LODDON MALLEE - Cyber Safe Kids

ISBN: [978-0-9808654-0-0] 

Citation 

The citation below should be used when referencing 2 this report: LMCP Bendigo Region Report 

Reid, S. C., Kauer, S. D., & Treyvaud, R. A. (2010). The Loddon Mallee Cybersafety 

Project: Bendigo Region Report. Cybersafe Kids, Melbourne, Australia. 

© Sojon Ventures Pty. Ltd. 2010

FORWARD 

Welcome to the Loddon Mallee 

Cybersafety Project. This exciting 

project is a community lead project 

managed by Ms Lee Baxter, Senior 

Programs Officer from Student 

Wellbeing & Drug Education, 

DEECD and Ms Francis Browne, 

Operational Leader, Bendigo 

Catholic Education Office. The 

Loddon Mallee Cyber safety 

Project has a steering committee 

comprised of local representatives 

from the following groups, LM 

Regional Office DEECD, Catholic 

Education Office, Victoria Police, School Focused Youth Service, Central Victorian 

Technology Business, CentaCare, Telstra CountryWide, LM Region Secondary and Primary 

Schools. 

The Loddon Mallee Cybersafety Project has been funded by the Telstra Foundation 

Community Cybersafety Grants and includes three main components: 

Analysis and Investigation: Surveying of students, teachers, and parents, to examine factors 

related to cybersafety such as internet usage, monitoring and control of internet use, problem 

use, compulsive use, cyber bullying, legal issues. 

Training: Professional development of key stakeholder leadership, community education 

through community based forums, curriculum development, and 

Resources: Peer education resource development 

This report forms the analysis and investigation component of the survey, and is designed to 

give the community specific feedback about cybersafety in their schools and homes. A sample 

of schools from the Bendigo, Kerang and North Central, and Mildura Areas were invited in 

2009 and 2010 to participate in the analysis and investigation component of the LM 

Cybersafety Project. For those schools participating in the analysis and investigation 

component, all students from grade 4 to year 12, and all school parents and teachers of grade 4 

to year 12 were invited to complete the online survey. 

This is the Bendigo Community Region report and was prepared by Dr Sophie Reid with the 

support of Ms Sylvia Kauer and Ms Robyn Treyvaud. 

3 LMCP Bendigo Region Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The Cybersafe Survey covered a wide range of behaviours, attitudes, experiences and 

concerns about children and young people‟s online world and sampled from the 

perspective of children, parents and teachers in the Bendigo region. 

Overall there was a 23% student response rate to the survey. The primary school data 

are likely to be representative of the behaviours and concerns of primary aged children 

in the Bendigo community as the response rate was 50.1%. The secondary school 

student, parent and teacher data are best interpreted as suggesting possible behaviours, 

attitudes and concerns of these groups in the community, but are not representative due 

to low participation rates at a school, student and parent level. 

20% of grade 4-6, 50% of year 7-8 and 76% of year 9-10 students had a social 

networking profile, and most students reported having a photo of themselves, their 

name and city on public display in their social networking profile. 

The overwhelming majority of young people do not disclose their home address, phone 

numbers or email address online and are cautious about strangers contacting them 

online. 

86% of grade 4-6, 63% of year 7-8, 45% of year 9-10 students had internet related 

rules at home. The most common rule concerned length of time on the internet. 

Almost 100% of the student sample reported that their school had internet use rules or 

policies and blocked access to certain websites, but 32.5% of grade 4-6 and 58.9% of 

year 7-10 students reported that they knew how to get around some or all of these 

rules/blocks at school. 

Almost 100% of parents surveyed reported that their child‟s school had internet use 

rules/policies and/or blocks certain websites. 

58% of teachers reported that their school had internet use rules or polices. 

23.7% of grade 4-6 and 22.9% year 7-10 students had found something horrible, 

worrying or scary on the internet and this material was most commonly: scary 

images/movies or games, pornographic photos or videos, sexual harassment or 

solicitation, images/video of animal cruelty, being threatened or bullied, grotesque 

images, and being offered drugs. 

