Avast Blog_Security News: Parental controls for the connected family

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Internet and mobile network operators (MNOs) have partnered with Avast to keep connected families safe on their devices through handy parental controls.

Many of us have our smartphones on us almost all the time. Like wallets, they have become ubiquitous and essential to daily life. (For many, smartphones now even double as wallets.) Along with holding so much of our sensitive info, these devices also serve as gateways to the internet. Many adults have grown to understand this and take the necessary cybersecurity measures, but what about children? Kids use their smartphones to go on YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as to text, share photos, and – occasionally – even place phone calls.

According to a Pew Research Center study from May 2018, 94% of U.S. children aged 13 and 14 use a smartphone. Further, 97% aged 13-17 use at least one social media platform, and 45% of them are online “almost constantly.” Trends point to these numbers creeping ever-closer to 100 as time goes on, and as parents around the world watch their kids descend deeper and deeper into the digital world, they are justifiably concerned about the mental, physical, and emotional safety of their children in this connected age. They are turning to their network providers for the right tools and controls to protect their children.

The online habits of children

As a global society, we are becoming smartphone owners at younger and younger ages. In South Korea, for example, 72% of children own their first smartphone by ages 11-12, according to a 2015 survey by the nonprofit Common Sense Media. Across Europe, 46% of children aged 9-16 own a smartphone. And the average age kids are getting their first phone in Australia is 8 years old. And 2018 data shows US parents are increasingly providing children with phones at a younger age: Gen Z (18-22) received their first phone at 14, compared to 15 for younger Millennials (23-29) and 18 for older Millennials (30-38).

More than three-quarters of teens with smartphones check them every hour, Common Sense Media found, yet nearly half of parents in the US have limited awareness of what their teenage children are watching or doing online. And the Center for Cyber Safety and Education reports that teens tend to stay online later than 11 p.m. every night.

How does screen time affect child development?

In September 2018, The Lancet published an academic study on 4,520 US children in which researchers discovered an association between screen time durations and child cognition levels. Children aged 8-11 who spent less than two hours per day on recreational screen time performed better in tests of mental ability than those who spent more. We know this is not necessarily the best news for parents, particularly when it is so easy to allow children to occupy themselves with their favorite apps, but guidelines must be set to allow them to grow without becoming too reliant on their devices.

Is my child seeing inappropriate content?

A 2016 study by Middlesex University found that 53% of UK children 11-16 viewed pornographic material online. In the same year, a report from the Cyberbullying Research Center in the US found that just under 34% of teens reported they were victims of cyberbullying. The Pew Research Center reports that 40% of minors surveyed admitted having chatted with strangers online. Unfortunately, the internet allows people to pretend to be whoever they want to be, and bad actors can abuse or take advantage of innocent users. This is another area where open, clear communication within families is critical. It can be healthy to encourage kids to speak up when something online disturbs or confuses them.

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