Half of Kids Make Secret Online Purchases

New study of children's internet use suggests parents need to hold on to their credit cards.

It’s Disney’s dream come true: A new global study of kids’ online behaviour has found that more than half of parents say their kids have stolen their credit cards to make online purchases. In Norton’s Online Family Report, only 23 per cent of kids admitted to using their parents’ cards, though sales of Dora the Explorer laptops would suggest their parents are probably right. Meanwhile, more than 60 per cent of children in New Zealand reported having a “negative” online experience such as cyber-bullying and contact from strangers. Roughly 14 per cent of teachers studied reported being “cyberbaited” to lose their temper in order to post evidence online, suggesting that, sadly, bullying does not end at adulthood.