According to the research Growing Up Online - Connected Kids, which was held by Kaspersky Lab and the iconKids & Youth Institute, boys and girls ages 8-16 behave very differently on the Internet, which means that different approaches are required to be safe.
This is useful information for parents who want to protect their children from online threats.
Girls love to use smartphones while boys prefer computers and game consoles. Boys are generally more likely to be addicted to computer games: they are more likely to list them in their daily online activities, while girls choose to communicate via social networks and instant messengers.
Regarding their preferred method of communication, girls most often mention phone calls and messages, which is no surprise considering their love of smartphones.
Probably because of their sociability, girls tend to choose more often family members or friends as a source of information, while boys rely more on the Internet for news. Boys are also more likely than girls think they know how to use the Internet and how to protect themselves when they are online.
At the same time, according to research, boys are less shy on the Internet than girls: they provide a lot of personal information on social networking sites and pretend to be older than they really are. They also try to bypass parental control programs on Appliances τους και κρύβουν πληροφορίες σχετικά με τη διαδικτυακή τους δραστηριότητα από τους γονείς τους. Και υπάρχει κάτι να κρύψουν, σύμφωνα με δική τους ομολογία, καθώς τα αγόρια σε σύγκριση με τα κορίτσια είναι πιο πιθανό να έχουν πρόσβαση σε content not suitable for minors.
"Research shows that boys' parents should pay close attention to what their boys do online. They must use up-to-date parental control programs that can not be bypassed to protect their impulsive boys from unwanted or dangerous information, e.g. toys not intended for children.
Meanwhile, girls' parents need to pay more attention to the people their daughters communicate online with. Social networks and messengers are often used by dubious characters to earn the trust of a child, advises Andrei Mochola, Head of Consumer Business at Kaspersky Lab.
More information and tips about protection of children on the Internet are available at kids.kaspersky.com. Information about a technical solution for these problems is available on his page KasperskySafeKids.
Kaspersky Lab also provides students and young professionals with the opportunity to develop solutions that keep children safe online. More information about the international Talent Lab can be found on the dedicated website academy.kaspersky.com/talentlab.