Virgin Media reveals lack of parental online safety awareness
Virgin Media has discovered more than one-third of parents are planning to purchase a new computer for their children this Christmas, but half of them have given no consideration to implementing parental controls.
In a survey of mothers and fathers from across the UK, the cable company found ten per cent of those who have no online safety protection prepared have never thought about the matter before, while 23 per cent said they would simply trust their kids not to access inappropriate or adult content.
Some 30 per cent of respondents planned to supervise their youngsters whenever they access the internet rather than relying on software.
The study also discovered concerns about technical skills could be preventing the uptake of parental controls, with 26 per cent stating they would not know how to set them up.
Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, said: "The internet is a great place for learning and education but ... there are also some places on the web parents would rather their kids weren't exposed to."
Earlier this year, a TalkTalk poll found 59 per cent of mums and dads are worried their children could access inappropriate online content accidentally.