19.7% of grade 4-6 and 38.8% year 7-10 students had gone to a website that they are 

not allowed to visit or might get in trouble for visiting. These students reported that 

they did this at home (76%), school (22%), a friend‟s house (10%), or other (4%). 

12.3% of grade 4-6 and 32.6% of year 7-10 students reported that they had gone to an 

adults only (18+ years) website. These students stated that they did this at home 

(70.7%), school (14.6%), a friend‟s house (12.2%), or other (2.4%). 

45.6% of grade 4-6 and 63.6% of year 7-10 students reported that they have met new 

people online that they do not know in real life. 

3.5% of students in year 9-11 reported meeting the proposed criteria for “internet 

addiction” (Note: “internet addiction” is not a universally accepted syndrome/disorder, 

but indicates internet use at a level that causes significant dysfunction to the individual). 


Online harassment had occurred to 23.7% of grade 4-6, 33% of year 7-8, and 55% of 

year 9-10 students at least once in the last month. 

8.4% of grade 4-6, 9.3% of year 7-8 and 40.5% of year 9-10 students reported harassing 

someone else online in the last month. 

An overwhelming message from open ended questions posed to the students surveyed 

in the Bendigo region was that they want parents to help keep them safe when they are 

online. 

Parent‟s greatest concerns about threats posed by the internet were computer viruses 

and sexual predators. 

57% of the parents surveyed reported they were concerned about their child 

experiencing cyber bullying or online harassment and 30% of parents were concerned 

that their child might victimise another person online. 

The majority of parents surveyed (over 70%) thought that in school education, filter 

software, guidelines and information for parents, parent information evenings, and free 

website resources for parents outlining ways of keeping children and young people safe 

online were likely to be effective strategies. 

The teachers surveyed appeared to be more in touch with young people‟s experiences of 

the online world than the surveyed parents. 92.4% of teachers were concerned about 

cyber bullying, followed by sexual predators and theft of personal information. 

88% of teachers were concerned about their students cyber bullying others and posting 

inappropriate content online (84%). 

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

Primary school children need an attractive alternative to adult social networking sites 

and the opportunity to learn and practice appropriate social networking skills explicitly 

guided by adults before becoming participants in adult social networking. 

High schools students need assistance to harness the range of “privacy settings” on 

facebook to allow them to be more discriminating in which “friends” they share their 

personal information with and protect them from future misuse of that information, in 

particular cyber bullying. 

For students to respect school internet use policies and rules, it is critical that these rules 

are devised in consultation with students and that all students and teachers share a 

common understanding of what these policies and rules are and what the consequences 

and sanctions are for breaking them. 

As students are bypassing risk controls within schools, it is recommended as a matter of 

urgency that a full risk assessment is conducted engaging many different stakeholders 

such as policy makers, legal advisors, teachers and most importantly students to cover 

many different risk contexts associated with internet access at school (e.g. legal, 

reputation, direct harm, financial and operational). 


Many young people reported being exposed to inappropriate and often violent content 

on the internet. It is critical that “offline” protective behaviours education is brought to 

bear on and taught explicitly in the context of exposure to online material and activities. 

It is critical that “online friendships” are included in social skills curriculum in Bendigo 

schools given the frequency of such friendships reported by Bendigo students. Raising 

young people‟s consciousness about the positives and negatives of online and offline 

friendships and the experiential differences of friendships will assist them to remain 

emotionally and physically well in both types of friendships. 

In relation to compulsive internet use, parents need to view limiting the internet in the 

same manner as limiting other enjoyable activities that require moderation. 

It is recommended that for older students, “internet addiction” as a concept and problem 

is included in school drug education. 

In relation to online harassment and cyber bullying it is recommended that Bendigo 

schools establish, in consultation with students and the whole school community, 

o clear definitions of online harassment, 

o policies, programs, and procedures which explicitly address online harassment, 

o clearly documented procedural steps to manage online harassment making 

explicit the roles and responsibilities of staff, students, and parents, and 

o clearly documented and displayed consequences for students who are found to 

harass and bully their peers online. 

