May 31st, 2007
Parents are being urged to keep a closer watch on their children’s internet access after new research showed most were “completely oblivious” to the online activity of their sons and daughters.
A new study has revealed that one in five young people had met up with someone they first encountered on the internet. While only 7% of the 500 parents surveyed said they were aware that their children were contacting people online, and then meeting them. The survey was conducted by Garlik, a provider of online information protection services.
Meeting ‘internet friends’ is never a good idea. Without physical information - seeing the person you are talking to, or hearing their voice, positive identification is extremely difficult. Therefore, we need to empower young people with the knowledge, skills and tools to protect themselves online, in the same way we would in the real world. NetIDme provides an age and identity verification service for online communities that want to ensure their members ‘are who they say they are’.
