One of the main objectives of the Digital Agenda is creating a safer environment for parents and their children in the Internet. Although recent studies show that on-line risks have fallen and children are more and more familiar with the net, they also highlight that many children are still nor aware about the best way in which they can protect themselves.

This and other aspects have been on focus at the Safer Internet Forum 2010, held in Luxembourg between 21 and 22 October. This year the Forum has focused on the results of two major research projects funded by the Safer Internet Programme.

According to one of this research projects, EU Kids Online, European children are younger when they start using the Internet for the first time. Children now aged 15 to 16 first used the Internet when they were 11, while 9-10 year olds declared that they first used the Internet when they were 7. There are also differences between countries: children go online the earliest in the Nordic countries, Estonia, The Netherlands and UK and later in Austria, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Romania. Half of children go online daily for an average of one and a half hours. 15-16 year olds are even more active Internet users, with 77% going online daily.

Children in the survey say they use the Internet primarily for school work or watching videos (84% and 83% respectively). Playing games (74%) and communicating via instant messaging (61%) are the next most popular activities online.

Children go online mainly at home (85%), with more than half of 13-16 year olds accessing the Internet in their bedroom. School is the second most common place to access the Internet (63%). While most children go online via PCs or laptops, one out of three youngsters now connect via their mobile phones or other portable devices.

Children still lack basic safety skills

Although use is increasing and children face fewer risks online than previous surveys have shown, the report shows half of younger children lack basic safety skills such as knowing how to set privacy settings or block unwanted contacts.

In this scope, the Commission has brokered self-regulatory agreements with some of the main providers of online services that are most popular among younger generations (social networks, mobile phone operators) and further development of self-regulatory measures regarding online safety for children is being considered as part of the Digital Agenda policy to build trust and security in new technologies.

Symptoms linked to excessive Internet use also seem to be increasing and 30% of 11-16 year olds have experienced such kind of situations. For that reason, the EU's Safer Internet Programme will co-fund a project to better understand this problem in 2011.

Innovative and age-appropriate content

The European Commission and Safer Internet Centres in 14 countries have just announced a competition for the European Award for Best Children's Online Content. This is open to producers of online content in two categories: 12-17 years old and adults and seeks to stimulate the production and dissemination of high quality online content appropriate for children and young people. It takes place in 14 countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. The winners of both categories in the national competitions will compete for the European Award, which will be presented in June 2011.