With the emergence of cyber-bullying as one of the major threats online, school-going children were found to be extremely vulnerable to account hacking or receiving inappropriate messages in India, a survey revealed.
The Telenor India WebWise survey by Norwegian telecom giant Telenor analysed internet usage and access patterns of children across schools in 13 cities, involving 2,727 students. Also read: Motorola Moto Z Gets Android Nougat Update in India
The findings showed that over 35 per cent children have experienced their account being hacked while 15.74 percent shared that they have received inappropriate messages.
When bullied online 15 per cent complained, whereas 10.41 percent faced humiliation through picture/video that was uploaded on Internet.
While the majority of the children were willing to approach their parents in case they experience any cyber harm, over 76 per cent children were not aware of Child Helpline 1098.Also read: Made in India Anti-Airfield Weapon Successfully Tested by DRDO
"While the survey highlighted the vulnerabilities and cyber threats, it presented with insights that can help create focused awareness campaigns around safe internet practices," Sharad Mehrotra, Chief Executive Officer, Telenor India Communications, said in a statement.
In addition, social media giant Facebook emerged as the most favourite platform for school-going children, followed by WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram. Also read: Digital India: Around 950 Millions Indians Still Not on Internet
The survey revealed that in urban areas, 98.8 per cent of the schoolkids access internet to find information for school projects, playing games, reading online books, listening to music and watching movies, social networking sites and email, etc.
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