Survey shows gaps between parents and children online

A recent survey has found that very young children are surprisingly wired in the internet age.

As many as 91.8 percent of children 3 to 6 years on the Chinese mainland have used a mobile phone. Tablet use wasn’t far behind, at 83.4 percent, and youngsters’ use of computers came in at 80.6 percent.

The survey, based on interviews with more than 20,000 children between 3 and 14 years and their parents earlier this year. It was conducted by Guangzhou Children’s Palace, a children’s center devoted to the arts and entertainment, in cooperation with 18 other centers on the mainland.

Children 9 to 10 years old use mobile phones, computers and other digital products as frequently as their parents, while those aged 11 to 14 years old have become communicators and creators of new media, the survey found.

“The children aged 11 to 14 years old, have surpassed their parents in their use of mobile phones, computers and related digital products,” the survey said.

Only 32.5 percent of the children interviewed said they would consult their parents first when asked to reveal family data online. More than 10.5 percent of middle-school students said they would directly fill in forms online when asked to do so while surfing, according to the survey.

Parents failed to set a good example in using mobile phones and computers, which has resulted in poor awareness about protecting children’s privacy online, it said.

Nearly 62 percent of the parents never help their children select suitable application software for their children’s mobile phones and computers while nearly 68 percent set no time limit for the use of mobile phones or surfing the internet.

About 34 percent of the children in primary school said they seek help from their mothers when they have difficulty in their studies, while those who seek help from their fathers represented half that, about 17 percent. Middle school students are often expected to seek answers to questions from classmates or online, the survey said.

More than 50 percent of parents are not friends on their children’s WeChat accounts, the survey indicates.

Cai Liman, a professor of childhood education at South China Normal University, said parents should set a good example in using computers and other digital products at home.

“Parents should accompany their children to surf the internet and guide them to correctly find the information they want online,” Cai told China Daily.

“Children, particularly young primary school pupils, usually have poor capacity to controlling themselves, so they need parents to accompany them on the internet,” she said.

Moreover, parents should expand their contacts with their children, Cai said, adding that many children do not add their parents into WeChat moments because they do not want to controlled too much.

Huang Yanchong, the mother of 6-year-old boy, said parents need to further improve themselves and be conversant with the internet if they want to become their children’s cyberfriends.

“My son was very surprised when I told him I can play the new online games and know the new words that are popular online,” she said.