the internet.
Key findings from ‘Secret Lives of Teens’ 2012 report-
Sample size- The research commissioned by McAfee was carried out in seven key Indian cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Chennai comprising of a sample size of 757 teenagers and 750 parents.
Safety in Social Networking:
o On a daily basis, the surveyed Indian teens spend 86% of their time on Facebook followed by 54% time on twitter
o Close to half of surveyed teens (45%) are now using their smart phones for internet access.
o 97% of the surveyed teens have a social networking account. On an average, they open an account at the age of 13.
o 89% of the surveyed Indian teens believe social network is safe whereas parents are less believing at 71%
o Close to two in three teens interviewed claimed of at least one negative post associated with themselves on social networking sites. 67% of the surveyed Indian teens have had a bad experience by finding new friends online, 38% by getting help on homework / assignment, 36% by posting their relationship status online and 28% by starting a new relationship and 20% by posting pictures in revealing clothes.
Type of information teens share / search online:
o Following are the type of posts surveyed teens feel are ‘most dangerous’ to share online. Despite this understanding, the study shows up starling numbers on how many of them actually do end up sharing it.
§ 70% believe they shouldn’t share their home address but 40% of them still do
§ 74% believe they shouldn’t share their mobile number, but 30% of them still do
§ 40% believe they shouldn’t post the description of their looks, but 33% of them still do
§ 45% believe they shouldn’t post a picture of themselves, but 54% of them still do
o On the other hand, following is a comparison of the type of posts surveyed parents believe are ‘most dangerous’, but think their kids still share it:
§ 82% believe their teens shouldn’t share their home address but 21% might have done
§ 88% believe their teens shouldn’t share their mobile number, but 28% might have done
§ 74% believe their teens shouldn’t post the description of their looks, but of them 24% might have done it
§ 76% believe their teens shouldn’t post a picture of themselves, but 61% might have done
Comparing both scenarios, parental concerns are higher than those of teens regarding sharing information online. However, teens actually do end up sharing more dangerous posts online than their parents believe them to.
Some other statistics include-
o 47% of surveyed Indian teens go online and intentionally search for information on Answers to a test or an assignment. Surprisingly 46% of parents are aware of this
o Also surprisingly 29% of the surveyed teens have intentionally searched online advice such as Kids Helpline and 23% parents are aware their children have visited sites which provide advice
o Teens are accessing websites, viewing websites or meeting people in real life more than their parents realise. 31% of the surveyed teens have met their online acquaintances in real life, but only 17% parents are aware of this.
o Interestingly 37% of the teens polled, have visited websites their parents wouldn’t approve of and only 20% parents are aware of this
o 26% of the surveyed teens have been pressured into sending or posting revealing pictures of themselves online
Cruel Behaviour:
o 38% of the surveyed teens have witnessed cruel / mean behaviour online whereas only 16% parents are aware of this. 87% of this behaviour has been noticed on Facebook, 31% on twitter and 23% on email by teens
o Even though parents believe most of the cruel behaviour is directed through Facebook (94%), 30% believe email and 26% believe it’s through chat / IM
o One in four teen respondents stated they had been the target of cruel behaviour online. Of these, 40% acknowledged that they got angry and 30% suffered from depression.
Access to pornography / nudity:
o 53% of the surveyed teens have accidentally accessed pornography and 25% parents believe their children have accessed pornography / nudity mistakenly. Of these 53%, 50% teens have come across nudity / porn by clicking on an ad and 40% via spam email
o On the other hand, 35% of the teens polled, willingly access porn / nudity online and only 14% parents are aware of this
o In fact, 20% of the surveyed teens access porn / nudity online willingly several times a day and 32% parents think teens willingly access it only a few times a year
Cheating on tests:
o The survey showed up high self-reported numbers by teens of mobile or online cheating
o 20% of the surveyed teens cheat on a test using their mobile phone and 21% cheat using different techniques they have discovered online
o Even though only 12% parents are aware of their children cheating using mobile phones; 21% are aware their children have cheated using various online techniques
o 30% of the surveyed parents are very worried of this behaviour by their children and 22% are not worried at all
Self Observation:
o Teens regard themselves mostly as ‘engaged’ & ‘sharer’ participants of social networking. Parents on the other hand define themselves as ‘observers’.
o 30% of the surveyed teens use social network more as an Engagement tool wherein they talk with others and use it as a medium to express and share their thoughts and opinions
Disclosing activities to parents:
o 65% of the polled teens believe that their parents know some of what they do online but not all of it
o 55% of the polled teens don’t tell their parents about their online activities
o Additionally, 58% polled teens believe that they know how to hide their online activities from their parents
o 49% polled teens believe they wouldn’t understand if they were bullied or harassed online
o 45% of polled teens believe that their parents don’t have the time to check up on their online behaviour
o 56% of polled teens would change their online behaviour if they come to know their parents were watching them
o 47% polled teens have seen sexual content online that disturbed them or made them feel uncomfortable
Parents trust regarding their teens’ online activities:
o 79% of polled parents trust their teens to not access age-inappropriate online content
o 81% of polled parents trust their teens to not mistreat others online
o 70% of polled parents trust that their teens tell them everything they do online
o 73% of polled parents said that they know how to figure out what their teen is doing online even if he/she doesn’t want the parent to know
o 53% said that they don’t have time or the energy to keep up with everything their teen is doing online
o 61% of polled parents said acknowledge that their teens are more tech savvy than themselves, as a result of this they won’t be able to keep up with their online behaviours
o 75% of polled parents said that modern technology overwhelms them so they hope their teens remain safe
o 81% of polled parents believe using technology tools, like software, to keep their kids safe online is a good idea
About McAfee
McAfee, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), empowers businesses, the public sector and home users, to safely experience the benefits of the Internet. The company delivers proactive and proven security solutions and services for systems, networks, and mobile devices around the world. With its Security Connected strategy, innovative approach to hardware-enhanced security, and unique Global Threat Intelligence network, McAfee is relentlessly focused on keeping its customers safe. http://www.mcafee.com