TNS AISA and support for the charity ‘Naše dítě' (‘Our Children')
As a gift for the children's charity ‘Naše dítě', TNS AISA conducted research into Czech families and the online behaviour of children.
This research was conducted at the beginning of the year 2009 and involved the participation of 319 families with children aged 10-15 from across the whole of the Czech Republic. The main findings of this research were presented at a ‘Naše dítě' press conference by the director of TNS AISA, Tomáš Rychecký, on Thursday 21 May 2009.
The research provided important information on children's Internet usage and online behaviour, as well as offering insights into parental attitudes to their children's activities and into the steps parents take to protect their children from exposure to potential harm.
The following data were among the core findings of this research:
- Approximately one half of children aged 10-15 have a computer with access to the Internet in their own bedrooms, and these children spend an average of 1.5 hours a day online during the working week and up to 2.5 hours a day online at weekends.
- About 70 per cent of children participate in online discussion groups and chat rooms.
- As many as 37 per cent of Czech children aged 14-15 communicate online with people whom they know only from virtual environments; 14 per cent of children in this age group have also personally met people that they first encountered and got to know online.
- More than one third of children aged 14-15 reveal personal details and contact information to strangers on the Internet.
- Approximately half of children share their personal photos and videos online.
- As many as 17 per cent of parents do not check what their children do on the Internet, and the majority perform only random spot-checks. Programs designed to restrict children's access to unsuitable web content are employed by just 8 per cent of parents
The charity ‘Naše dítě' is the administrator and operator of the first Czech Internet Hotline, and as such is deeply interested in the issue of child safety and the Internet. The charity's hotline (www.internethotline.cz) has been attempting to decrease such risks for three years now, and the findings of this TNS AISA research have helped the charity to identify how much work remains in educating parents and children in safely navigating the online world by highlighting just how many Czech children remain exposed to risk. More information about the activities of the charity ‘Naše dítě' is available at www.nasedite.cz .