Kids Overspend While Shopping Online

A study reveals that while the internet and new technologies represent an important role in the lives of youths, the phenomenon has some negative sides which can have serious consequences if not treated accordingly.

Numbers from Norton's Online Family Report show that 62% of children had at least one negative experience while surfing the web, while 39% had a serious negative experience.

Social networks seem to attract the biggest issues. Bullying, inappropriate content and cybercriminal activities were just a few of the things kids who are active on social networks were faced with.

While only 38% of those who don't perform social media related activities were affected, the figure almost doubles when it comes to the children who admit they're highly active on Facebook and other sites.

“Kids are developing their online identity at an earlier age than ever before and they need parents, teachers and other role models to help them figure out where to go, what to say, how to act and perhaps most importantly, how not to act.

“Negative situations online can have repercussions in the real world—from bullying to money lost in scams to giving strangers personal information,” said Vanessa Van Petten, youthologist and author of Radical Parenting.

The study shows that teachers are also affected by this kind of behavior. The number of students that film their teachers after irritating them has recorded a considerable increase, especially since high-end gadgets have become more available.

Only 50% of schools have policies regarding the interaction between students and teachers through social media, but many are in favor of the implementation of such regulations.

Finally, overspending is a serious concern since 23% of parents claim their children abuse their credit cards online. Even more worrying is the fact that 30% of the children whose guardians were questioned utilized credit cards for online shopping without consent.