Research of Kaspersky Lab and B2B International revealed that nearly one in four parents (22%) feel they cannot control what their child sees or does when online, although almost half (48%) are concerned that their children may become victims of cyber-bullying. As part of a global campaign aimed at educating and supporting children and parents in the fight against cyber-bullying, Kaspersky Lab organized a discussion with high-level speakers on the issue, as part of Mobile World Congress 2015, in Barcelona.
Eugene Kaspersky, Kaspersky Lab's President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "The Internet offers many benefits, but unfortunately it allows some people to act on the basis of the most destructive features of human nature. Nowadays, the cyber-bullying is a very common one problem. For victims, the psychological trauma can be particularly great and long-lasting. There's probably no purely technological answer, but we need to talk about it to raise awareness and help young people and their parents safely enjoy the good things the internet has to offer. ».
"The cyber-bullying … and bullying in general… is definitely an issue that concerns young people and should be addressed with a holistic approach, which will include parents and teachers, as well as children and adolescents themselves. "The main problem is that communication tools have evolved significantly in recent decades, but the development of relevant skills is not progressing the same way." Janice Richardson, Senior Advisor of European Schoolnet and co-founder of Insafe, commented in the Mobile World Congress public debate.
The survey also showed that well-meaning adult efforts to give their children "private space" could in fact make them more vulnerable to online harassment and abuse. For example, only 19% states that they are "friends" with their children or "follow" them in social media and as soon as 39% monitors their children's online activity. Also, as soon as 38% has spoken to children about Internet dangers, this could reflect a lack of self-confidence and understanding.
Kaspersky Lab's research found that children are often reluctant to admit that they have been the victims of cyber-bullying. One in four (25%) parents, whose children were harassed on the Internet, said that it took a long time to realize it. This is particularly worrying, as online abuse can easily be turned into bullying in the real world, as has been noticed by the 26% of parents whose children have experienced such incidents.
The long-term emotional impact of cyber-bullying can be devastating to young people and parents need to know this so they can act to stop it. Kaspersky Lab's research found that 44% of parents with cyber-bullying children intervened to prevent it, but more than half did not take any action.
It can be difficult to completely avoid cyber-bullying, but there are some simple steps that can be taken to protect children from these incidents and their consequences.
For example, with small changes to the privacy settings of social networks, adults can help children to controln who can see their posts and send them messages. Making full use of parental control settings in software applications and security solutions can provide strong protection and peace of mind.
But we should not just focus on technology. Parents should explain to children how important it is for private information to remain private by preventing them from revealing details such as address, telephone number, school, credit card number. In addition, parents should explain to the children what they can share and with whom, whom to ask for support when they feel someone is trying to abuse them or when they feel sad.
More information about cyber-bullying, as well as tips for fighting it, are available on the educational portal of Kaspersky Lab kids.Kaspersky.com.
