Most Parents Fear Cyberbullying Will Hit Their Kids

Nearly 40% of the Indian parents allowed their children to access the internet before age 11, 54% them fear that their children may be bullied online.

About 54 percent of the Indian parents fear that their children are more likely to be bullied online than on a playground, according to a Symantec study.

Nearly 40 percent of Indian parents allowed their children to access the internet before age 11.

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‘Cyberbullying can affect the child's well-being. Parents should take preventative measures to protect their children.’

The findings from the "2016 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report: Family Edition," shed light on parents' perceptions of cyberbullying and the preventative measures to protect their children.

"A concern for many parents is that cyberbullying doesn't stop when their child leaves school -- as long as your child is connected to a device, a bully can connect to them," said Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec.

The report also pointed out that 71 percent parents thought their children would download malicious programmes or a virus, 69 percent think their kids would disclose too much personal information to strangers and 65 percent thought a stranger could lure their children in the physical world.

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Parents were also concerned that their kids might do something online that could make the whole family vulnerable (62 percent) or embarrassed (60 percent). Nearly 61 per cent believe the children could be lured into illegal activities like hacking.

In what can be called a silver lining, the report also showed that Indian parents are starting to recognise how damaging cyberbullying can be for children and are putting preventative measures in place.

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"Nearly 57 percent parents chose to check their child's browser history, 46 percent only allow access to certain websites, 48 percent allow internet access only with parental supervision," the report said.

Also, 37 percent parents review and approve all apps before they are downloaded, 36 percent enable internet access only in household common areas and 35 per cent limit information their child can post on social profiles.

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The survey also revealed that seven percent of parents fail to take any action to protect their children online.

Source-IANS