It is critical that parents implement monitoring programs (e.g. a free option is Norton 

Online Family) and develop a family culture of monitoring, responsibility and 

accountability for online behaviours before the time the oldest child in the family 

finishes primary school with the expectation that this home internet culture will 

continue throughout adolescence. 

The parents and students in the Bendigo region require immediate assistance to bridge 

the communication and knowledge divide between the needs and concerns of young 

people in their online activities and the worries and concerns of parents. 

In addition, parents in the Bendigo region need clear direct steps and guidelines around 

implementing family rules and responsibilities for online behaviours and installing 

software that allows them greater understanding and management of their home online 

environment. 

New and innovative means of reaching parents to encourage them to extend home 

internet use rules from length of time to focus strongly on rules of engagement and 

ethical behaviours online are desperately needed. 

Finally a whole parental community response to online harassment is needed. If the 

majority of parents in the Bendigo community set clear rules, responsibilities and 

expectations about online harassment and do so in consultation with their children, the 

rates of online harassment within the community are likely to decrease and a cultural 

change around the internet for that community is likely to occur. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Forward ......................................................................................................................................... 3 

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 4 

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 10 

Aims ............................................................................................................................................ 10 

Methods....................................................................................................................................... 11 

Participants .............................................................................................................................. 11 

Procedure ................................................................................................................................. 11 

The survey ............................................................................................................................... 12 

Results ......................................................................................................................................... 14 

Response rates ......................................................................................................................... 14 

Caution interpreting the data ................................................................................................... 14 

Student survey ......................................................................................................................... 16 

Demographics ...................................................................................................................... 16 

How the internet is used ...................................................................................................... 16 

Disclosing personal information on the internet .................................................................. 18 

Social networking profiles ................................................................................................... 18 

Monitoring and control of internet use at home .................................................................. 21 

Monitoring and control of internet use at school ................................................................. 24 

Unwanted exposure to something horrible, worrying or scary ........................................... 24 

Accessing inappropriate websites ........................................................................................ 25 

Buying online ...................................................................................................................... 25 

Online friends ...................................................................................................................... 25 

Compulsive internet use ...................................................................................................... 26 

Online harassment ............................................................................................................... 30 

Understanding laws regarding the internet .......................................................................... 36 


Messages from students regarding the internet ................................................................... 37 

Parent survey ........................................................................................................................... 39 

Demographics ...................................................................................................................... 39 

How the internet is used ...................................................................................................... 39 

Internet competency ............................................................................................................ 40 

Monitoring and control of internet use at home .................................................................. 41 

Monitoring and control of internet use at school ................................................................. 43 

Parents‟ concerns and opinions about what children do on the internet ............................. 44 

Responding to threats and problems associated with the internet ....................................... 45 

Interventions to keep young people safe ............................................................................. 46 

Parents‟ understanding of legal and ethical behaviours of internet use .............................. 48 

Messages from parents regarding young people and the internet ....................................... 49 

Teacher survey ........................................................................................................................ 51 

Demographics ...................................................................................................................... 51 

Internet competency ............................................................................................................ 51 

Attitudes to Information and Connected Technology (ICT) in learning ............................. 52 

ICT use in teaching .............................................................................................................. 52 

School rules about internet use ............................................................................................ 52 

Teachers‟ concerns and opinions about what children do on the internet ........................... 53 

Interventions to keep young people safe ............................................................................. 54 

Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................................................................... 57 

Typical internet use ................................................................................................................. 57 

Social networking .................................................................................................................... 58 

Internet use rules at home – students‟ and parents‟ responses ................................................ 59 

Internet use rules at school – students‟, parents‟ and teachers‟ responses .............................. 60 

Unwanted exposure to something horrible, worrying, or scary .............................................. 61 


Meeting friends online ............................................................................................................ 62 

Compulsive internet use and “internet addiction”................................................................... 63 

Online harassment ................................................................................................................... 65 

Understanding internet ethics and laws ................................................................................... 66 

