52 percent of kids witness cyberbullying on the internet
BTK Safe Internet Center has prepared a “Report on the Mindful and Safe Internet Use Experiences and Habits of Children and Parents in Turkey” by conducting fieldwork with a total of 2,222 samples, of which 1111 are students and 1111 from their parents, in 12 regions spread over Turkey.
According to the information compiled from the report, 40.8 percent of the children who took part in the survey stated that they used the internet most with their smartphones, while the percentage of those who used the computers at school was 4.4 percent. used to be. It was stated that the vast majority of children in this age group own a smartphone.
While it appears that children’s activities on the Internet are for learning and homework purposes, the percentage who watch random videos for fun was 64.4%. It was noted that this situation showed that after a while on the Internet, which they used for homework purposes, the children deviated from their goals.
EXPANSION OF OVERWORK ON THE INTERNET CAUSES HOUSEHOLD PROBLEMS
While 29 percent of students emphasized that the excessive time they spend on the Internet negatively affects their academic success, 29 percent stated that they argue with their families because of the excessive time they spend on the Internet. 13 percent of the survey participants reported going to school without sleeping and eating because of the time they spent on the Internet.
According to the report, 23 percent of children in the 15-16 age group stated that they received indecent and obscene messages. The percentage of children who witnessed hurting or assaulting someone else online was 52.2 percent. 48 percent of children said they had witnessed receiving messages containing obscene content that went against public decency.
Although there are many risks in the Internet, most parents are not aware of the Internet problems and risks that their children face.
MOVEMENT “SAFE INTERNET”
On the other hand, BTK carries out various projects to create a secure internet environment. BTK Safe Internet Center carries out its activities in 3 main areas namely awareness, notification and help center.
The institution has published and put into practice the Online Safety Strategy for the Protection of Children (2022-2024). In the Strategy Document, which consists of 7 goals and 28 goals, it is ensured that progress in the goals and targets is monitored, whereby the performance indicators are determined for each goal. During the implementation period of the Strategy Paper, monitoring and evaluations will take place in periods of 6 months.
With the “Province of Province of Turkey Safe Internet Seminars” a broad target group was reached, starting from schools, students, parents, teachers and public staff. With the training and seminars given, the participants were informed about the conscious use of the internet, social networks and digital gaming platforms and current digital problems. This year, 90 training courses and seminars were organized for approximately 20,000 students, teachers and parents on safe internet use.
These efforts seek to create an umbrella of protection for society, especially children and young people, against the risks of online abuse, disinformation, obscenity, various digital propaganda, cyberbullying and digital violence.