A recent survey by Kaspersky has revealed that 48 percent of Nigerian parents claim that cyberbullying is a top concern when it comes to worries about their children in this modern time when various digital threats are on the stage.
Tagged “Responsible Digital Parenting” survey,¹ it says cyberbullying has already caused 49 percent decrease in social activity or social isolation, 47 percent decreased in self-esteem, 36 percent negative impact on a child’s performance at school, 34 percent depression, 19 percent ongoing stress and 16 percent insomnia on the children.
It also noted that 24 percent of children in Nigeria have actually come across cyberbullying, be that being bullies themselves, seeing cases among their friends or being bullied. This impressive number should make parents think about the ways to prevent the proliferation of this phenomenon, however, not all parents are aware of this. 31percent of them have not discussed the ethics of the Internet with their child, while the same 31percent of them have not discussed safety rules on the Net.
“There has always existed a certain threat landscape for parents, however, now it includes digital ones which can often be invisible as not every child tells their family about ongoing cyberbullying, for instance. According to our survey, 11percent think something threatens their child on the Internet, 11percent find it hard to answer thus not communicating enough on the topic. These are quite disturbing statistics,” commented Andrey Sidenko, Head of Child Safety at Kaspersky Network.
To forestall this trend, Kaspesky has recommended that parents be more involved in their child’ online by befriending them on social media; notice the changes in their child’s behaviour, observe if they become more isolated or do not perform at school and Install a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Safe Kids to look after your child’s digital life successfully and in a more productive way.