London - Middle-class children are more likely to be harmed by internet use than those in poorer households.
They are more prone to being bullied, seeing pornographic images, receiving sexual messages and indulging in risky behaviour such as meeting people they have only met online, say researchers.
Their parents tend to be woefully ignorant about what their children get up to on the web.
The author of the study said middle-class children were at greater risk because they were more likely to know their way around the internet and to have a personal computer in their bedroom, or a smartphone.
Sonia Livingstone, professor of social policy at the London School of Economics, said parents should talk to their children about their internet use, so that any potential harm can be nipped in the bud. She said she was particularly concerned about her finding that a third of girls aged 14 to 16 had visited a site for anorexics.
And her survey of more than 1 000 children also found 51 percent of children admitted they had neglected homework and ignored family and friends because of their excessive internet use.
Livingstone blamed the “culture of fear” that deters parents from allowing children to play outdoors, saying that there were also dangers if their child was on the internet in their bedroom.
However, there was no need for parents to panic, because the risk of a child being harmed by the use of the net was still small.
Her study, done in 2010, looked at risky online behaviour among children, in particular seeing sexual imagery, receiving sexual messages, being bullied and meeting people they had only met online.
It found that, across all types of behaviour, those in the “high social and economic group” were more likely to be at risk.
For example, 30 percent of the high group had seen sexual images online, compared with 25 percent among a lower income group.
Some 26 percent have been bullied online, compared with 21 percent; and 17 percent had sent or received sexual messages compared with 14 percent.
Livingstone said: “When I began my research, I thought middle-class children would be more skilled or would have more skilled parents to guide them, and would use the internet in a less risky way.
“I thought that perhaps children from poorer homes, with less educated parents, would use the internet in a more risky way. But what I found was the opposite.
“This is probably because middle-class parents tend to steer their children towards the opportunities on the internet, so they use the internet more widely and deeply.
“They end up more confident to explore the internet, and what happens is if you use it more comprehensively you’ll find more risks.”
She added: “Children from poorer backgrounds don’t get these risks as often but also they don’t get the benefits of the internet. Their parents are not as well educated, they have slower broadband speeds and spend less time online.”
Of all the children who said they had seen sexual images, 40 percent of their parents said they were certain their children had not, and 29 percent said they did not know. – Daily Mail