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The Cybersurvey is an online survey tool being used in different local authority areas to gather information from young people on cyber abuse and e-safety education. The aim is to use a standard questionnaire and develop baseline data, after which the survey can be repeated from time to time. This will help frontline practitioners in these authorities and schools to evaluate interventions and e-safety education and compare responses between areas.

The advantages of the internet, but also the possible dangers, grow with the increased use of smartphones and other devices e.g. tablets.

There have been a number of well publicised issues surrounding cyber bullying, some with tragic consequences affecting children and young people through social media sites.

The results of this survey, together with other data collection will inform ongoing development of our anti-bullying strategy, policy and procedures and training provision.

Here are some of the highlights from the latest survey conducted for Dudley MBC:

When asked if students had come across certain types of websites or content without searching for it

On the subject of cyber bullying, the survey revealed that of those who had been cyber bullied, two thirds did report it, but 34% told nobody. 66% of those who told someone did get help. But the bullying stopped in only 49% of cases, it reduced slightly in 31% of cases and stayed the same for 13% and actually worsened for 8%.

The survey also explored online risks (eg gambling sites, illegal downloads and personal data security), activities surrounding sexting, and also exposure to homophobic material, along with general media consumption and attitudes to e-safety education.

These are just a few of the statistics available from the survey. For the full results and also results from other geographical areas, please visit the Youthworks website.

The Cybersurvey questionnaire was designed by Adrienne Katz and there were 1130 valid responses (47% boys, 53% girls) in the Dudley survey.

Susie Hargreaves is the CEO at the Internet Watch Foundation, established in 1996 by the internet industry to provide the UK internet Hotline for the public and IT professionals to report criminal online content in a secure and confidential way.

Susie explains why they are supporting the Friendly WiFi scheme.

Why does your organisation support the work of ‘Friendly WiFi’?

Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has been proud to help shape the standard for ‘Friendly WiFi’. It’s important to us that all providers of public Wi-Fi minimise their customers’ exposure to child sexual abuse imagery online. The ‘Friendly WiFi’ mark should act as a beacon of reassurance for internet users that Wi-Fi offered in public places meets minimum agreed standards. These standards include filtering the Internet Watch Foundation’s list of child sexual abuse images and videos and we are proud to have helped participate in the ‘Friendly WiFi’ scheme.

Why is it important that parents and children recognise the ‘Friendly WiFi’ logo when out and about?

The internet is a massively positive tool and a great service to provide customers when they’re out and about. We hope that the ‘Friendly WiFi’ mark will equip anyone who wants to use public Wi-Fi with the knowledge that they are protected from some of the most horrendous imagery found on the internet.

Please describe what your organisation does and how people can find out more.

The IWF is the UK Hotline for anyone to report their inadvertent exposure to child sexual abuse imagery, criminally obscene adult content and non-photographic child sexual abuse imagery. Report anonymously and confidentially to www.iwf.org.uk.

Many high street names have become Friendly WiFi accredited including Tesco and Starbucks. These WiFi venues can be identified by the Friendly WiFi logo. The logo will reassure consumers that the most worrying internet content for children, including pornography, will have been placed behind filters.

More information can be found at the Friendly WiFi website.

It is a common mantra from adults that “kids spend far too much time playing computer games”, and to the uninformed, killing zombies or driving high-powered cars around fictitious race tracks would seem to offer little contribution to their respective development, indeed some would go so far as to say they have a detrimental impact on young people’s lives and behaviour.

However, a study published in the journal ‘Pediatrics’ by scientists from Oxford University has suggested that engaging with video games for a short period each day could contribute in a small, but positive manner to a child’s development.

A sample group of nearly 5000 young people, half male and half female, aged between 10 and 15 years old, drawn from a representative selection of UK households, were surveyed by experimental psychologist Dr. Andrew Przybylski and questioned about how much time, on average, they spent playing console or computer-based games daily. They were then asked questions focusing on how satisfied they were with their lives, their levels of hyperactivity and inattention, their empathy and the quality of their relationships with their peers.

During the study, 75% of the young people questioned indicated that they engaged in screen-based gaming on a daily basis. Interestingly, the research suggested that those who spent more than half of the daily free time playing games are not well adjusted and hypothesised that the reason for this is that they were less likely to get involved in other enriching activities as well as being exposed to content that is inappropriate, designed, as it were, for adult consumption.

The particularly fascinating result within this study, however, suggests that in comparison to children who are non-players and those who are frequent players, those who play games for less than one-third of their daily free time (usually less than one hour) appeared to possess the most developed abilities to socialise and have less friendship and emotional issues. They also reported less hyperactivity than other groups.

Contrary to popular opinion, fuelled by misinformation in the press, Dr. Przybylski suggested that:

“These results support recent laboratory-based experiments that have identified the downsides to playing electronic games. However, high levels of video game-playing appear to be only weakly linked to children's behavioural problems in the real world.”

It was also his opinion, based on the research, that the small positive effects that were observed for the low levels of game play did not necessarily support the suggestion that screen-based games could, by themselves, somehow, assist children’s development in the increasingly technological world.

In concluding Dr. Przybylski encouraged further research to investigate the particular elements of games that may make them either beneficial or harmful. He also suggested that further study should be carried out within the context of children’s social environments, such as their families, friendship groups and wider community and whether these aspects impact on how gaming experiences influence young people.

In my experience as an educator and a parent, I have found that, like with any pastime or hobby, if a child becomes too obsessed with the narrow focus of a particular interest at the expense of other activities, then it can have a negative impact on their development. Think about any kids in your school who are completely consumed by their interest in football, heavy metal music or even their appearance and, I think you will agree that this can occur with anything. The difference with gaming occurs because they are specifically designed using aggressively engaging principles to draw players in and hold their attention for long periods of time. Applied to young people with susceptible minds, who may use gaming as a means of escaping a dysfunctional family environment or a bullying situation, this, in my opinion, can potentially have a serious detrimental impact on their behaviour and development.

In your experience with young people, do you agree with the results of the study? Do you feel that computer games are harmful or beneficial to young people? Does gaming have a place within the formal education arena? We would love to read your comments so please feel free to share them below.