With an estimated 100 million children in the country set to go online by 2017, Indian parents are worried their children may become victims of cyberbullying and online predators, a survey today said.
According to Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report - Family Edition, 57 per cent of the Indian parents surveyed (vs 52 per cent globally) said they are worried that their children will be lured into meeting a stranger, they met online, in the outside world.
Also, 21 per cent of Indian parents indicated that an adult, their child didn't know personally, tried to get to meet them in the real world (vs 9 per cent globally), the report said.
"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, one needs to be cognizant that this also poses a risk by exposing children and youngsters to cyber bullying, stalking and identity theft to name a few cyber threats, he added.
According to the report, 62 per cent of Indian parents surveyed indicated their child has experienced a form of online crime as against a global average of 51 per cent.
"The report found that one in three Indian parents believe their child will be a victim of online bullying, considerably higher than 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 per cent more likely to limit their child's online activities, he said.
The survey said Indian parents are also more likely to take action to protect their children online.
Three in five Indian parents report their child has experienced a form of online crime. Of these, millennial parents (75 per cent) and fathers (67 per cent) in India are more likely to report their child as a victim, the report said.
More than half (55 per cent) limit the amount of information they post about their children on social networks, while 53 per cent said they limit the amount of information their children can post on their social profiles, it 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 need to have an open dialoguewith 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 said.
