A survey on children’s online safety released yesterday highlighted the risks posed to children.
The poll of more than 1,200 fifth and sixth graders from schools across the country found that many children feel that someone is their friend if they have chatted online with the person more than three times, while one out of every four child who said they would meet an online friend in person said they would do so on the first day.
Conducted by the Child Welfare League Foundation and Microsoft Taiwan in March, the results showed that of the children who use the Internet, 43 percent have online friends. One in 10 of those who “befriend” people online say they would be willing to meet their online friends in person.
Almost half of the children who meet online friends in person would meet someone they have only known for a week and about 26 percent said they would do so on the first day, a slight increase from the 20 percent in the same survey last year.
About 17 percent also believe that a person with whom they have chatted online more than three times is “not a stranger.”
Children mostly add online friends through Internet-based games (73 percent), followed by the instant messaging application MSN (38 percent) and online social network site Facebook (30 percent).
A majority of the children surveyed said the main reason they add someone as a friend is to help them progress in online games, which are increasingly designed to allow players to advance to higher levels if they invite or add friends.
Compared with last year, children were less likely to go to meetings with online friends alone, with this year’s results showing a rise in the number who would take other friends with them.
However, foundation chief executive Wang Yu-min (王育敏) said this was still an issue of concern as children who are exposed to risky situations or sexually assaulted could be threatened even if other children were with them.
Ministry of the Interior figures showed that last year, two out of every three people who were sexually assaulted by someone they met online were younger than 18.
“The survey results should serve as reminders to parents that if they are unaware of their children’s activities online, they may be putting their children at risk,” she said.
Despite the potential dangers lurking in cyberspace, only 43 percent of families have installed child protection software to minimize adult content or inappropriate online activities for children.
It is recommended that parents be aware of the types of software and online portals their children use to make friends online, talk to their children about not giving away personal information, forbid them from using the Internet behind closed doors and let them meet online friends only with parental supervision.
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