“Parents’ staggering confidence in their own IT knowledge is misplaced’’: AVG Technologies research report revealed.

Conducted by research agency Vision Critical, AVG Technologies has released the findings of its research report entitled ‘’Parents, Schools, and the Digital Divide’’.

According to the report, an overwhelming number of parents (95 percent) agree with online safety education being mandatory in
schools and nearly nine out of ten (89 percent) agree that the government needs to do more when it comes to teaching children right from wrong when it comes to safe use of the Internet

• Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of parents are adamant that the ultimate responsibility for online safety education falls to them.
• 92 percent of all parents are confident about their own ability to teach online safety, (AVG’s study exposes a widening gap between ‘perceived’ and ‘actual’ knowledge, reinforcing the value of a simple assessment for parents to help bridge this gap).

Regarding perception versus reality, Connectikpeople has discovered that  

• More than half (56 percent) of parents with children in primary and secondary school, and 42 percent of parents with teenagers, have not had a discussion with children about sexual online adult content.
• One in ten parents of teenagers who haven’t discussed sexual adult content online believe their child is “too young” for the conversation, whilst nearly a quarter (23 percent) simply “haven’t got around to it”

• When it comes to other online threats, nine out of ten (89 percent) of all parents with children in primary and secondary school believe their child has not been involved in cyberbullying or sexting (as either the perpetrator or victim)
• For teenagers specifically, 86 percent of parents are not aware of their teenager having experienced this issue, ‘’despite evidence highlighting these as the most frequent Internet issues for children’’.
• This evidence suggests parents’ staggering confidence in their own IT knowledge is misplaced, with many still in the dark when it comes to how to educate their children on staying safe online

 “With a good understanding of the threats facing children, parents can make informed decisions about the right safety technologies and settings to put in place. Complementing this with age-appropriate guidance and safety rules will ensure children can use the Internet safely and freely,”said Anscombe.

Andy Phippen, professor of social responsibility at Plymouth University said : “Safe Internet use should be top of mind for all parents; sexting, cyberbullying, exposure to explicit content and other internet-related issues are only on the increase. To protect our children from these dangers both parents and schools need to continually work to stay ahead of how children use the Internet and of the relevant guidance we need to provide. An online safety assessment could give parents an indication of their strengths and weaknesses and working in partnership with the school, they could identify areas they need to brush up on, accessing helpful advice and learning materials.”

About the research:

The quantitative research with a sample size of 2,014 parents was commissioned by AVG Technologies and conducted by research agency Vision Critical. Parents with children aged from 2-18 were asked to complete an online survey with the sample randomly selected from the online community Springboard UK, which is a community of 70,000 British adults who participate in online surveys and discussions. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

To ensure accurate representation of parents with children across different ages, an even number of parents with children in the following age ranges were asked to fill in the survey: 2-3 years old, 4-7 years old, 8-11 years old, 12-14 years old, 15-18 years old. In cases where parents had more than one child, parents were asked to provide the age of their oldest child and to fill in the survey with this child in mind. To complement the quantitative research findings, Andy Phippen, professor of social responsibility at Plymouth University, conducted ten in-depth interviews from the 28^th June – 3^rd July 2013. The interviews were held via telephone with parents of children within all of the different age ranges represented in the interviews.

About AVG Technologies (NYSE: AVG)

AVG’s mission is to simplify, optimize and secure the Internet experience, providing peace of mind to a connected world. AVG’s powerful yet easy-to‐use software and online services put users in control of their Internet experience. By choosing AVG’s software and services, users become part of a trusted global community that benefits from inherent network effects, mutual protection and support. AVG has grown its user base to 150 million active users as of March 31, 2013 and offers a product portfolio that targets the consumer and small business markets and includes Internet security, PC performance optimization, online backup, mobile security, identity protection and family safety software.