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76 Percent of Parents Concerned For Children's Online Safety

A recent PCMag survey of 2,500 US consumers found that a majority of parents are worried about their kids' online safety—and many respondents have never been properly educated on cybersecurity.

August 13, 2018
The Why Axis Parental Online Safety Concern

It's a dangerous online world for kids, and parental controls can only do so much. According to PCMag's 2018 Consumer Cybersecurity Trends survey of 2,500 US consumers, 76 percent of parents have some level of concern for their child's safety online.

The Why Axis Bug The survey found that while 24 percent of the respondents had no worries, 51 percent of parents harbored significant or major concern over potential dangers lurking online for their kids. Tech companies have created child-safe apps and social-media environments such as Facebook Messenger Kids and YouTube Kids, but both of the latter apps have seen their share of controversy and scandal as the companies roll out new features and fixes to mitigate problems.

The Why Axis Cybersecurity Education

We also surveyed respondents on how informed they are about cybersecurity, and we found that many have never received a proper education on the subject. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they've never been given adequate cybersecurity training.

The rest of the respondents said they've gained some level of cybersecurity knowledge over time. Twenty-one percent said they received online safety education when they entered the workforce, and 15 percent said they were educated on cybersecurity after college, 12 percent in college, 10 percent in high school, and 6 percent of respondents received some level of cybersecurity education in grade school.

As for whether respondents felt they knew enough to effectively prevent common cyber attacks such as credit card fraud, malware, and ransomware, only 52 percent said yes. Check out some more data from PCMag's 2018 Consumer Cybersecurity Trends survey to find out what measures people take to protect themselves online.

How to Choose the Best Tracking Device for Kids
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About Rob Marvin

Associate Features Editor

Rob Marvin is PCMag's Associate Features Editor. He writes features, news, and trend stories on all manner of emerging technologies. Beats include: startups, business and venture capital, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, AI, augmented and virtual reality, IoT and automation, legal cannabis tech, social media, streaming, security, mobile commerce, M&A, and entertainment. Rob was previously Assistant Editor and Associate Editor in PCMag's Business section. Prior to that, he served as an editor at SD Times. He graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. You can also find his business and tech coverage on Entrepreneur and Fox Business. Rob is also an unabashed nerd who does occasional entertainment writing for Geek.com on movies, TV, and culture. Once a year you can find him on a couch with friends marathoning The Lord of the Rings trilogy--extended editions. Follow Rob on Twitter at @rjmarvin1.

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