The new study reveals that there has been a 300% increase in children interacting with strangers online.
A startling new report published by CyberSafeIreland shows that a large percentage of young children in Ireland are talking to strangers online on a regular basis.
In the survey, over 5,000 children in Ireland were polled as part of their annual report, which you can read in full right here.
Among the information regarding how many hours a day they spend online, as well as playing games that are intended only for those over the age of 18 and over, there were questions about contacting strangers online.
The survey revealed that 18% of 8 to 13-year-old children are talking to strangers every day, which is a 300% increase over the previous year.
Additionally, 32% of children are talking to strangers online every week.
This rises to 38% for 12-year-olds, and in terms of gender, significantly more boys (49%) than girls (34%) are talking to strangers online and this possibly due to a greater prevalence of gaming among boys.
The survey states that: “We know that 64% of those who are speaking to strangers every day are also gaming and that 91% of those speaking to strangers everyday are also on social media and messaging apps so this helps us understand more clearly in what capacity children are in contact with strangers online.”
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