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Call for schools to teach online protection
30 Nov 2009Schools should introduce lessons to teach young people about protecting their online privacy and reputation, according to a survey.
Almost seven out of 10 adults (69%) said compulsory lessons should be introduced as part of the national curriculum, amid fears children could be jeopardising their future with posts on sites such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and Twitter.
Nearly half of respondents (48%) were concerned that children could damage their university or career prospects by posting inappropriate photos or comments, according to the YouGov poll of 2,050 UK adults.
But just four out of 10 adults (40%) checked what their children or younger relatives were posting online at least once a week, the survey found.
Louis Halpern, chief executive of digital communications agency Halpern Cowan, which commissioned the survey for its Digital Literacy Report 2009, said: "Young people are spending more and more time online, growing up with technology ingrained as part of their daily lives. Unlike adults however, they're not streetwise, they don't understand the threats.
"Policy makers on the other hand are showing themselves up as being stuck in the dark ages by failing to recognise these pitfalls that British children are regularly exposed to, and parents have already begun to admit defeat in watching what their children do online.
"If we do not proactively teach young people about the impact of their online activity how can they better protect and promote themselves? We want to see a generation of digitally 'literate' adults emerge in years to come, and it is our responsibility to ensure it."
The survey also found one in three (31%) 18 to 24-year-olds had posted pictures or comments online they would not want their bosses or colleagues to see.
And a similar number (32%) had posted something online which they later regretted.
Many of the adults in this age group had also posted potentially sensitive information such as date of birth (67%), telephone number (26%), and address (7%).
Asked whether they researched people online ahead of meetings or interviews, 5% of adults across all age ranges said "always" while 9% said "regularly" and 19% said "sometimes".
Mr Halpern said: "This is a serious situation. We can expect to see young British professionals losing out in business and in their personal lives unless this apathetic approach to the internet is properly addressed.
"As an individual it is easy to search for you online and see what you are doing, so if you have someone posting pictures of you on Facebook doing something you don't want shared with the world, or you're posting things on chat sites without a second thought as to its impact, you need to prepare for the consequences.
"With more and more people being directly affected by their actions online, getting sacked for an inappropriate picture on Facebook or being judged by friends for a stray comment on Twitter, people need to improve their understanding of the consequences online can have on their reputation."
Reader views (1)
To take this arguement further, it is digital literacy understanding itself which is need of improvement - across all ages and all demographics. The teachers in our schools require online reputation management classes. Our school governers require knowledge of the broader issues of identity fraud, online privacy, cyber-bullying, social media. Our private companies need guidance on how to both protect and promote their business and their employees. Our parents and guardians require the facts with which to protect and guide.
Most important of all, our young need to have a clearer understanding of the perils and positives of our 24/7 connected word.
- Roy Murphy, London England, 30/11/2009 14:43
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