More Indian children visiting 'inappropriate' websites: Survey

Study found 84% Indian parents allowing their child to bring an Internet-connected device to bed

An increasing number of children in India are visiting "inappropriate" websites, compared to countries like the US and the UK, a trend that is clearly giving parents sleepless nights.

However, a mere 36 per cent Indian parents said they used software to monitor their children's activity on these devices, according to a report by McAfee.

More than half of the Indian parents surveyed by McAfee claimed that they have discovered that their child visited an inappropriate website.

This was highest when compared to 13 other countries including Australia (26 per cent), Brazil (45 per cent), France (41 per cent), the US (37 per cent) and the UK (23 per cent).

Internet access has improved in India with smartphones becoming more affordable and data tariffs falling. Parents often hand over their mobile devices to children to keep them busy.

The study found 84 per cent Indian parents allowing their child to bring an Internet-connected device to bed.

However, 50 per cent stated that they have argued with their child on the issue of bringing these gadgets to bed.

Worried about who the child interacts with online, parents are even keeping a tab on the amount of time the child spends in front of a screen.

About 57 per cent said they allow their child to have 1-2 hours of screen time per day, and 21 per cent restricted access to less than one hour a day.

"In today's connected world, parents play a crucial role in deciding on the usage of technology and how it can influence their kids' lives," McAfee Managing Director South Asia Anand Ramamoorthy said.

He added that parents must actively manage the way their families interact with connected devices to ensure that security and privacy measures are implemented.

The study covered 13,000 adults, who use an Internet- connected device on a daily basis across countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US.