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Tribune News Network
Doha
Parents beware of your ward’s online activities! A new study has revealed that children are now spending at least 8 hours online every day.
According to a Vodafone AmanTECH research, about 32 percent of pupils surveyed reported that they spend at least 8 hours online per day.
The most popular activity is watching videos (40 percent), followed by playing games (23 percent) and social media activities (21 percent), it said. A total of 1,761 children took part in the survey.
According to the survey, game consoles are the most popular platform for gaming (45 percent). Sports games are the most popular (29 percent), followed by shooter games (27 percent).
Most young people were aware of the risks of meeting with online friends.
As many as 50 percent said they would tell parents if a stranger online wanted to meet them, while 35 percent said they would tell the person they were not comfortable. About 6 percent said they would arrange a secret meeting on their own, while 11 percent said they would go to the meeting, but take a friend along.
Responses to online bullying were mixed. While 31 percent said they would send back mean messages, 14 percent opined they would keep quiet about it.
About 31 percent said they would block the bully and 21 percent said they would tell a teacher or parent about it.
As many as 46 percent of children thought their parents were concerned about them spending too much time online, the findings revealed.
Vodafone Qatar’s award winning online safety programme, AmanTECH, has been engaging with the children on the subject of digital safety, and its latest research findings clearly show a number of gaps to address.
In parallel to AmanTECH’s many community engagements, Vodafone Qatar, in partnership with the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), have been delivering online safety workshops at primary schools since late 2017.
To date, 30 workshops have been conducted for close to 3,000 students in the age group of 3-8 years, with plans to conduct 20 more before the end of 2019. In each workshop, the children are required to perform tasks related to online safety, in order to learn specific skills including identifying fake news, safe online gaming, and how to deal with cyber bullying.
At the end of each workshop, the pupils complete an electronic survey on their use of technology, games, videos and social media.
Mohammed al Yami, director of external affairs at Vodafone Qatar, said: “Qatar is one of the most connected countries in the world and children are exposed to technology from a very young age. As a leading digital company, it is our duty to ensure that children are given the opportunity to make the most of communication technologies for their development while also instilling healthy and safe online habits. Our work through AmanTECH has touched thousands of children and members of the community but there is much to do to raise awareness about digital safety and our research clearly shows a number of gaps.”
Doha
Parents beware of your ward’s online activities! A new study has revealed that children are now spending at least 8 hours online every day.
According to a Vodafone AmanTECH research, about 32 percent of pupils surveyed reported that they spend at least 8 hours online per day.
The most popular activity is watching videos (40 percent), followed by playing games (23 percent) and social media activities (21 percent), it said. A total of 1,761 children took part in the survey.
According to the survey, game consoles are the most popular platform for gaming (45 percent). Sports games are the most popular (29 percent), followed by shooter games (27 percent).
Most young people were aware of the risks of meeting with online friends.
As many as 50 percent said they would tell parents if a stranger online wanted to meet them, while 35 percent said they would tell the person they were not comfortable. About 6 percent said they would arrange a secret meeting on their own, while 11 percent said they would go to the meeting, but take a friend along.
Responses to online bullying were mixed. While 31 percent said they would send back mean messages, 14 percent opined they would keep quiet about it.
About 31 percent said they would block the bully and 21 percent said they would tell a teacher or parent about it.
As many as 46 percent of children thought their parents were concerned about them spending too much time online, the findings revealed.
Vodafone Qatar’s award winning online safety programme, AmanTECH, has been engaging with the children on the subject of digital safety, and its latest research findings clearly show a number of gaps to address.
In parallel to AmanTECH’s many community engagements, Vodafone Qatar, in partnership with the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC), have been delivering online safety workshops at primary schools since late 2017.
To date, 30 workshops have been conducted for close to 3,000 students in the age group of 3-8 years, with plans to conduct 20 more before the end of 2019. In each workshop, the children are required to perform tasks related to online safety, in order to learn specific skills including identifying fake news, safe online gaming, and how to deal with cyber bullying.
At the end of each workshop, the pupils complete an electronic survey on their use of technology, games, videos and social media.
Mohammed al Yami, director of external affairs at Vodafone Qatar, said: “Qatar is one of the most connected countries in the world and children are exposed to technology from a very young age. As a leading digital company, it is our duty to ensure that children are given the opportunity to make the most of communication technologies for their development while also instilling healthy and safe online habits. Our work through AmanTECH has touched thousands of children and members of the community but there is much to do to raise awareness about digital safety and our research clearly shows a number of gaps.”
