Parental awareness

There are significant gaps in parent awareness.

Parents have low awareness of their children’s contact with strangers:

•    55% of children communicated with someone they first met online
•    yet only 34% of their parents were aware.

Parents underestimate the prevalence of bullying behaviour:

•    45% of children were treated in a hurtful or nasty way online
•    69% told their parents
•    yet only 51% of their parents were aware.

•    26% of children treated someone in a hurtful or nasty way online
•    65% told their parents
•    yet only 34% of their parents were aware.

Parental awareness is low when it comes to material about sensitive and stigmatised issues.

Young people are exposed to harmful online content more than parents realise:
 
•    62% of young people aged 14–17 were exposed to negative online content
•    yet only 43% of their parents were aware.

This content included:

Gory or violent material
•    37% of 14–17 year-olds
•    24% of their parents were aware.

Hate messages
•    39% of 14–17 year-olds
•    21% of their parents were aware.

Self harm
•    25% of 14–17 year-olds
•    12% of their parents were aware.

Unhealthy eating
•    28% of 14–17 year-olds
•    15% of their parents were aware.

Drug taking
•    37% of 14–17 year-olds
•    17% of their parents were aware.

Ways to take their own life
•    20% of 14–17 year-olds
•    10% of their parents were aware.

Violent sexual images or videos
•    23% of 14–17 year-olds
•    11% of their parents were aware.

Parents have low awareness of young people’s exposure to sexual material online, such as:

Saw sexual images online
•    71% of 14–17 year-olds were exposed
•    34% of their parents were aware.

Received sexual messages from someone online
•    47% of 14–17 year-olds were exposed
•    16% of their parents were aware.

Opened a message or a link that showed pictures of naked people
•    25% of 14–17 year-olds were exposed
•    12% of their parents were aware.

Parents have better awareness of children’s other negative online experiences.

This included:

Met someone face-to-face after first getting to know them online
•    12% of children 
•    10% of their parents were aware.

Clicked on a pop-up link and their device got infected
•    13% of children 
•    12% of their parents were aware.

Were asked by someone on the internet to send sexual images of themselves
•    11% of 14–17 year-olds 
•    10% of their parents were aware.

Had their personal information posted without their consent
•    9% of children
•    7% of their parents were aware.

Experienced hate speech*
•    11% of children
•    63% told their parents
•    64% of their parents were aware.

Source: Online survey of 3,590 children in Australia aged 8–17 and their parents, conducted July–September 2021. Data relates to the 12 months to July–September 2021.

*Had offensive things said to them online because of their race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability.

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