Irish children and young people are very conscious of the risks of internet and mobile phone usage, but are also liable to bully or be bullied when using websites such as Bebo and MSN instant messaging, according to new European research.
The study, conducted by the EU Commission, reveals that the most common risks which young people associated with the internet were viruses, online scams, talking to strangers in chatrooms and cyberbullying through instant messaging or social networking sites.
They said they frequently download illegally, but a common complaint was inadvertently signing up to a subscription service when attempting to purchase a mobile phone ring tone.
The report is based on group interviews with 34 Irish nine- to 10-year-olds and 12- to 14-year-olds conduced by TNS-mrbi in April. It notes that while Bebo is supposed to be for teenagers or older users, it is used by younger children and functions as a type of chatroom.
The majority of those surveyed claimed to have had no first-hand experience of dealing with strangers online in a chatroom.
"It is important to note that the older girls in particular appeared to have more experience with regard to this topic. Girls received more 'dirty', nuisance e-mails or messages from guys online," it says.
"Throughout all the groups both boys and girls have fallen victim to bullying both online and via SMS or MMS text messages," it states. "Respondents in the younger female groups mentioned that they were reluctant to answer blocked numbers or private numbers."
The report reveals a generation that has grown up with modern technology such as the internet and mobile phones. Many are self-taught and know as much about the technology as their parents, if not more.
It was widely felt among the older groups that they would tell their parents about violent or sexual internet content as a last resort, the report says.
"Younger groups were particularly wary of chatrooms, having been guided by parents, teachers and indeed the media," it states. "Cyberbullying appeared to be a prevalent theme across all four discussion groups."
The latter was most commonly associated with Bebo, MSN instant messaging and the uploading of offensive pictures online. It appeared more prominently in older groups.
"Respondents in both the older groups had witnessed cyberbullying and some older females acknowledged that they had inadvertently bullied other classmates via MSN instant messaging or bebo.com," the report states.
12- to 14-year-old Irish girls in particular tended to stay online for longer for socialising purposes, spending most of their time on Bebo and using instant messaging regularly to keep in contact with friends.
But nine- and 10-year-olds are more inclined to search for information related to schoolwork. Irish boys mainly use the internet for downloading and playing games and music.
However, while Irish children are generally restricted by their parents from accessing certain sites, boys tend to be less open with their parents about what they access online.
The results of the survey will help the European Commission to decide how the EU's Safer Internet programme can contribute to internet and mobile phone child safety.
While respondents would seldom send picture messages due to the cost, they would frequently take them and show these to friends or upload them to Bebo.