Chinese University study for Symantec shows most parents fail to protect children from Internet hazards at home
Hong Kong -- June 19, 2001 - 'Do you know what your children are doing on the net?' - This is a question most Hong Kong parents fail to address. In a recent survey, conducted for Symantec by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, two-thirds of Hong Kong parents interviewed said they do not use any special computer software tools to protect their children from objectionable Internet content or other online computing hazards at home.
With support from Symantec, the "Parents' Attitude Towards Their Children's Practice of Surfing Internet" survey included 800 parents with school children who use the Internet. Sixty percent of the parents said they were concerned about their children's potential exposure to unsuitable web content - such as pornography, and those portraying acts of violence. The survey also showed that more than half the parents were unaware of measures they could adopt to protect their children from inappropriate online materials and websites.
Recent statistics released by the Hong Kong Police showed that of the 368 cybercrime cases reported in the year 2000, thirty percent of people arrested for illegal activities on the Internet were under the age of 18. Out of 19 people arrested for cybercrime in the first quarter of 2001, over 20% of them were minors.
"The lack of parental understanding of Internet security at home is due to their inadequate online experience and knowledge. Half of them never use the Internet and more than seventy percent know little or nothing about the cyber world," said Timothy Wong, research officer and director of the Telephone Survey Laboratory for the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
"The Internet brings new challenges and opportunities. However, their research indicates parents do not fully understand the importance of Internet security," said Daniel Cheng, managing director of China and Hong Kong for Symantec. "It is essential to educate the general public, especially parents, about the need of a protected Internet environment that can counter the dramatic increases in cybercrime, computer viruses and inappropriate Internet resources to which computer users - adults and children alike - are increasingly exposed on a daily basis."
The results indicate that parents who lack online experience and knowledge seldom or even never communicate with their children regarding their Internet related experiences. They are also less aware of the need for Internet protection at home compared with parents who are Internet-savvy.
The survey shows that parents' primary concern in regard to their children's online behaviour is access to inappropriate web content (50.2%), followed by computer viruses (43.6%), security issues of online transactions (33.1%) and hacker intrusion (31.9%). Parents listed pornography (90.7%), violent and illegal materials (82.4%), and on-line gambling (73.8%) as the most inappropriate web content.
Parents named virus prevention and updated databases for inappropriate sites as the most valuable features for Internet security software.
Targeting PC users at home, Symantec has launched Norton Internet Security 2001 version 3. It provides users with essential Internet protection in one complete security package, defending against malicious hackers, privacy intrusions and viruses. Norton Internet Security Family Edition also adds powerful parental guidance features to limit child access to inappropriate Web sites.
Norton Internet Security has over 900,000 sites in its database in 22 different categories. As the number of inappropriate sites on the Internet grows the database is continually updated via the LiveUpdate technology in the product.
About Symantec
Symantec, a world leader in Internet security technology, provides a broad range of content and network security solutions to individuals and enterprises. The company is a leading provider of virus protection, vulnerability assessment, intrusion prevention, Internet content and e-mail filtering, remote management technologies and security services to enterprises around the world. Symantec's Norton brand of consumer security products leads the market in worldwide retail sales and industry awards. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Symantec has worldwide operations in 37 countries. For more information, please visit www.symantec.com
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Appendix
Parent's Attitude Towards Their Children's Practice of Surfing the Internet
Research Findings --- Executive Summary
Commissioned by Symantec Hong Kong Ltd., this study was conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, between 1st and 7th March, 2001. A total of 800 parents with children in school and using Internet were successfully interviewed by telephone for this survey.
The survey found that almost half of the respondents had never used Internet in their life and only one-third of them had used it for less than two years. Regarding their knowledge on the Internet, three-fourth of respondents answered "none" or "not much" and only a tiny percentage answered "very much." The results reflect that Hong Kong parents' online experience and online knowledge are relatively poor, especially among female who are older in age and less educated.
The respondents' estimated the average time their children spent on online activities was about 1.3 hours per day. Although most of the respondents (77.8%) said they knew what their children had done online, only a quarter of them indicated they knew "very much."
Furthermore, communications between parents and their children about online activities are limited. Over 50% of respondents said their children "seldom" or "never" told them what they had done online and over 70% said they "seldom" or "never" surfed Internet with their children. Respondents are younger in age, with higher educational level, more online experience and knowledge are more likely to surf the Internet with their children. Their children are also more likely to tell them their online activities.
The majority of respondents believed that Internet had brought about both positive impacts (mainly educational benefits) and negative impacts (mainly inappropriate web contents) on their children. Over 60% of respondents said they were "concerned or very concerned " about their children being exposed to inappropriate online materials. Respondents, who are younger, more educated, with more online experience and online knowledge tend to be more concerned with this issue.
Only one-third of respondents had taken some measures to ensure Internet security at home. Also, over half of respondents did not know or did not take any measures to prevent their children from accessing inappropriate online information. For those who had taken some measures, they largely focused upon teaching their children to avoid reading such information. Very few of them used technical measures like filtering, blocking software or password setting to deal with the matter.
In summary, the survey found that the phenomenon of "digital divide" exists not only between parents with and without computers, but also with more and less online experience and online knowledge. For those who lack online experience and online knowledge, communications with their children are relatively weak. They are also less aware of the importance of "Internet security" and "safe Internet surfing" at home. Even if they are aware of the problem, they may not have the experience or knowledge to deal with it. Therefore, it would be easier for this group of people to be victimised by the adverse effect of the spreading of Internet.
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