Norton Online Family Report Reveals 85 Percent of Hong Kong Kids Have Had a Negative Online Experience

USA - English

• USA - English

HONG KONG, July 13 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) Kids around the globe are growing up in an online world, learning to navigate not just the Web, but new rules, emotions and unfortunately, some negative experiences.

    * Kids in Hong Kong are spending an average of 20 hours
      online per week, almost twice as much as the global number
      of 11.4 hours.
    * Almost nine in 10 Hong Kong children have been exposed
      to negative experiences online which has impacted them
      emotionally.
    * Three in five children in Hong Kong think they are more
      careful online than their parents.  Almost one in two
      kids say their parents have "no idea" what they are doing
      online.

The Norton Online Family Report, released today, is a good reminder for parents to plug into their kids' online lives, if they have not already. According to Effendy Ibrahim, Norton Internet Safety Advocate and Norton Business Lead for Asia, "Besides highlighting the importance of online safety and security issues and its impact on children, the Norton Online Family Report 2010 offers insights and information that can empower parents to help their kids use the Internet safely. It emphasizes the role of parenting the 'online lives' of children as well as the significance of keeping communication open and ongoing as a way to improve their online experience."

Stranger danger

As social media gains more presence in the digital world, a new but real threat to kids online in Hong Kong today lies in stranger danger. The study uncovered a startling trend -- up to 64 percent of children have had strangers try to add them as a friend on a social networking site, and 30 percent have encountered an online stranger who has tried to meet them in the 'real world'.

    Negative Experiences             Worldwide     Hong Kong
    Someone they don't know online
     try to add  them as a friend on
     social  networking site             41 %           64 %


    Have been exposed to violent or
     nude images online                  25 %           48 %

    Have downloaded a virus              33 %           42 %

    Someone they don't know online
     tried to meet them in the real
     world                               10 %           30 %

The emotions kids go through

The Web has become a new 'playground' for cybercriminals to prey on active young Internet users and anyone who goes online is vulnerable. With 85 percent of children in Hong Kong having been exposed to negative experiences online, the victims are also accompanied with a range of powerful emotions that have impacted them. Kids in Hong Kong felt angry (35 percent), annoyed (31 percent), afraid (27 percent), fearful (26 percent) and confused (25 percent) as a result of such incidents.

The good news: Kids look to their parents for help

If something goes wrong online, children do turn to adults for help, support and advice. In Hong Kong, parents are the first port of call for children if they are threatened with physical harm in real life (41 percent) or if someone was threatening them online (35 percent).

While kids are aware of many common sense rules for staying safe online, they are missing some important pieces of the puzzle. Only 15 percent always check for the 's' after the 'http' in the URL and just one in four use a software or a plug-in which gives users safety advice about websites to block risky websites.

"There is clearly an important role for parents to play by increasing their understanding of the Internet, the role it plays in their kids' lives and the experiences their kids are having online. There is also a need to ensure rules are sufficient and current to keep kids safe online. For parents, a combination of technology and talking openly about issues can help ensure our kids have a positive experience online, and this report shows us where to focus our efforts," said Ibrahim.

In addition to talking to kids, keeping security software up to date and using tools specifically designed for kids' safety can help communication. Parents can improve kids' online experiences with new tips that combine technology and communication:

    * Prepare your kids for good or bad experiences online
      -- don't wait until after something happens
    * Highlight the importance of thinking before clicking
      and downloading
    * To protect against malicious links on social networks,
      use a free tool such as the Norton Safe Web
      (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=310877173418 )
      scanner application for Facebook, which uses site rating technology
      to scan members' news feeds.
    * Use a search advisor to help identify whether a website
      is safe or unsafe
    * Let your kids know that what happens to them online is
      a shared responsibility -- children cannot take all of
      the responsibility for what happens to them online

The award-winning Norton Online Family service, available free of charge in 25 languages including Traditional Chinese, gives parents insight into their kids' lives online.

View the global Norton Online Family Report here (http://www.norton.com/nofreport).

About Norton From Symantec

Symantec's Norton (http://www.symantec.com/norton/ )products protect consumers from cybercrime with technologies like antivirus (http://www.symantec.com/norton/antivirus ), anti-spyware (http://www.symantec.com/norton/security_response/spyware.jsp )and phishing protection (http://www.symantec.com/norton/360-premier-edition )-- while also being light on system resources. The company also provides services such as online backup (http://www.backup.com/ ), PC tuneup (http://www.symantec.com/norton/support/premium_services/index.jsp ), and family online safety (https://onlinefamily.norton.com/ ). Fan Norton on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/norton and follow @NortonOnline on Twitter (http://twitter.com/nortonOnline ).

About Symantec

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SOME USEFUL LINKS:

    Norton Online Family Home Page --
https://onlinefamily.norton.com/familysafety/loginStart.fs
    Symantec Family Resources --
http://www.symantec.com/norton/familyresources/index.jsp

Online Family Safety blog -- http://community.norton.com/t5/Ask-Marian/bg- p/askmarian

FAQs for Norton Online Family -- https://onlinefamily.norton.com/familysafety/help.fs?action=what-you-should- know

Norton Online Family Global Report Methodology:

The Norton Online Family Report 2010 is based on research conducted in February 2010 by StrategyOne, an independent market research firm, on behalf of Symantec Corporation. StrategyOne conducted an online survey among: 7,066 adults aged 18 and over. Of this group, 1,669 were parents of children aged eight -- 17 who completed a separate five minute parent-focused survey. 2,805 children aged eight -- 17 who spend more than one hour online per month.

The survey was conducted in 14 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States). The survey was conducted in the primary language of each country. Questions asked were identical across all countries, with some overlap between the adult and children surveys. Interviews were conducted between 2nd -- 22nd February 2010. The margin of error for the total sample of adults (N=7,066) is + 1.16% at the 95% level of confidence. The margin of error for the total sample of parents, defined as parents with children aged 8-17, (N=1,669) is + 2.39% at the 95% level of confidence. The margin of error for the total sample of children (N=2,805) is + 1.85% at the 95% level of confidence.

For the study, Norton and StrategyOne collaborated with Anne Collier, editor of NetFamilyNews.org and founder and executive director of its parent organization, Net Family News, Inc. Anne is a writer and journalist who has worked in the news media since 1980. She co-directs ConnectSafely.org, a Web- based interactive forum and information site for teens, parents, educators, and everybody interested in the impact of the social Web on youth and vice versa. ConnectSafely is a project of Net Family News, Inc. Anne has just completed her work as co-chair of the Obama administration's Online Safety & Technology Working Group and serves on the advisory boards of the London- and Washington-based Family Online Safety Institute and GetNetWise.org, a project of the Washington-based Internet Education Foundation. In 2008, she served on the Internet Safety Technical Task Force at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

Hong Kong Methodology:

An online survey was conducted in May 2010 by The Leading Edge, an independent market research firm, on behalf of Symantec Corporation. The survey polled 110 children aged 10-17 (who spend 1+ hour online per week) in Hong Kong. 50 percent are aged 10-13, and 50 percent are aged 14-17. The survey was conducted in Chinese.

    Contacts:

     Maylynn van der Beek
     Norton From Symantec
     Tel:   +65-6413-4195
     Email: [email protected]

     Lilian Tai / Cory Wong
     Edelman PR
     Tel:   +852-2837-4753/ +852-2837-4703
     Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Symantec