UK Kids Pulling the Wool over Parents’ Eyes?

READING, UK - March 17, 2009 - Parents today don’t just have to have “the talk” about the birds and the bees, now they also have to consider “the bytes and the bees”, according to today’s second annual Norton Online Living Report, commissioned by Symantec. The study offers an in-depth view of how the Internet is impacting family relations across the globe, and shows that while in the UK some 75 per cent of parents are already speaking with their children about practicing safe habits online, the kids may well be bending the rules.

Parents do need to clue up to exactly where their children are online, as the research showed that UK kids are spending more than twice as much time on the web as their parents think they are - 43.5 hours per month - as opposed to the 18.8 hours parents estimated.

While all the parents surveyed think their kids spend less time online than they do, UK parents have one of the largest perception gaps, along with those in France, Japan, and the US.

Do they really need to know about the Bytes and the Bees?
In last year’s Norton Online Living Report, one in five children admitted to looking at content on the Internet that they knew their parents wouldn’t approve of. This year, Symantec discovered that parents are on the case, as one in five parents have caught their children viewing something they disapproved of, and reprimanded them for this behaviour.

“Having an open discussion with your children is something we really encourage,” said Marian Merritt, Symantec’s Internet Safety Advocate. “It’s not about coming down hard on them when they encounter inappropriate content, as the Internet is a great place to learn and to play, but there have to be boundaries. Kids in the UK are pretty Internet savvy, and parents need to keep up. We are encouraged by what we’re seeing, but there’s still work to be done by parents.”

In fact, the survey also revealed that almost a third of UK children are now befriending their parents on Facebook or another social networking site, suggesting that the Internet is closing the generation gap. The majority (65%) of UK parents feel very or extremely knowledgeable about discussing whether and when to share personal information on the Internet with their children, and some are even moving into cyberspace to discuss sensitive issues with one in six (16%) preferring to chat about touchy subjects online rather than face-to-face.

"The global average for setting parental controls for web usage on home PCs is only one-third, and as per the box-out, UK parents are leading the way in this. Globally, 20 per cent more parents than last year’s report are initiating dialogue about Internet safety with their children, but there is still a disconnect between what parents believe and what kids report.

UK Parents

• 93% agree it’s their responsibility to protect kids online
• 54% have set parental controls on web usage – the highest percentage globally bar India at 55%
• 81% are confident they know what their children are looking at online
• 31% of UK kids say their parents don’t know what they view online

“The Internet is now our children’s playground, and children should absolutely not be prevented from exploring their online environments.” said Mo Shapiro, Relationship Psychologist. “We are naive if we believe that parents will always know exactly where their children are online or anywhere else. They need ground rules to help them understand what is and isn’t safe. What’s encouraging about these results is that open discussions are taking place and maintained on the topic, and children know that they can turn to mum and dad for advice and guidance about online behaviour.”

Connecting Online and in Reality?
Despite an apparent disconnect between what mum and dad think and what the kids are up to, families are finding that the Internet helps relationships, with more than two thirds (67%) of UK adults stating that the Internet makes keeping in touch with families easier, and 58 per cent agreeing that it has improved offline relationships. One in five UK adults use a webcam at least once a week to keep in touch with family and friends.

“The Internet adds an element of ease and speed which allows us to reach out to family members we would otherwise not contact. More interestingly, it can also give the communicator a certain distance and anonymity to talk about sensitive or embarrassing subjects that are too uncomfortable to broach face to face. This can help break down barriers within the family.” said Mo Shapiro, Relationship Psychologist.

E-Families
With the wealth of data gained from the Norton Online Living Report Symantec was able to identify different segments of the population, characterised by their use of the Internet and how they approach family relationships. There were four segments: The E-Family, the Friending Family, the FaceTime Family and the Disconnected Family, all with differing levels of internet usage. The “E-Family” was particularly intriguing.

E-Families have the highest levels of happiness with the contact and time spent with their family, 99 per cent are happy compared to 50 per cent globally. Coupled with this familial bliss, the E-Family segment is in the category of highest Internet usage spending more hours per week online, using more social networking and webcams, having more online friends, having a stronger knowledge of computers and a stronger interest in new technologies than other segments.

Kids in E-Families were more than 50 per cent more likely to “friend” their parents online than other groups, and most likely to have and follow the “online rules”.

Marian Merritt concluded: “It is really interesting to see that this segment is more prevalent in emerging markets - 25 per cent of people in China, India and Brazil compared to 14 per cent globally – as I would have expected that Western countries would be more active online. I’m hoping that the proportion of the E-Family increases over time, as I feel families could learn a lot from this group of people who have struck a healthy balance between online and real-world family interaction, who have turned technology into a family asset.”

The Norton Online Living Report also explores questions including:

• What do people around the world say they can’t live without: the Internet, their car, or their mobile phone?
• What is the impact of the Internet on children’s education? Do parents and children think differently?
• How do adults and kids maintain social graces in an online world?
• How secure are we really? Are people paying online security lip service, or genuinely protecting themselves?

Resources:
Norton Online Living Report 2009 microsite: www.nortononlineliving.com

About the Survey
The Norton Online Living Report survey was conducted online in 12 countries (U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, China, Japan, India, Australia, and Brazil) by Harris Interactive on behalf of Symantec between October 13th and December 5th, 2008 among 6,427 adults 18 years old and older (including 1,297 parents of children ages 8-17) and 2,614 children aged 8-17 who spend one or more hours online each month. Results were weighted as needed to be representative of the online population of adults and children for each country. For detailed findings of this year’s Norton Online Living Report, please visit www.nortononlineliving.com

About Norton from Symantec
Symantec’s Norton products protect consumers from traditional threats with antivirus, anti-spam and spyware protection, as well as bots, drive-by downloads and identity theft- while also being light on system resources. The company also provides services such as PC help from NortonLive and online backup, and is a trusted source for family online safety.

About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organisations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

Media Contacts:
Georgina Edwards
Edelman
020 3047 4507
georgina.edwards@edelman.com

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