New research from More in Common with parents of under 18s finds very high levels of concern spanning Britain’s political divides and clear demands from action for both parents and tech companies to do more to keep children safe online
British Parents are deeply concerned about children’s online safety
Over nine in ten British parents are concerned about children’s online safety – almost two thirds say they are ‘very concerned’. Concern about children’s online safety spans the political spectrum in Britain with no significant differences in levels of concern among British parents who support different political parties.
British parents are more concerned about children’s online safety than parents surveyed in America, France, the Netherlands and Poland.
Many British parents are struggling with keeping their children safe online
A third of British parents say setting limits on their children being online leads to conflict. More than a third of parents (35 per cent) say that they find it difficult to set limits on their children's screen time. These struggles with both the difficulty and likelihood of conflict in setting limits were reflected across our focus group conversations.
"It's hard because they think they know it all…And you're old, what do you know about social media and Snapchat and you go on Facebook, they think they know it all. You can tell 'em whatever you want. They know why would I talk to strangers? Well why does anyone talk to strangers? But they do. Why do people get bullied? Why would I get bullied? Well, people don't choose to be bullied on social media, but they do, but straight away they get on defence. So it's sort of fighting a losing battle even if they're not doing no wrong, they get on the defence."
Hayley, Customer Service Advisor, Leeds
My son's been a nightmare really. He meets people when he is on his Xbox. Even when he were younger before he had a phone, who were you talking to online? You got no concept of what's going on and it’s really worrying about some of the stuff he'd be like in the group chats he's been in at school. And that Snapchats everyone's on it, they use it like WhatsApp and I’ve got to take the phone off him a few times
Matt, Electrician, Leeds
British parents think politicians and tech companies aren't taking children’s online safety seriously enough
Three in five British parents say politicians and tech companies aren’t taking the issue of keeping children safe online seriously enough. However, the prospect of strengthening online safety protections has political appeal with British parents as it does with parents in other countries surveyed. Almost two thirds of British parents (65 per cent) say they would feel more positively towards a political party that supported increasingly online safety protections - almost three in ten (29 per cent) say much more positively. This view is held consistently among parents who intend to vote for Reform, Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green at the next general election.
Strong support among British parents for new laws and action from tech companies to make being online safer for children
British parents want to see more action on online safety. Three in four British parents (77 per cent) support comprehensive age verification even if it means collecting more personal data. Almost four in five (78 per cent) British parents want to see action on algorithms so children only see what they follow. More than four in five British parents (86 per cent) back a new law requiring the detection and removal of explicit images of children from the internet.
The five segments of British parents on children's online safety
A new segmentation analysis of British parents reveals attitudes towards children’s online safety group into five different segments of parents. Using latent class analysis (LCA), More in Common identified five distinct segments of British parents based on their attitudes, feelings, and behaviours related to children's online safety:
- The Advocates (23% of British parents) are a group of engaged parents - highly worried about online safety, but already acting both inside and outside the home to keep their kids safe. They want to see action from parents, government and tech companies to make being online safer for children.
- The Battlers (17% of British parents) are a frustrated group of parents, often fighting with their children over being online. They feel unsupported in keeping their children safe and most comprehensively back child safety online over protecting free speech or privacy.
- The Planners (21% of British parents) are young parents with young children. They are deeply worried about the challenges ahead keeping their children safe online and they want support both now and in the future as their children grow up. They are frustrated with inaction from both politicians and tech company leaders.
- The Guardians (17% of British parents) are a group who take a family-first approach to online safety. They are concerned about the risks, but they’ve spoken with their kids and they find it easier to set limits at home. While still in favour of online safety protections, they’re more likely than other groups to see the case for privacy or free speech protection.
- The Trusters (23% of British parents) take a trust-first, more hands-off approach to keeping their children safe online. They are significantly less concerned than other groups and less aware of their children’s online activity.
Children’s online safety comes ahead of free speech or privacy considerations for most parents
Almost three in four (73 per cent) of British parents say that protecting children from harmful content online is more important than protecting free speech online. Similarly, around two thirds of British parents (64 per cent) prioritise effectively protecting children from harm online over protecting personal privacy online. This online safety first approach is reflected in focus group conversations with parents as well.