from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – A MAJORITY of parents in South Africa are worried about their children’s digital behaviour and want to manage and monitor it.
This is according to a study by the cyber security company, Kaspersky.
More than half of respondents from South Africa (64 percent) use parental control apps, and 54 percent regularly check children’s internet history.
Moreover, 49 percent of these parents report their children’s use digital devices under the supervision of either a parent (35 percent) or a family member (14 percent).
The majority of parents in South Africa seek to control the videos that children watch (74 percent), the sites they visit (80 percent), and the games they play (56 percent).
In addition, 54 percent of respondents want to limit the time children spend online and on their devices throughout the day.
By monitoring children’s online activity, over half of them discuss healthy digital habits (60 percent).
Less than a quarter of the respondents (14 percent) however trust their children and do not control them in any way.
“Due to the fact that modern children from early childhood use smartphones and other gadgets, they perceive the digital space as something natural and familiar – like taking a walk,” commented Marina Titova, Vice-President, Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky.
Titova said parents can make their children’s digital world more secure by shielding them from inappropriate content and helping them learn how to be secure in a digital environment by using various tools and methods.
“For instance, adults can encourage certain digital habits within the family or use parental control apps, which can help filter out desirable and undesirable content categories, as well as check child’s online activity.”
– CAJ News