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Largest ever UK survey of 5,400 tech-savvy pupils by education charity warns fellow kids: “Think before you post!”
New large-scale research about safe internet use by education charity Tablets for Schools shows UK teenage and primary school children warning their peers to “avoid dodgy apps”, “keep it real” and “think before you post”. The Jan/Feb 2015 survey asked 7,443 pupils about their typical internet behaviour, the impact of school tablet use on their choices, internet privacy knowledge and, in a sub-sample of 5,410 children, their most pressing online safety advice to fellow home and school surfers.
Against a backdrop of half of secondary pupils and over a quarter of primary pupils admitting they have communicated with people they don’t know when using social media, our young tech generation has firm views about using the internet safely. In response to the open question ‘what advice would you give to other people your age about keeping safe online?’, the survey received often detailed responses from over 4,700 secondary school pupils aged 11-18 and 700 primary school pupils aged 7-11. Among the Top 10 tips for fellow surfers (see below) they advise peers to be realistic about possible internet addiction and to treat others “as you would offline”.
When asked about the impact of regular tablet use at school on typical surfing behaviour, on knowledge about privacy and on reactions to upsetting online behaviour or discoveries, the wider research showed clear benefits, both in behaviour and awareness. Using a one-to-one tablet at school as well as home increases by 8% the likelihood of secondary pupils telling somebody about online material or behaviour that has concerned, upset or frightened them. The research found a 5% increase for primary pupils using tablets in both places.
Overall, half of secondary pupils (51%) and three-fifths of primary pupils (60%) agree that “using a tablet or other device at school every day” makes them “more aware of using the internet safely”.
Asked about possibly overdoing screen-time, a significant 70% of the UK’s secondary pupils and half of primary pupils take an internet-enabled device to bed with them at night. This figure drops to 66% for secondary pupils who use a Tablet at school and at home.
Tablets for Schools director Mary Palmer said: “This, our largest UK child internet safety survey to date, reinforces the value of internet safety advice learned in school. We need to move with the times and be more realistic in our approach in the UK to internet safety education, ensuring that young people are empowered to educate their peers, rather than adults enforcing guidelines upon them. This peer-to-peer approach could be delivered through use of toolkits, video and workshops.
“Tablets for Schools research has shown that schools that prepare and integrate tablets as part of their pedagogical approach benefit with more engaged, safer students, who learn collaboratively and develop a confidence around presenting ideas in class.”
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