One in three Indian parents fear cyber bullying risk for kids: Report

New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) One in three Indian parents believe their child will be a victim of online bullying, considerably higher than the global average, a report has said, adding that nearly all parents surveyed (92 percent) worry about their children's safety online, particularly how their actions will have repercussions on the family.

Highlighting that online predators, privacy and family vulnerability are some of the biggest issues parents are grappling with as the impact of cybercrime takes over personal lives, The “Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report” by Norton by Symantec said that close to one in two parents believe their children are safer from bullies on a playground than online.

As a result, Indian parents are 20 percent more likely to limit their child's online activities. With increasing dependence on the internet, 57 percent of Indian parents also worry about children making the whole family vulnerable through their online activities.

“Additionally, more than half of Indian parents worry that their children will be lured into illegal activities such as hacking, while 54 percent worry they will give too much personal information to strangers or be lured into meeting a stranger in the outside world (57 percent),” the report said.

The Indian parents also fear what their children will post today will come back to haunt them in the future (51 percent).

“In the last year, Norton has seen the online safety awareness levels of Indian parents increase rapidly as technology firmly cements itself in the family home,” Ritesh Chopra, country manager (India), Norton by Symantec, said in a statement.

“It is interesting to note that compared to the global average, Indian parents are more worried about their children's online safety and are more likely to limit their online activities to ensure safety,” he added.

The "Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report" is an online survey of 17,125 device users ages 18-plus across 17 countries, commissioned by Norton by Symantec and produced by research firm Edelman Berland.

The India sample reflects input from 1,000 device users ages 18 plus who are parents.

According to the survey, the Indian parents are more likely to take action to protect their children online.

More than half (55 percent) limit the amount of information they post about their children on social networks. About 53 percent limit the amount of information their children can post on their social profiles.

While, more than one in two limit access to certain websites, one in two parents only allow internet access with parental supervision.

Additionally, close to half the parents (49 percent) surveyed require computer use to take place in common areas in the home.