Smartphones 'exposing kids to smut'

London, Jan 30 (ANI): Children aged eight to 15 are increasingly using their mobile phones to surf violent or pornographic websites, a new study has revealed.

Ignorance of parents, primarily due to lack of technological skills, is one of the main factors, which is aggravating this problem.

Experts have asserted that not having technological skills deters parents to keep track of the dangers posed by new gadgets.

The poll of just over 1,000 children aged eight to 15, conducted by YouGov for Carphone Warehouse, revealed that almost half of them owned a smartphone like iPhone.

Most said their parents had bought them the devices. A fifth said they had viewed violent or pornographic content on a telephone, the Telegraph reported.

This implies that 1.2 million out of a total of six million in the eight-to-15 age group have used a smartphone to access illicit content.

The study also divulged that almost nine out of 10 children, who were surveyed, had no security settings on their telephones, and 46 per cent of parents were oblivious to the fact that they were even essential.

According to Professor Tanya Byron, a leading child psychologist who has been advising the government on child Internet safety since 2007, the findings were "no surprise" in an age of emergent Internet technology.

"On the internet, parents who are not 'digital natives', who were born in an era when the height of technology was a Sony Walkman, have struggled to keep up with what their children are doing," Prof Byron said.

The survey found that the ratio of children accessing social networking sites on their cell phones has increased eightfold in the past three years, to 38 per cent. In the same period, the number of children watching video clips on their mobiles has more than doubled, despite the content being completely unrestricted in the majority of cases.

"It is important parents develop an honest communication with their children so that they can support them to be responsible digital citizens and help them with any worries or concerns," Prof Byron added. (ANI)

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