57 percent Indian parents worried about children meeting strangers online: Survey

With around 100 million children in the country expected to go online by 2017, Indian parents are worried their children may become victims of cyber bullying and online predators, a survey revealed on March 9....

According to Norton Cyber security Insights Report - Family Edition, 57 percent of the Indian parents surveyed (as against 52 percent globally) said that they are worried that their children will be lured into meeting a stranger they met online, in the outside world.
The report further said that 21 percent of Indian parents indicated that an adult, who their child did not know personally, tried to meet them in the real world (as against 9 percent globally).
"According to a BCG study, in India about 100 million children will come online by 2017... This is a great opportunity for millions as Internet can open a world of possibilities for them through digital education, health, governance and business growth," Ritesh Chopra, India Country Manager of Norton by Symantec told PTI.
However, he cautioned and said that one needs to be aware that this also poses a risk by exposing children and youngsters to cyber bullying, stalking and identity theft, to name a few cyber threats.
According to the report, 62 percent of Indian parents surveyed indicated their child has experienced a form of online crime as against a global average of 51 percent.
"The report found that one in three Indian parents believe their child will be a victim of online bullying, considerably higher than the global average. In fact, close to one in two parents believe their children are safer from bullies on a playground than online," Chopra said.
Not surprising then that Indian parents are 20 percent more likely to limit their child's online activities, he said.
The report further stated that three in five Indian parents report that their child has experienced a form of online crime. Of these, millennial parents (75 percent) and fathers (67 percent) in India are more likely to report their child as a victim.
More than half (55 percent) control the amount of information they post about their children on social networks, while 53 percent said they limit the amount of information their children can post on their social profiles, the report added.
"There are other steps as well. Some limit access to certain websites, while others allow Internet access only with parental supervision," Chopra said.
He further said that parents should have an open dialogue with children to discuss appropriate online behaviour.
"They should spend some time educating children regularly about the dangers of the Internet and create awareness around issues such as sexting, cyberbullying, online predators and privacy. They should make sure that the children are not sharing private information like passwords, addresses and phone numbers with people they don't know," he added.