One in three Indian youth has been cyber bullied due to risky online behaviour, a new report by security firm McAfee suggests.
The annual study, titled ‘Tweens, Teens and Technology 2014,’ shows that one third of the participants have been cyber bullied themselves. A tween is a person who is between the ages of 10 to 12 years old.
“Teens and tweens are very comfortable operating in the online world, yet the risks have never been greater. Young people are often the pioneers for new technologies so they need to understand the consequences of their online behaviour and how they can maintain their social engagement,” said Melanie Duca, APAC Consumer Marketing Director, McAfee.
Only 46 per cent of the study’s participants say their parents have had a conversation with them about online safety. About 52 per cent say that their parents simply do not care.
Anindita Mishra, McAfee Cybermum India said, “The findings of the study reaffirm that the online behaviour of youth needs much more involvement from parents than they are currently providing. As a result, I believe there is an urgent need for parents to update themselves on potential threats such as cyber-bullying and become part of their children’s online experience to ensure they aren’t navigating alone through an unrestricted virtual world.”
Further, the study shows that about half (52 per cent) of India’s youth have access their social media accounts while at school, with tweens (57 per cent) being more connected during school hours than teens (47 per cent).