82 per cent of young children (eight-12 year olds) are allowed to use phones and other smart devices unsupervised in their bedrooms, according to new research.
The research, published on Tuesday by Ireland's online safety charity CyberSafeKids, reveals the findings from a survey of over 2,000 primary school children.
The safety charity said the results highlight a significant lack of parental engagement in monitoring online activities and a troubling lack of awareness of digital safety risks.
To mark Safer Internet Day, CyberSafeKids has launched its fourth ‘Same Rules Apply’ awareness campaign in order to empower parents with essential knowledge for safeguarding their children online.
28 per cent of the children reported that they could go online whenever they wanted.
This level of access for such young children raises concerns about the potential exposure to harmful content and excessive screen time, CyberSafeKids said, as half (50 per cent) of the children surveyed acknowledged that they spend too much time online.
The survey reveals an alarming lack of parental oversight: only 35 per cent of children said their parents or caregivers can see what they are doing online.
The fact that the vast majority (82 per cent) have unsupervised access to smart devices in their bedrooms increases their risk of being exposed to inappropriate sexual or violent content or contact from strangers, CyberSafeKids said.
It also decreases the possibility of them telling a trusted adult if something goes wrong as they probably weren’t supposed to be online at the time.
Of those children (32 per cent) who have been bothered or upset by something they have experienced online in the last year, only half spoke to a parent or trusted adult, which suggests that many children may not feel comfortable seeking help or discussing their online experiences.
16 per cent of young children have also seen something online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about in the last year.
The research indicates a gap in parental communication about online safety.
Over a third (36 per cent) of children stated they had not talked to their parents at all in the past year about how to stay safe online and 18% reported never having such conversations.
Chief executive of CyberSafeKids, Alex Cooney, said: "We’ve long seen a trend in our survey data highlighting a disconnect between children and their parents about what children are doing online.
"We urgently need to provide better support to parents so they feel more confident about engaging with their children about their online activity, setting limits around use and access, using parental controls and even holding off on giving children devices or access to social media, if they feel their child is not ready.
"There is too much social pressure for children to be online and in many cases it’s before they are ready. Our Same Rules Apply campaign seeks to support parents in approaching children’s online lives with the same care and supervision that we apply to their offline lives. It’s not all on parents, however, Big Tech needs to be compelled to create safer online spaces for children too."
