Samenvatting

The Internet is a media that is used by everyone, and children are at risk, they start using it at an early age. Children get bullied and intimidated by other children or even become victims of paedophiles on the Internet. Human traffickers are more and more pretending to be someone else on the Internet in order to come in contact with young and naïve children to lure them into prostitution.

Young children (9-10 year olds) use the Internet mostly for playing games, on average, three to four times a week, whereas older children (12-14 year olds) are online on a daily basis. The presence of an older person, personal computer and school computers influence the intensity. An older person can set up a time limit for the child using the computer, however a personal computer makes it easy for the child to use it as long as the child wants to and children do not prefer to use school computers, because they can only use it for school work, teachers strictly supervise and monitor them, a lot of websites are blocked, the Internet connection is very slow and most of the time there are not enough computers available. Children use the Internet for recreational purposes and the older they get, the more purposes for using the Internet are added and thus the frequency increases.

Reliability of information found on the internet, potentially shocking content, potentially dangerous contacts, bullying, deceit as to the free nature of services or goods and illegal downloading are the risks of Internet for children. Internet can also cause health problems such as obesity or anorexia. Anorexia is promoted on many 'pro-ana' (short for pro anorexia) web sites that can be visited by everyone. Obesity can be caused by spending more time sitting and eating behind the computer instead of exercising. Children think that that can deal with any problem, but studies show that they sometimes still get disturbed by certain things online.

The EU, the governments, the industry, non-profit organisations, educational institutes and parents are all involved in protecting children against the dangers of Internet. There are many policies for a safer Internet and all stakeholders are still trying to improve the policies or design new ones. Teachers are not specialised enough to teach children how to use Internet in a safer way and some parents admit to falling behind when it comes to guiding their children. Approximately one third of the parents do not have any or sufficient control on their children using the Internet.

There is a necessity to provide information and education on safer Internet to parents, children and teachers. Informative sessions should be organised and promoted for all groups. Children should be warned about information that can be found on the Internet. They should know the distinction between deliberate trickery and lies on the one hand and inaccuracy of data on the other hand. Also, it is very important that parents create a strong bond with their children, so that if something disturbing or risky happens while using the Internet they feel free to tell their parents about it.