Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Nov 14: A leading market research and analysis company, Velocity MR, has announced the results of their pan India study to understand the impact of Digital Media and to gauge behavioral changes in children indicating that 6 out of 10 parents do not talk about sex education with their children.
Apparently, the finding of the study suggests that sex is taboo subject to discuss with their own kids.
The study featured a sample size of 2,268 covering prominent Indian metros including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune.
In India, Children’s Day is celebrated every year on November 14 to increase the awareness of rights, care, and education of children.
The study was conducted across various demographics to understand Digital Media and its behavioral impact on children recorded some interesting insights where 6 out of 10 parents do not talk about sex education with their children.
It also points out that 7 in every 10 kids across age groups, play online games with friends around the world and 9 in 10 parents of kids in the age group of 6 to10 years unanimously agree that the pop-ups expose their child/children to unwanted content.
Approximately,1 in every 2 children spends 2 to 3 hours daily on the internet.
Jasal Shah, Managing Director & CEO of Velocity MR, said: “With the growing presence and usage of digital media, our younger generation has been adopting digital media exponentially. Even though social media may not be a safe place for kids, there is peer pressure for children to have an online identity.’’
“It’s shocking to see that most parents do not talk about sex education with their children," he said pointing out that, "In India, according to our data, 53% of children between the ages of 5 and 12 have been subjected to some form of sexual abuse. There are numerous misconceptions surrounding sex education in India."
Gone are the days when children loved to indulge in outdoor activities.
The influence of technology in the field of gaming continues to grow at a rapid pace.
As computer and video games have increased exponentially in popularity over time, they have also caused drastic behavioral changes among the current generation of children, he said.
A recent online game called Blue Whale, which was causing suicide among children is an example of the adverse effects of online gaming. All these shows that parents must play an active role in monitoring their children online activity.
Highlights of the study
*6 in 10 parents claim they don’t talk to their children about sex education. A mere 1/3rd of parents with older kids (15-17 years), claimed to be talking to their kids about sex education.
*7 in every 10 kids across age groups, play online games with friends around the world.
*6 in every 10 parents agree with the statement that online games have a negative impact on their child’s behavior.
*9 in every 10 parents of kids of the age group 6-10 years unanimously agree that the pop-ups expose their child/children to unwanted content.
*9 in every 10 parents believe that the Internet helps children with their education.
*Only 1/3rd of the kids' parents say are exposed to sex education at school.
*Approximately 1 in every 2 children spends 2-3 hours daily on the internet.
*8 out of 10 parents of kids aged 6-10 years are positive of their TV viewing (77%).
*3 in every 5 kids have access to an internet-based TV.
*Close to 55% parents say their kids started using the internet between 6-10 years of age.
*Irrespective of the age of the child, 9 in every 10 parents discuss openly on their internet usage.
*Mobile phones are the primary interface to access the internet.
*Even though 3/4th of the parents say that they have never caught their kids watching unwanted content, 2/3rd of them use measures to restrict their internet access.
*Parents of young kids (6-10 years) tend to monitor their usage of the internet the most; followed by 11-14 years (9 in every 10) and 15-17 year (8 in every 10).
*3 in every 10 parents of wards in as young as 6-10 years say their kids have access to social media. However, 2% also claim that they were not aware of it.
*More than 8 in every 10 kids who have access to social media, use it for the max of about 3 hours daily.
*Not all, but 8 in every 10 parents discuss the usage and dangers of social media with their kids.
*9 in every 10 of the parents with minor kids with access to social media monitor their social media usage.