Some 97 per cent of Maltese students aged between eight and 15 years have access to the internet from home with more than 54 per cent accessing it on a daily basis, according to the results of a study commissioned the Malta Communications Authority.
The MCA said that according to its study, the use of internet varied depending on the age.
Primary school students of between Years 3 and 6, used the internet mostly to play games (86 per cent), for school related research (66 per cent) and social networking (45.1 per cent).
Students attending secondary school Forms 1 and 2 used the internet for research (82 per cent), playing online games (69 per cent) and for social networking (67 per cent).
Older secondary school students attending Forms 3 and 4 mostly favoured social networking (86 per cent) followed closely by school research activity (83 per cent), chatting (80 per cent), and non-academic related browsing (79 per cent).
With regard to gender, male students appeared to play more internet games than female students (77 per cent against 62 per cent), whilst females tend to do more social networking (70 per cent against 62 per cent) and school related research (81.3 per cent against 73.1 per cent) than their male counterparts.
Most minors used a computer that was either located in the bedroom (32 per cent) or in the study (22 per cent), indicating that these could possibly have very little supervision by adults when accessing the internet.
The study also showed that mobile phone ownership wasstrongly related to age, with 38 per cent of students in primary Years 3 to 6; 86 per cent of secondary Forms 1 and 2; and 96 per cent of secondary Forms 3 and 4, reporting that they own a mobile phone. About 18 per cent of Forms 3 and 4 students stated that they use their mobile phone to access the internet.
The study also shows that parents and carers are generally aware of the risks the internet can pose to minors.
The study also exposed the need for more awareness and education. 71 per cent of parents/carers stated that by making new friends online, their child could be running a risk and another 70 per cent stated that they would not want their child uploading his/her photo on the internet.
On the other hand 69 per cent of parents or carers felt their child was aware of the risks when using the internet whilst 34 per cent claimed that they trusted their child and, therefore, do not need to supervise him or her.
A total of 818 students from 35 schools were interviewed whilst their parents or carers filled a survey.
The initiative was supported by the Ministry for Education, Youth and Employment; the Secretariat for Catholic Education; and a number of independent schools.
The results of the survey would assist the MCA in its efforts to increase awareness on internet safety amongst children, minors, their parents, carers and educators.
They will be used in the formulation of future initiatives and campaigns that the MCA, together with other collaborating entities, would be embarking on in the coming months.
The full results of the survey are available on the MCA website. www.mca.org.mt