The student voice - messages from students to adults ............................................................ 67 

Parent concerns and needs regarding keeping young people safe online ............................... 67 

Online safety interventions and methods of delivery – parents‟ perspective .......................... 68 

Teachers concerns and needs regarding keeping young people safe online ........................... 69 

Online safety interventions and methods of delivery – teachers‟ perspective ........................ 69 

Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 70 

References ................................................................................................................................... 71 

Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 72 

Appendix 1 .............................................................................................................................. 72 

Appendix 2 .............................................................................................................................. 74 


INTRODUCTION 

The internet and other connected technologies provide children and young people with an 

exciting world of information, social connection, and learning opportunities. As with all new 

technologies, the internet has a positive and a negative side. Some of difficulties for children in 

their online activities, many of which have received recent media interest are: cyber bullying or 

harassment, exposure to adult, grotesque or inappropriate material, compulsive use or “internet 

addiction” and production or distribution of sexually explicit files. Further, parents and 

teachers are often in the dark about children‟s activities or at a loss as to how to respond. Well 

informed policies, strategies, and responses that help to keep young people safe online are 

needed. To date there is little research, especially in the rural setting, focusing on and drawing 

together young people‟s, their parents‟ and their teachers‟ behaviours, attitudes and use of 

technology. Research informing policy guidelines, procedures and school curriculum focusing 

on decreasing young people‟s vulnerability and increasing their safety online is needed. 

AIMS 

The overall aim of the Loddon Mallee Cybersafety Project was to develop and implement 

policies and procedures about cybersafety for school-aged young people that are derived from 

community consultation and assessment and therefore tailored or best suited to individual 

community needs. 

The specific aims of the Cybersafe Survey were to develop a current picture and understanding 

of online use, attitudes, ethics and behaviours of students, parents, and teachers and to 

investigate the current needs and risks specifically relating to online activities in the four 

regions Bendigo, Kerang and North Central, Macedon Ranges and Mildura. 

This report and community forums which follow/accompany this report are designed to give 

each community their student, parent and teacher data in a synthesised user friendly manner to 

assist the subsequent development of policies, professional development and resource 

development to address cybersafety concerns. For this reason, confidence intervals are not 

listed throughout the report, but are included in Appendix 1 for key variables. Further 

confidence intervals are available from Dr Reid. 


METHODS 

PARTICIPANTS 

The target population was government, independent and catholic schools in the Bendigo 

region. Each school was invited to participate in the research component. Of a potential 16 

schools, 10 agreed to participate. Approximately 1750 grade 4 to year 12 students in the 

Bendigo region who attend government and non-government schools were invited to complete 

a confidential and anonymous online survey about their cyber use, attitudes, ethics, and current 

behaviours. In addition, approximately 740 teachers and 6,000 families in the Bendigo region 

were invited to complete an online survey to examine their current knowledge, levels and areas 

of concerns, attitudes and behaviours regarding children‟s cyber use. Informed written consent 

for students to participate was obtained from parents. 

PROCEDURE 

Each school principal was asked to nominate a person within his or her school to coordinate 

administration and retrieval of parent consent forms and data collection. The nominated 

teachers from each school underwent a half day training with Dr Reid in which access to and 

administration of the survey was outlined. Enrolment of participants in the survey (obtaining 

parent consent and ensuring students complete the survey) was the responsibility of the 

administrating teacher/s and principals. The Cybersafe Survey research team were not involved 

in this process. Schools were offered a half day CRT reimbursement from Loddon Mallee 

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for participation in the survey. 

Schools were provided with the parent consent forms and asked to distribute to all students in 

grade 4 to year 12. The exception was Bendigo Senior Secondary College in which, due to the 

significant size of the school and capacity to participate, the school nominated that 100 students 

would be given parental consent forms to return. Each school was provided with a master 

identification list of unique identifying numbers for each student. Teachers assigned each 

student a unique identification number and added them to a master identification list which 

remained securely stored at the schools. To ensure confidentiality and security of information, 

the researchers were not provided with the student participants‟ names, and schools and 

teachers did not have access to individual results of participants. On the day of the student 

survey, participants completed an online consent form and the online survey individually 

during school time. Coordination and administration of the survey was done conducted by 

teachers within each school. 

