No one is surprised to see that, from the age of 10, the average daily time skyrockets to more than half an hour. It even reaches 45 minutes on average a day in 13-year-old children. However, when we look at those under 10 years of age, we can see some very worrying figures. And it is that even 4-year-old children spend, on average per day, more than 20 minutes connected to social networks. From the age of 7, the average goes up to 25 minutes a day. And, from the age of 10, we arrive at the figures already mentioned.
It is true that most parents are aware of minors when they use these platforms, although there are always exceptions. But the time that children spend on the Internet is not only that of social networks, and it is that more than half of those surveyed have affirmed that their children spend more time than they should watching videos on platforms such as YouTube and Netflix. Even almost 30% of those surveyed leave the minor free to read articles on the Internet.
In addition, picaresque is still present in children today, since only a small percentage of parents allow them to have an account in them, which is why most minors access it, without permission, when they ask to use the Internet for other purposes.
The biggest threats to minors on the Internet
Although not limited to them, social networks are one of the greatest sources of danger for minors (and not so minors). Internet in a very dangerous place which, if we are not careful, can cause us a lot of trouble.
ExpressVPN has also asked both minors and their parents what are the biggest fears they have when these little ones use social networks. The main fears of parents are the bullying and the sexual recruitment, followed also by the possibility of the least seeing inappropriate images or videos, cyberbullying and strangers asking for personal information. On the other hand, minors fear meet someone rude and offensiveget to see scary videos or photos by mistake, or suffer bullying.
And where do minors experience these negative situations? The main social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok are among those that leave the worst taste in the mouth of minors. YouTube is also a very toxic website for them, ranking first in the United States and second in the United Kingdom. And, of course, also massive online games, like Roblox and Fortnite are not appropriate places for them.
It is vital to protect minors
With so many dangers online, it is essential to protect children. Although the ideal is to always be with them when they use new technologies, and very importantly, also teach them to use them responsiblythere are some ways that can help us prevent our little ones from taking unnecessary risks when using these technologies.
For example, the parental control programs They can help us control what children do on the Internet, how much time they spend online, and filter and block dangerous content. The use of a VPN, such as ExpressVPNit can also help us control and mitigate these dangers, since they protect traffic and allow us to filter the websites that the minor can or cannot visit.
