Parents must take an active interest in their children’s online activities says Beggs.
Roy Beggs MLA for East Antrim and Ulster Unionist Party Spokesperson on Children’s Issues has reacted to the publication of an Ofcom Report into Social Networking on the internet by advising parents to take an active interest in what their children are doing online. The report highlighted that large numbers of very young children in the UK have a profile on a social network site. The Ofcom report showed that social networking is becoming a major part of young people’s lives and it is a phenomenon that adults need to get to grips with as there are real dangers for children who set their profiles onto the public domain.
In a statement Mr Beggs said,
“This report has highlighted that a quarter of eight to 11-year-olds in the UK have a profile on a social network site such as MySpace or Bebo. There is very little regulation and no technology to check the age of users on these sites and whilst most children are using such sites to talk to their friends, many children and their parents do not understand the potential danger they are in. Once a child’s profile is set up on these sites, unless they stipulate otherwise, complete strangers can access their personal information. Parents need to be aware of this and take an active interest in what their children are doing on the internet; the internet is a great resource but it also has potential dangers such as predatory adults posing as young people and identity theft. Parents need to try to understand these dangers so they can advise and so assist in protecting their children.”
“I welcome the fact that the Home Office is expected to publish a set of guidelines for the sites on Friday. I expect them to introduce tough guidelines that request social networking sites to introduce age verification technology and that any profiles setup by children will be by default private to recognised friends and family. These measures would go some of the way to protecting our children; however parents will still need to take a greater interest to ensure the well being of their children. Practical measures such as placing computers with internet access in a living room or a shared household area can help to protect children against internet predators”.