Parents within the school communities were invited to participate in the respective online 

surveys via school newsletters, letters sent home via students, and email lists. Teachers of 

grade 4 to year 12 were invited to complete the surveys via staff meetings and email lists. It 

was the responsibility of schools to administer the invitation to parents and teachers to answer 

the survey. The Cybersafe Survey research team did not participate in this process. 


For both parents and teachers, a consent form was displayed as the entry page to the online 

survey and consent to participate indicated via checking an “I agree” box. Only a check in this 

box allowed progression through to the survey. Reminders were distributed by email lists, 

newsletters, and school bulletins, and in staff meetings (for teachers) a number of times. 

THE SURVEY 

The questionnaires were adapted from leading international cohort studies such as the PEW 

Internet and American Life Projects, The National Schools Board Association study on socially 

connected behaviours of young people, the EU Kids online project, and the National Centre for 

Missing and Exploited Children (USA). The online harassment questions were adapted from 

the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (Cross et al., 2009). Given the speed of 

internet use and technology changes some of the questions, including the bullying questions, 

were altered or extended to include up-to-the-minute changes in cyber use and popularity of 

particular activities. The student questionnaires covered the same topics, and in most cases 

were identical but were tailored to developmental needs of students spanning grade 4 to year 12 

(e.g. the Adolescent Internet Addiction Scale was only administered to students in year 9-12). 

The questionnaire covered and included the following examples: 

General internet use 

What do you do on the internet? – homework, blog, play games, chat on gamesites, 

instant message, shop, download music/videos, seek help, MySpace/bebo/facebook. 

What sort of personal information have you put on the internet? – full name, school 

name, address, email, phone number, bank or credit card details. 

Monitoring and Controls of internet use 

Are there rules in your home about using the internet? – i.e. only kids websites, net 

nanny, filters, supervision, length of time 

Are there rules in your school about using the internet? – i.e. filters, school policies or 

contracts, supervision 

Do you know how to get around these filters/blocks or rules? 

Problem use 

Have you ever found something horrible, worrying, or frightening on the internet? 

Where did you find this and did you tell someone about this? 

Have you met new people online that you don‟t know in real life? How do you talk with 

them? 

Have you been asked to meet them in real life? 

Compulsive Use (grade 4-8) or the Adolescent Internet Addiction Scale (year 9-12) adapted by 

Dr Reid from The Internet Addiction Scale of Nichols & Nicki (2004) 

I think about the internet/email/msn a lot when I‟m away from it 


When I feel upset, I get on the internet to make me feel better 

I have tried to spend less time on the internet but I don‟t seem to be able to. 

Online Harassment: both victimisation and perpetration 

Has anyone put something on the internet about you that you did not like? i.e. photos 

and videos 

Have you been blocked by your friends from IM or other internet chat sites? 

Have you spread nasty emails or IM about someone else? 

Understanding the legal issues of internet use 

There are no rules on the internet? True or false 

Things you do on the internet can‟t be traced? True or false 


RESULTS 

RESPONSE RATES 

STUDENT RESPONSE RATE: Of a possible sample frame of 1,750 students 424 responded 

to the survey; therefore there was a 24% response rate across the total sample. The response 

rate, however, was not evenly distributed across age groups. The response rates for grades 4-6 

students was 50.1% as 285 students from a potential 557 were surveyed. This left a 

considerably lower response rate for the high school students of 12%. In addition, only 11 year 

11 students and no year 12 students participated in the survey. 

TEACHER RESPONSE RATE: Of a possible sample frame of approximately 740 teachers, 

72 completed the survey. This provided a response rate of 9.7%. 

PARENT RESPONSE RATE: Of a possible sample frame of 6,000 families only 64 

responded. This provided a response rate of 1%. 

