A QUARTER OF children aged between 8 and 12 have been upset by harmful content online, according to new figures published by CyberSafeKids.

Additionally, 21% of children between the ages of 12 and 14 had similar negative experiences online, including encountering scams, harassment, horror, and sexual material.

CyberSafeKids’ annual Trends & Usage Report, ‘Left To Their Own Devices’, shows that for 8-12 year olds, this most commonly occurred on YouTube (37%) and Roblox (23%), a child focussed online gaming platform. 

For secondary school children aged 12 to 14, Snapchat (41%) and TikTok (30%) were identified as the most common platforms where these negative experiences occurred.

The report surveyed over 7,000 children in the academic year 2023-24 and found that 42% of 8-12 year olds, and 62% of 12-14 year olds do not talk to their parents about their online activity. 

The report also shows that parents are less involved in their children’s online lives than in previous years.

Less than half (43%) of primary school children reported having “mostly positive” online experiences in the last year. YouTube (75%) WhatsApp (41%), Roblox (40%), Snapchat (36%) and TikTok (33%) are the most popular platforms for this age group.

The report found 35% of 8-12 year olds can go online whenever they want, rising to 61% for 12-14 year olds in secondary school. 

38% of 8-12 year olds gamed with strangers online while almost 65% were contacted by a stranger during an online game. 

55% of children aged 8 to 12 did not tell a parent when bothered, confused or upset by harmful content or unsolicited contact, rising to 63% for 12-14 year olds.  

“The report’s findings demonstrate how important the age of access, online safety education and family supervision are for children and young people,” CyberSafeKids said in a statement accompanying the report.

“Negative experiences such as cyberbullying, seeing harmful content and unsolicited contact occurred less often for children who were supervised and made smart choices regarding their privacy, interactions and activities online.”

Children with unlimited access to the internet were more likely to have experienced cyberbullying than those who had time restrictions.

“This highlights the dangers of reduced parental supervision, unrestricted access, and insufficient online safety education,” the online safety charity said.

82% of 8-12 year olds already have their own social media or instant messaging account, regardless of a minimum age restriction of 13 on most popular platforms, the charity said.

The charity also said that education on online activity and initiatives to limit phone use in schools were important measures to combat negative experiences for children online.

CyberSafeKids CEO, Alex Cooney, said the report shows “the vital need for online safety education in schools”. 

“Children are under-prepared and ill-equipped to be online. Algorithms that serve up often inappropriate content are hugely problematic for children. Our data shows how popular social gaming environments such as Roblox are with young children, yet they fly under the radar for regulation requirements.”

She called on the Government to urgently address what he called a “serious gap” in this with regard to Roblox.

The charity recommended making age verification mandatory for access to online services and legislating for a minimum age at which online platforms can provide services to children.

It also recommended making online safety and digital literacy “the 4th pillar of the education system” and delivering public awareness campaigns on the issue, including encouraging smartphone-free schools.