McAfee, part of Intel Security, in its annual study, the Tweens, Teens and Technology 2014 report, which examines the online behaviour and social networking habits of Indian tweens and teens, and aims to educate on the impact that risky behaviour has on their privacy, reputation and social media experiences.
According to the research, half (50%) of the youth in India have had some experience with cyber-bullying (been cyberbullied online or witnessed others being cyber-bullied), out of which one-third (36%) have been cyber-bullied themselves. This behaviour was perceived to result in anger and embarrassment, showcasing how online behaviour translates into offline impact. The study highlights how risky online activity can possibly make them even more susceptible to cyber-bullying, substantiated through some of the following statistics.
An eye-opening trend is that half (52%) of India’s youth even access their social media accounts while at school, with tweens (57%) being more connected during school hours than teens (47%). Even though the minimum age to register to on social networking sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tinder, Tumblr, and Vine is 13, 10-12-year olds report higher daily access to than their teen counterparts.
Melanie Duca, APAC Consumer Marketing Director, McAfee, part of Intel Security, says, “Teens and tweens are very comfortable operating in the online world, yet the risks have never been greater. Young people are often the pioneers for new technologies so they need to understand the consequences of their online behaviour and how they can maintain their social engagement.”
“Internet-enabled devices collect information about online behaviour, track location and links to social media accounts which are vulnerable to threats that can disrupt devices and extract personal data leading to cyber-bullying and identity theft. Education is the key to empowering both parents and children with the tools to tackle these risks. In fact, McAfee also recently announced the launch of Intel Education’s Cyber Wellness Curriculum that is a comprehensive guide for this purpose,” said Venkat Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering – Consumer and Mobile, McAfee India Centre, McAfee, part of Intel Security.
McAfee’s Tweens, Teens & Technology Report 2014 was conducted through a survey administered across Indian online tweens aged 8-12-year olds and teens aged 13-17-year olds; comprising 711 male and 711 female respondents from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune.
