As a parent, the internet is both a useful and possibly scary tool. It opens the world up for your kids and allows them to experience a ton of info that they wouldn’t have been able to access before the advent of the web, and that’s a great thing. But of course, with open information comes open information. All of it. The scope is broad, and includes things that you may not want your kid seeing in their formidable years.
I’m sure many parents can relate to this scenario: You’re browsing the web and you happen upon a saved site, or maybe check your history. And there it is – a porn link that you didn’t access. What do you do? At what age do you think you have to start worrying about this?
Well, according to a new study, it’s a lot earlier than you think. Apparently, kids are starting to look at porn by the time they reach the age of six. Yes, six.
The study comes from internet security and antivirus software provider Bitdefender, who released the results to USA Today. Bitdefender used data compiled from its various parental controls services alongside a survey of over 19,000 parents worldwide.
The survey found that kids start watching porn as early as 6, and are “flirting” on the internet by the ripe old age of 8.
Social media use is also starting earlier – 17% of kids had an account on some social networking site by the age of 10 and 25% had one by the age of 12.
“Kids nowadays are acting like young adults online — just give them an Internet-connected device, and they will find a way to things parents would like to ban forever,” says Bitdefender Chief Security Strategist Catalin Cosoi.
Of course, parents are the key. Both in limiting what young kids see on the internet, as well as having important conversations about both the good and the bad that exists on the web.
And it looks that those conversations need to start happening early. Very early.