Campaigners have warned that keeping children safe online is one of the biggest child protection issues of the modern world.
According to the NSPCC, young people are now experiencing new forms of abuse "on a scale never before seen".
The charity states that children should be given lessons in how to use the internet safely from as young as five or six. They are concerned there are rising numbers of youngsters being exposed to online pornography, cyberbullying and being forced into sending indecent images to others.
According to the NSPCC, last year there was an increase in calls about online pornography, with some from children as young as 11. Their research had shown many teenagers see "sexting" and hard-core pornography as the norm, with some describing it as "mundane", and some had been blackmailed or coerced into sending indecent images of themselves to strangers or other youngsters.
Claire Lilley, from the NSPCC, said: "Young people tell us they are experiencing all sorts of new forms of abuse on a scale never before seen. It's now clear that we are facing an e-safety time bomb, with this being one of the biggest child protection issues of our time.
Topics: News
Written by Tracey Emmott
Tracey Emmott is a solicitor with over 25 years’ experience in personal injury law. Previously she was a partner of a regional firm in the Home Counties.
