Out of the experts' answers to the questionnaire it became clear, that dangers and risks from the real-life - like abuse, violence and so on, are evident in the virtual world as well. The European experts emphasized the responsibility of parents and media pedagogues to take care for children and youth online. When asked about protecting minors against inappropriate sexual content or violence on the Internet control by parents and teaching of media literacy were stated most frequently.
The questionnaire and further information on the Youth Protection Roundtable are available at www.yprt.eu. The survey is open until the end of June 2007, the results will be published online.
During the next 24 months the roundtable's members from various European countries will broaden their view for upcoming threats and will develop a common approach of countermeasures as well. Our goal for the Youth Protection Roundtable is to encourage a collaborative and cross-sector dialogue considering the various cultural backgrounds of European countries to enable youth - and responsible adults in the case of minors - for a safe and secure use of the Internet. The quarterly issues of this electronic newsletter will provide you with information on the on-going work at the roundtable.
Children help moms with online shopping
The results from a US study of children between the ages of 8-14 years old show that children are helping their parents with a diversity of online chores, including shopping, income tax return online and vacation planning. The "Surfin' on Mom's Turf" survey, conducted by Stars for Kidz, found that tech-savvy youngsters are helping their moms with various online tasks and some have even completed financial transactions. Almost half of the 6,000 US children surveyed, said their parents are 'clueless' online and 29 percent said, their moms needed help due to lack of time. Regarding the results of the survey, there is a need to reconsider, to whom address media literacy efforts. The debate of youth protection on the Internet is getting a different perception. Who is protecting whom from harmful content, inadequate contacts and financial/privacy fraud?
