Our 5th Annual Report 2019

CyberSafeIreland’s 5th annual report was launched today, Thursday 10th September 2020, with data showing that One third of pre-teens game online with strangers and almost a third have strangers following them on social media

Other key figures being released are:

● 93% of pre-teens own smart device

● 65% of pre-teens are on social media despite 13+ age limit

● One in three pre-teens has been upset by content encountered online

● CyberSafeIreland surveyed almost 4,000 children aged between eight and twelve

Our survey found that 31% of children game with people they don’t know in real life and 61% of children reported being contacted by a stranger in a game (40% of boys vs. 22% of girls). Almost a third (30%) of children have friends/followers on social media platforms that they don’t know in real life. This is particularly worrying in the context of the report published by Interpol on 7th September, which highlighted concerning trends in relation to the production and sharing of child sexual abuse material online.

The survey also found that 65% of children are signed up to social media and messaging platforms despite minimum age restrictions of at least 13 on all of the most popular platforms and a Digital Age of Consent in Ireland being set at 16.  This is an 8% increase on last year’s findings.

CyberSafeIreland surveyed 3,764 children aged between 8 and 12 in schools over the last academic year and found that 93% owned their own smart device and 65% have their own accounts on social media and instant messaging apps. This means that the vast majority of children own a device that connects to the Internet and that many are active online.  

Download the full report here