Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

UK parents do the majority in Europe to defend their brood online - PublicTechnology.net

UK parents do the majority in Europe to defend their brood online - PublicTechnology.net However in France � the highest � the figure is 88 per cent while in Portugal and Greece it is 84 and 81 per cent respectively. Professor Sonia Livingstone of the LSE, Director of EU Kids Online, said: �These findings are good news for British parents - it seems that the safety message is getting through. One reason for this is that the UK has had a sustained and successful series of campaigns to make children and parents more aware of the possible dangers, while some other European countries have a long way to go. Although British children are among the most likely in Europe to ask their parents for help if they encounter strangers, bullying or problem content online, it is still only 24 per cent who do so. Professor Livingstone said: �It is crucial that government and industry keeps up the effort to raise awareness, as the risks online keep changing. Like their Danish, Swedish and British counterparts, Austrian parents (44%) were likely to be the least worried about their children gaining access to information about self-harm, suicide, anorexia online. In terms of parental involvement with children�s online activities, 34% Austrian parents discuss with their child what the child did/is doing online, 19% always stay nearby, 43% never check the child�s surfing history (EU27 38%). However 59% of Austrian parents see their child�s IM/Email messages, which is higher than the EU27 figure of 55%. BELGIUMOnline grooming is a big concern among Belgian parents, the proportion of parents worried about online grooming being at a high figure of approximately 70%, equaling Latvia, and slightly lower than the figures for Cyprus, Greece and Spain. A slim majority (54%) of Belgian parents worry about the child giving out personal information online. A rather low proportion of Belgian parents (12%) ever check their child�s surfing history.Around a half of Belgian parents make use of filtering software, close to figures for France and Luxembourg, with the UK leading at 77%. BULGARIAAround a quarter of Bulgarian parents are worried that their child may see inappropriate content online; worries about online bullying are much lower (around 18%) than for countries such as Cyprus or Greece. Also, while around a fifth worries about their child accessing information about self harm from the internet, these figures are much higher in other EU countries. Around 13% of Bulgarian parents stay near the child when the child is online, much lower than the figures Ireland, Italy or UK. A rather low proportion of Bulgarian parents (7%) do not allow their child to play music, download games online and around 36% never check their child�s surfing history. Bulgarian parents report significantly low figures (16%) for using filtering software, with only Romania reporting a lower figure (15%). While 58% of those who do not use filters say they trust their children�s online activities around 20% do not know how to access or use filters. CYPRUSThe worry about children�s online risks from cyber bullying is at a high of 60%, though lower than the figures for Portugal, and much lower than that for France. Similar figures are reported for Cyprus (around 60%) about the risks of the child encountering sexual or violent material online. Around 50% ask their children about their online activities. A third of the parents use filtering software to block certain websites or online activities, lower than the figures for EU27 at 49%. Though 38% of those who do not use filters say they trust their children�s online activities a large proportion (28%) lack knowledge about the use of filters, a figure exceeded only by countries like Romania and Ireland. CZECH REPUBLICAround a fifth is very worried about the child�s risks in seeing sexual content or violent content online around 30% are not at all worried about the child�s accessing information about suicide, self harm and anorexia online. Worries about risks are lower in the Czech Republic than in many other EU member states. Around 35% never stay near the child when the child is online, which is the highest of the available figures. Around a fifth never question the child about their online activities, and here again Czech Republic occupies the higher end of the table. In the Czech Republic, 48% parents do not use any filtering software at all, a figure surpassed only by Denmark, Lithuania and Romania. Of those who do not use filters, 59% of those say it is because they trust their children�s online activities and approximately 15% do not know how to access or use filters. DENMARKOnly 10% of Danish parents are very worried about their child encountering sexually explicit or violent content online, unlike their French or Greek counterparts. Like Austria and the UK, a high percentage (46%) are not worried about the risks of bullying by other children and more than half (55%) are not at all worried about the risks of the child getting information about self harm online. A small percentage of parents (11%) stay nearby when the child is online, much lower than the figures for Ireland or Italy. Around 16% talks to their child about their online activities and a very small minority (4%) checks their child�s IM or email messages. Of these people, nearly 80% say they trust their children�s online activities and that is why they do not feel the need for filters. ESTONIAAround a quarter of Estonian parents are very worried about their children encountering violent or sexually explicit content online, while around a quarter again are not worried at all. Around 18% seem to be very worried about online bullying. Around 50 per cent of Estonian parents talk very frequently with their son or daughter about what the child has been doing online (the EU average is 74 per cent). In Estonia 22% of parents use some filtering software as opposed to the 52% who do not use any. The figures for non-use are higher than that of EU27. Of those who do not feel the need for filters or monitoring software, nearly 70% trust their child with online activities while around 18% lack the knowledge about accessing and using filters. FRANCEA very high proportion of parents (around 79%) worry about their child�s risks of seeing inappropriate content online, with France leading the table. Likewise, the worries about other risks like cyber bullying (71%) and getting information about self harm (74%) are high for France. However, only around a quarter of French parents are always nearby when the child is online, the figures being much lower than either Ireland or Italy (both above 40%). While 34% speak to their child about their online activities, around half never check their child�s email messages and IMs. Nearly 58% use filtering software, higher than the EU27 figures of 49%.The use of monitoring software is next only to the UK and Ireland. GERMANY43% of German parents are very worried about their child accessing inappropriate content online. In terms of parental action, Germany reports some of the high figures with 36% always sitting nearby when the child is online and 47% asking the child about their internet activities. Around 35% check their child�s surfing history, but like France, around half never check their child�s IM or email messages. The figures for the use of filters come close to figures for Belgium, France and Luxembourg, with UK leading at 77%. Like Italy, France, the Netherlands, Austria and some other countries 69% of those who do not use filters