One-fifth of parents are not aware that their children go online on mobile phones, while nearly one-fourth chat online without their parents’ consent, a new study shows.

Parents should be more aware of where their children access the internet, according to researcher Mary Anne Lauri, who yesterday presented the findings at a seminar organised by the Malta Communications Authority about ICT use by minors.

Prof. Lauri, from the University of Malta, said 97.5 per cent of households taking part in the survey have internet access and nearly two-thirds of the children in these households aged between eight and 15 go online every day.

However, while half go on the internet in their own room, less than a third of parents are aware of this. A quarter of parents are also not aware their children access the internet at their relatives’ houses but more than 41 per cent actually do.

Other highlights of the survey show that nearly a quarter of children watch videos online even though they are not allowed to and a fifth download music or films without consent.

Prof. Lauri said the study confirmed that parents’ perception of their children’s internet use was often very different from the actual use. She urged parents to adopt strategies to deal with the increasing use of social networking.

She said parents could set a rule that although their children could access their mobile devices, they could not keep them in the same room where they were studying.

The numbers of children participating in internet activities without their parents’ permission. Right: How children see internet risk. But just eight per cent of their parents think the internet is safe.

Using mobile devices was a stimulus response which came naturally to everyone, including adults. However, in this way, parents would at least know when their children were accessing the internet.

For this study, some 4,000 questionnaires were handed out to students in 24 schools and their parents to guage access, use and perceptions of the internet. Commenting on the frequency of internet use,

Prof. Lauri said: “I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but we have to start thinking differently. Our children are gaining knowledge in a different way.

“My children don’t read books as much as I think they should, but that doesn’t mean they are not reading. They’re reading text from tablets or computers.”

The study also delved into risk perception, with only eight per cent of parents saying the internet was safe and three per cent believing that meeting new people online was safe when compared to 26 per cent and 15.7 per cent of children, respectively.

This is the third survey carried out since the BeSmartOnline consortium was launched in 2010 to raise awareness about internet safety for minors, their parents and grandparents.