Aussie kids spending more holiday time online

Peter Dinham
Thursday, 08 October 2009 11:46

IT Industry - Market

Three out of four Australian children spend extra time online and using mobile phones during the school holidays, with almost half of them devoting an additional three hours or more each day on their mobile or surfing the Internet when they’re not at school.

According to a recent national survey of parents commissioned by Telstra, almost half of Aussie kids devote an additional three hours or more each day on the mobile or internet when school is out, according to the national survey of parents. One in five parents surveyed said they were surprised to receive a larger than normal mobile or internet bill following the holiday period.
 
The survey found that most kids favoured going to the movies (88 per cent), hanging out with friends (84 per cent) and playing games on the internet or their mobile phones (69 per cent) during the holidays. The survey also showed that surfing the internet (68 per cent), going shopping (60 per cent), and playing sport (50 per cent) were also popular. 

Telstra executive director consumer, Jenny Young, said the survey results provided a timely reminder to parents to take an active role to help manage their children’s internet and mobile usage to avoid surprise bills.

"Mobile phones are great for kids’ safety and security, and the internet is a must for education nowadays. On top of that, kids are using both their home internet and mobile phones to connect with friends and for entertainment.”
 
According to Young, it’s possible to keep mobile and internet usage on track and she says Telstra is offering some tips to help, such as using unmetered content, which is identified with a green dot on BigPond, or choosing capped broadband plans or pre-paid mobile or wireless broadband.”

 She also said that parents have a vital role to play, and that parental supervision is important as well, “to be on the lookout for cyber-bullying.

“When talking to your kids about internet usage, it's timely to remind them of the importance of protecting themselves online. For example, the dangers of providing personal details or meeting strangers online without telling you. PC security software helps safe surfing and a PIN number on a mobile phone can prevent others running up large bills or accessing personal information.”

Other tips which Telstra has issued to help guide your children’s mobile and internet usage, include using unmetered content, where downloads from unmetered sites won’t impact on your usage limit; to be careful about using premium text messages that are used for competitions and voting service; sharing a mobile phone with friends, where your child's friends mightn't be as budget-conscious so encourage them to be careful with sharing their phones, except of course, in emergency situations; using capped broadband plans and consideration of pre-paid mobile phones or wireless broadband plans, like those offered by Bigpond.