say they trust their children�s online activities and that�s why do not feel the need for filters. GREECEAlmost two thirds of Greek parents are very worried about online bullying (EU27: 37.1%), which makes them one of the more concerned across the EU. Greek parents are also deeply worried (62.4%) about the possibility of their child being bullied online by other children (EU27: 34.4%), their concern only surpassed by that of French parents (69.6%). Only 59.2% of Greek parents are familiar with their children�s internet use, one of the lowest across Europe, along with Italy (47.7%) and Cyprus (57.3%). IRELANDWorries about the risks of the child seeing inappropriate content online are high (41%). Ireland is only next to the UK in the use of filtering software (64%) surpassing the figures for France and Luxembourg, with UK leading at 77%. Of the 19% who do not use either filtering or monitoring software more than a quarter (28%) do not know how to access or use them, next only to Romania, where a little less than a third lack such knowledge/awareness (30%). ITALYAround 40% of the parents worry about the risk of the child viewing sexually explicit or violent content online. Around 30% are very worried about the risks of online bullying, and while a little over a quarter are worried about the risks of the child gaining access to information about self harm online, the figures are considerably lower than countries like France or Greece. While a comparable proportion asks the child questions about their online activities, like France, a half never check their child�s IM or email messages. With 48% parents using filtering software, Italy is close to figures for EU27 countries, with the proportion of non-users higher than the EU27 figure at 39%. A high proportion (71%) of those who do not use filters say they trust their children�s online activities and only a small minority (4%) say they do not know how to access or use filters. NETHERLANDS38% of parents are worried about the risks of encountering inappropriate content online. Worries about bullying are lower than many countries like France and the figures are at around 29%. A little more than a quarter is always nearby when the child is online. Similar figures are reported for parents asking the child questions about their activities online and nearly 47% of the parents say they never check their child�s surfing history. Of those who do not use filters 70% say they trust their children with the internet. POLAND47% of Polish parents are very worried about the child�s risks of seeing inappropriate content online. Worries about cyber bullying are also high (40%) though much lower than that of France. The proportion of parents worrying over the child�s risks of accessing information about self harm, or the risks of online grooming are both over 40%. Around a little less than a third are always nearby when their child is online and a little over a quarter asks the child about their online activities. This figure is lower than their Italian or German counterparts. Around 59% never check their child�s IM or email messages. Most parents always sit with the child when he/she uses the computer, and 35% declare that there are no rules set, this being above the EU27 average (25%). Like with Greece, Portugal is one of the most significant exceptions among the EU15 average of no rules being set at home (22%). Around 58% do not use either filtering or monitoring software next only to Romania. Of these non-users, a little more than half say they trust their children�s online activities and therefore do not feel the need for filters. SLOVENIA32% is very worried about the risks of the child viewing inappropriate content online, lower than the high figures for Greece or France. A little more than a quarter are worried about the child�s accessing information about self harm online. Around a fifth of the parents always stay nearby when the child is online. While around 31% speak to their child about their online activities the figures are lower than that of Ireland or Italy, for instance. Around a quarter uses filtering software and around 46% use neither filtering nor monitoring software. While 68% of those who do not use filters say they trust their children�s online activities a little less than a fifth do not know how to use or access filters. SPAIN50% of the parents are very worried that the child is at risk of seeing inappropriate content online. Similar proportions are worried about cyber bullying and the risks of accessing information about self harm online. The proportion of parents using filters is lower (43%) than the EU27 figures, and around less than a third do not use either filters or monitoring software. Of the non-users around 71% trust their children�s online activities and therefore do not use filters. SWEDENThe worry about the risks of seeing sexually explicit or violent content is at a low in Sweden (11%) compared to many other EU member states, like France. The worries about risks like cyber bullying (8%) and online grooming (11%) are also at the lower end of the table. Only 12% of Swedish parents always stay nearby when the child is online, a figure much lower than those from France or Italy for instance. Only 14% ask their child questions about their activities online and 5% check their child�s surfing history. Of the 34% who do not use either filtering or monitoring around 60% say they trust their children�s online activities. UNITED KINGDOMAround 38% of British parents are very worried about their child�s risks of accessing inappropriate content online. Around a quarter are very worried about cyber bullying or access to information about self harm, and around 32% are worried about the risks of online grooming. Around 39% of British parents are nearby when their child is online, one of the higher figures for the EU. The UK leads in the use of filtering software with 77% using filters for their children online activities. Only 12% do not use either filtering or monitoring software, followed by Denmark (17%) and of this 12%, most say they trust their children�s online activities and that�s why do not feel the need for filters. Earlier surveys on this topic were carried out in 2003/04 (Special Eurobarometer No 203 and Candidate countries Eurobarometer CC-EB 2004.1) and 2005/06 (Special Eurobarometer No 250). The fieldwork of the Flash Eurobarometer 248 �Towards a safer use of the Internet for children in the EU � a parents� perspective� was conducted between 9 and 17 October 2008. Approximately 12,750 randomly selected parents (including step-parents/guardians) of a 6-17 year-old child were interviewed in the 27 EU Member States. If there was more than one 6-17 year-old in the household, the parents were asked to answer the questions thinking about the child whose birthday was closest to the date of the interview. Interviews were predominantly carried out via fixed telephone, with WebCATI (web-based computer assisted telephone interviewing), approximately 500 in each country � except in Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta where approximately 250 interviews were conducted. Sponsoring are Direct.gov.uk, Jadu and O2. The Awards are supported by the Government Chief Information Officer (Cabinet Office), the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm), and SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers). Crown copyright material used under click use licence C02W0007583. Parliamentary material used under click use licence P2005000039, & reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSOon behalf of Parliament. EU tender information published under license. Сватба