STRICT EMBARGO 0.01HRS – Monday 31st July 2006

2006 Webwise Survey of Children’s Online Behaviour

The National Centre for Technology in Education has carried out a large-scale survey of children’s use of the Internet in order to identify their online risk behaviour. 848 students between the ages of 9 and 16 in over 21 schools across the country completed questionnaires containing over 100 questions on their use of the Internet. The findings from this survey will inform the development of Internet safety information, advice and tools by the Webwise Internet Safety in the coming years.

Download an Executive Summary of the Survey …..

In line with a general convergence and ubiquity in digital technology, the survey found that “all” children use PCs, 96% have used the Internet, and they have increasing access to the Internet through different devices such as personal computers, laptops, mobile phones, and game consoles. Almost 40% claim to own their own PC. This has implications for parental supervision and monitoring of children’s use of communication technologies. The survey found that over 50% of home PCs are not located in family rooms but in bedrooms or private rooms.

A quarter of the children surveyed said they used the internet at home everyday. One in ten use instant messaging (MSN, ICQ, Google Chat, Skype etc.) at home everyday or almost everyday. More than half are using the Internet at school more than once a week.

Many children are finding new friends on the Internet and other sources of support which are positive. One in fifteen of the children surveyed had met in real life someone that they first met on the Internet. This marks an increase from one in twenty-two in 2003. The majority of children said that they had a really good time during these meetings. In fact, in all cases where children met other children they reported positive or neutral experiences.

However, 11% of the 9 to 16-year-olds surveyed who met up with someone that they first met online said that the other person tried to physically hurt them. Worryingly, in all the cases of physical and verbal abuse reported in the survey the children said that the person who introduced themselves to them on the Internet as a child, turned out to be an adult. It seems clear that there are individuals who will use online services to make contact with children in order to exploit them. The NCTE has stated that effective age verification and moderation strategies could be implemented by online services that allow young people to meet and communicate with others online in order to make them safer.

Other Key Findings: 

• 97.8% children aged between 9-16 years surveyed in Ireland have used a PC or computer; this is slight increase from 95% in 2003.
• 91% have a PC at home. 43% of personal computers in the home are located in a public room, 33% are in bedrooms.
• 90% of the children with a PC at home stated that they have an Internet connection at home; this is an increase from 80% in 2003. 21% said they had internet access through a personal device such as a mobile phone or games console.
• 24% of those using the Internet use it almost every day at home. 52% are using it at least once a week at school.
• Over 50% said that their parents spoke with them very rarely or not at all about what they did on the internet.
• 27% said they met someone new on the Internet who asked for information like their photo, phone number, street address, or the school you attend. This is an increase from 19% in 2003.
• The survey shows a small increase in the number of children that have visited hateful websites, 22% in 2003 to 26% in 2006. Boys were three times more likely than girls to have visited hate sites a lot.
• The results show stability in the numbers of children that have visited pornographic websites at 35%.
• 23% have received unwanted sexual comments on the Internet. Boys are twice as likely as girls to receive them a lot.
• Half of the teenagers questioned said they had chatted on the Internet. Only a quarter of the preteens have ever chatted.
• A quarter of those who chat online use instant messaging everyday or almost everyday. 19% of those who chat said they had been harassed, upset, bothered, threatened or embarrassed by someone when chatting on-line.
• 7% have met someone in real life that they first met on the Internet. 24% of these said that someone who introduced themselves to them as a child on the Internet turned out to be an adult.