Table 1. Responses to the Cybersafe Surveys 

Grade 4-6 Year 7-10 Year 11* Teachers Parents 

Total Sample 284 129 11 72 64 

*Please note: whilst year 12 students were invited to take part none completed the survey. 

CAUTION INTERPRETING THE DATA 

The strongest and most representative data came from the grade 4-6 sample as 284 students 

from a potential 557 (50.1%) were surveyed. Therefore conclusions derived from the responses 

of these students are likely to be representative of all grade 4-6 students in the region. 

The secondary school data is weaker than the grade 4-6 data and in particular the response rates 

from students in year 11-12 was very low with only 11 year 11 students volunteering to take 

part in the survey and no year 12 students participating in the survey. Therefore this sample 

cannot be taken as representative of students in year 11-12 in the Bendigo region. All data from 

the secondary schools should be interpreted with caution and as possibly suggesting issues or 

concerns that may be occurring in the region rather than representative of high school students 

in the region. 

The teacher response rate was low at less than 10%. The data are likely to be weakly 

representative of the teaching community in the Bendigo region. 

The parent response rate was particularly low, possibly reflecting a level of apathy around 

cybersafety in the community. Interestingly the majority of parents completing the survey came 


from Bendigo Senior Secondary College and therefore the results of the parent data must be 

interpreted in light of this. 

As with all voluntary participation in research those who are most socially minded and 

involved in school communities are the most likely to respond. In addition, it is often the case 

that people who respond to voluntary research have fewer problems or are managing better 

than average community members. Therefore, some of these statistics may underestimate or 

are conservative estimates of the extent of problems or unsafe behaviours in the community. 

Finally, there was very little random responding in the survey and almost no missing data (due 

to the nature of online surveys). A number of validity checks suggest that the students were 

mostly thoughtful and candid in their responses. 


STUDENT SURVEY 

DEMOGRAPHICS 

The gender distribution for students was 57% female and 43% male. Ninety-nine percent of the 

sample spoke English at home. One percent of the students spoke a language other than 

English at home; these were Arabic (0.2%), Italian (0.2%), Cantonese (0.2%) and Afrikaans 

(0.2%). 

HOW THE INTERNET IS USED 

Most commonly the internet was used every second day by students in grade 4-6 and everyday 

by year 7-12. For most students the computer they used at home was located in the study 

/office (37%), lounge room (27%), or student's bedroom (20%). 

Students were asked to nominate their favourite website and these are listed in Table 2. 

Table 2. Top ten favourite websites by year 

Grades 4-6 Year 7-8 Year 9-10 Year 11-12 

Facebook Facebook MySpace Facebook 

YouTube YouTube Facebook YouTube 

Moshimonster MySpace YouTube Deviantart 

Google Google Google Email 

Cool maths for 

kids 

MSN Ebay Google 

Club penguin Runescape Email MySpace 

funnygames Email Ravagelan 

MSN Miniclip 

runescape 

Super club 

For a full list of favourite websites please see Appendix 2. 


Students were asked to nominate which from a list of activities (e.g. homework, instant 

messenger etc) they did online. Their responses to this question are displayed by group in the 

following figures. 

Figure 1. Activities on the internet – Grade 4-6 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Figure 2. Activities on the internet – Year 7-10 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 


Figure 3. Activities on the internet – Year 11 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

For primary school children, playing games, doing homework, and surfing websites were the 

most common activities. With high school students a behaviour change in accord with 

adolescent development is apparent as the most common behaviours are downloading 

music/videos (i.e. becoming experts and participating in current popular culture) and social 

networking (development of the importance of peers and social connection). 

DISCLOSING PERSONAL INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET 

Students were asked which types of personal information they had entered into any site on the 

internet: with the options being name, home address, school, age, photos, city, phone numbers 

and credit card details. Fifteen (5.3%) grade 4-6, 3 (5.6%) year 7-8, 8 (10.7%) year 9 – 10, 1 

(9.1%) year 11 students have entered their full name, address, and phone number into a 

website. No grade 4-6 students, 2 (3.7%) year 7-8, 2 (2.7%) year 9-10, and no year 11students 

have entered their parents‟ names, address or phone number and credit card number into a 

website. These results suggest that majority of students are being careful about providing their 

personal information on the internet. 

