Digital Literacy Report 2009
Parents are worried about what their kids get up to online, but have admitted defeat monitoring what they are doing
Parents demand online privacy lessons for under 16s British parents have demanded the Government introduce lessons to improve young people's understanding of online privacy and the value of their personal reputation, with 69 per cent of parents calling for compulsory lessons to be introduced as part of the national curriculum. The findings of the Digital Literacy Report, a YouGov commissioned poll of a representative panel of 2,050 UK adults from Halpern Cowan (www.halperncowan.com), reveals the growing concern among parents about their children's online activities.
Almost half (48%) of adults admitted they were worried that their children's online actions will destroy their future chances of getting into a chosen university or landing a first job. Many believe that online comment or mistakes made by young people on sites such as Facebook, Bebo and YouTube would go on to impact their adult lives, and that government and schools should act now to help young people safeguard their future prospects.
With cyberbullying, grooming and legal considerations such as file-sharing all very real concerns for UK parents when their children go online, the report showed there is a lack of control among parents over what exactly children are doing when they log onto the web. With more children accessing sites like Facebook through their mobile phones instead of family PCs, parents are struggling to stay on top of what their children do online, with 44 per cent conceding they don't ever check the content their kids are accessing or what they are posting online.
Louis Halpern, CEO of Halpern Cowan and author of a new book on managing your reputation online, commented, "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."
Brits have dirty secrets aired online
Halpern Cowan's Digital Literacy Report also discovered that it's not just school pupils who are at risk of falling foul of their actions online, as one in four (23%) single British adults admitted there are pictures of themselves online that they wouldn't want their bosses or colleagues to see. As a result, it is apparent that young professionals looking to establish themselves in a career are jeopardising their future chances with a careless approach to what is being posted about them online.
With over a quarter (28%) of 18-35 year olds in the UK admitting they have posted inappropriate content on services such as Facebook and Twitter that they have later gone on to regret, this year's Report suggests there is a real lack of understanding and basic digital literacy amongst UK consumers when it comes to conducting themselves online. Considering that a further 47 per cent of those asked confessed to searching someone online before meeting with them, be it in professional of personal circumstances, individual's misdemeanours are even more likely to found online by the very people they least want to see them.
Louis Halpern continued, "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. Some seem to think, ‘I don't need to be proactive.' This is a dangerous attitude to have. 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."
As well as being guilty of not proactively looking after what is being said and posted about themselves online, more British adults confessed to posting sensitive personal data on the web, with53 per cent of 18-35 year olds saying they have posted their date of birth even though this is often the first thing asked for in security checks for services such as online and telephone banking, leaving themselves wide open to identity fraud. With only one third (35%) of those asked saying that they knew all of their online friends in person, the report suggests there is a large number UK internet users sharing too much information with a high number of people they don't even know.
Be proactive or lose out online
With the aim of encouraging UK internet users to take a greater interest in safeguarding their own and their peers' online reputations, Halpern Cowan has launched ‘Personal Reputation Management; Making the internet work for you' (www.reputation-book.com), a self-help book aimed specifically at the UK market to help people protect and promote their personal reputation online. Authored by CEO Louis Halpern and the company's Creative Director Roy Murphy, the book provides practical, actionable steps to help internet users understand the main issues involved and how to develop a stronger reputation online.
"Your reputation affects you, what people think about you and your ability to get on in the world accordingly. With a proactive approach the internet can be used to improve your reputation, but internet users must understand that promoting and protecting their online presence is now a major factor in achieving their professional and personal objectives," added Louis Halpern.
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