The vast majority of parents leave their children unattended on the Internet believing it is a safe place, yet an alarming number of young people say they have been bullied or have chatted with strangers on-line, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing for AOL Canada Inc., also found that half of parents who responded to the poll said it was simpler to teach their children about sex or drugs than Internet safety.
The poll, to be released today, comes on the heels of a triple-murder case in southern Alberta where the on-line diaries of two young people accused of the crimes has now become part of the investigation.
According to friends, the 12-year-old girl and her 23-year-old boyfriend accused in the slayings of a Medicine Hat family may have met on a website, VampireFreaks.com, where they also posted profiles, which included shocking admissions about their mutual attraction to blood, her affinity for serial killers and his attraction to kinky fetishes.
Edmonton Police Detective Randy Wickens of the Internet and Child Exploitation Unit said the couple's on-line profiles posted on the Nexopia.com website is of interest to investigators, who ordered them pulled from the Internet, but cautioned people about linking cyberspace to murder.
Still, Det. Wickens added, for young people, the Internet is the new shopping mall -- a place where they hang out and meet people.
While visiting Calgary over the weekend, Governor-General Michaëlle Jean said she is planning to establish an on-line network for Canadian youth. Ms. Jean said she aims to connect with children across the country and listen to their concerns, which will ultimately give them a stronger voice.
Karen Robbins, who has three sons and teaches safe use of the Internet as AOL Canada's "Net Mom," said the Internet is a great place for education, but parents need to "cyber-proof" as well as street-proof their children.
"It's not the guy in an overcoat in a park. It's people on-line," she said.
The survey, which echoes findings of a survey released last fall by the Ottawa-based Media Access Network, is the latest in a troubling trend.
Parents are playing catch-up to their children as eight- or nine-year-olds are now routinely surfing the Web, said Lianna McDonald, executive director of Child Find Manitoba which operates Cybertip.ca, a tip line launched nationally more than a year ago.
"Kids can talk their way around their parents about their on-line activities. Parents don't know when they're being had," she said.
Cybertip.ca has received 11,000 calls -- most of them reports of on-line child exploitation, but about 2,000 were requests for educational material.
Ms. McDonald said parents need to tell their children early that they will be supervising Internet use and that cyberspace gives them no right to privacy. Parents should install filtering programs, track who children are chatting with and ban unsupervised use of webcams.
The Leger poll of 1,268 adults and children, which was conducted April 12 to 20, is considered accurate within 3.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
The survey found that 19 per cent of children under the age of 12 said they had been bullied on-line, and 14 per cent said they had exchanged e-mail with a stranger.
At the same time, almost three-quarters of parents said they wouldn't leave their child unattended at a swimming pool, yet 83 per cent said they have left them alone on-line. And almost a third of respondents said the family computer is located in a place considered inappropriate by safety advocates such as the basement or a child's bedroom.
On-line guidelines
Internet use guidelines vary depending on the age and sophistication of the child, but Cybertip.ca offers some general advice for parents and guardians to help keep their children safe on-line:
Keep the computer in an open area of the house.
Get to know what Internet services, such as chat room, websites and e-mail, children are using.
Set time limits for on-line use.
Children should never give out personal information, including name, home and school addresses or phone number.
Children should never meet anyone in person without asking their parents.
Children should tell their parents when they feel uncomfortable, scared or confused.
Agree on consequences if rules are broken.
