New poster connects very young children to online safety
Media release
Internet Safety Group
26 October 2007
 
A new poster campaign is being launched at Parliament today to help very young children, their families and school communities to keep safe online. The poster encourages children to connect with NZ’s Cybersafety Ambassador Hector Protector® on the Hector’s World™ website www.hectorsworld.com .
The new posters (pictured above) are being distributed along with a letter from Education Minister Steve Maharey, to every registered early childhood service and primary school in New Zealand.
Recent research found that 4% of children age 2-3 and 13% of 4-6 year olds use a computer DAILY and 10% of 4-6 yr-olds visit websites by themselves. This same study found that 69% of 0-6 year olds currently live in a home with internet access.
Managing Director of Hector’s World Ltd., Liz Butterfield says, “While many pre-school and primary-age children can be very adept at independently navigating the internet, and using mobile phones, they often have difficulty understanding risk and protecting themselves from harm. Hector’s World can help provide the building blocks of cybersafety education in an entertaining and fun way”.
Offered in both Te Reo Maori and in English, the posters will be available free from Hector’s World™ Ltd.’s (HWL ) parent organisation NetSafe.
The poster is being launched at the same time as new versions of the Hector’s World Safety Button™ - a free child activated online safety device. The Button is available from www.hectorsworld.com
End
Further comment: Rachel Harrison 021 333 198 or rachelh@hectorsworld.co.nz
Background information
2006 Kaiser Family Foundation research involving 1,051 parents in the USA found that:
• 2% of 0-1 year olds, 4% of children age 2-3, and 13% of 4-6 year olds use a computer DAILY
• 10% of 4-6 yr-olds visit websites by themselves; 33% turned a computer on by themselves
• 69% of 0-6 year olds live in a home with internet access.
New Zealand Research shows:
• Kids (aged 12 to 17) are online as much as NZ’s heaviest internet user group (adults aged 20 to 39) who are online an average of 8 hours each week
• 80% of kids go online for ‘homework’
• 70% of kids correspond using email
• 42% go online to Instant Message (IM)
• 69% play online games
• In the last two years cell phone ownership has increased dramatically more than doubling for 9 -10 year-olds
• By age 14, a massive 84% of the children surveyed have their own cell phones.
Online safety education needs to start younger than ever before
• New social networking websites are now targeting children as young as 6yrs old
• Online safety education now needs to begin when a child first comes in contact with the online environment
• Education needs to be at developmentally appropriate levels, and continue throughout a child’s life.
|