SOCIAL NETWORKING PROFILES 

Sixty-two (21.83%) students in grades 4-6, 27 (50%) students in year 7-8, 57 (76%) students in 

year 9-10, and 9 (69%) of students in year 11 reported having a social networking profile such 

as facebook, bebo or MySpace. Students were asked to nominate which pieces of their personal 

information are on public display (i.e. can be seen by anyone as opposed to the “friends only” 

setting) in their social networking profiles. 


Figure 4. Percentage of grade 4-6 students with a social networking profile who have 

made particular pieces of information freely accessible on their social networking profile 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Figure 5. Percentage of year 7-8 students with a social networking profile who have made 

particular pieces of information freely accessible on their social networking profile 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 


Figure 6. Percentage of year 9-10 students with a social networking profile who have 

made particular pieces of information freely accessible on their social networking profile 

% of Students 

Figure 7. Percentage of year 11 students with a social networking profile who have made 

particular pieces of information freely accessible on their social networking profile 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Most students reported that their full name, photo, age/year level and city were publicly 

accessible on their social networking profile. This level of presence allows young people to be 

found and contacted by their friends via social networking – i.e. search on a friend‟s name and 

city, and confirm their identity by the photo. It is also important that young people are aware 

that they can be located by others who do not know them via this level of public display – i.e. 


there are only a certain number of schools within the Bendigo region catering to particular ages 

of students. 

MONITORING AND CONTROL OF INTERNET USE AT HOME 

Young people were asked if their parents knew what they did online. 

Table 3. Responses by grade to the question “How much do your parents know about 

what you do online?” 

Do your parents 

know what you do 

online? 

Not at all Almost 

nothing 

A little Mostly Everything 

Grade 4-6 1.1% 0.7% 6.4% 45.4% 46.5% 

Year 7-8 3.7% 0 14.8% 42.6% 38.9% 

Year 9-10 4.1% 4.0% 9.3% 61.3% 21.3% 

Year 11 0 10.0% 10.0% 70.0% 10.0% 

When asked about internet use related rules in the home 245 (86%) grade 4-6, 34 (63%) year 7- 

8, 34 (45%) year 9-10, and 8 (72.7.9%) year 11 students reported that they had at least one rule 

about internet use at home. The frequency of different internet use related rules in the home 

was graphed by age group for ease of comparison. 


Figure 8. Percentage of grade 4-6 students who indicated they have each of the different 

internet use related rules at home 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Figure 9. Percentage of year 7-8 students who indicated they have each of the different 


% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 


Figure 10. Percentage of year 9-10 students who indicated they have each of the different 


% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Figure 11. Percentage of year 11 students who indicated they have each of the different 


% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 


When asked if they knew how to get around any rules or internet blocks at home and how 

frequently they did this, 124 (44.3%) grade 4-6, 74 (59.2%) year 7-10, and 8 (66.7%) year 11 

students reported that they knew how to get around some or all of the rules or blocks to their 

internet use. Further, 36 (12.9%) grade 4-6, 29 (23.2%) year 7-10, and 3 (25%) year 11 

students reported that they got around these blocks either every time or most times they are on 

the internet. 

MONITORING AND CONTROL OF INTERNET USE AT SCHOOL 

Two hundred and eighty three (99.7%) grade 4-6, 125 (96.9%) year 7-10, and 11 (100%) year 

11 students reported that they had at least one rule about internet use at school. The most 

common rule for each student group was the school has internet policy/rules and some sites are 

blocked for grade 4-6, some sites are blocked for year 7-10, and school has internet policy/rules 

for year 11 students. 

When students were asked if they knew how to get around any rules or internet blocks at 

school and how frequently they did this, 92 (32.5%) grade 4-6, 75 (58.9%) year 7-10, and 4 

(33.3%) year 11 students reported being able to get around some or all of the rules or blocks. 

Further, 24 (8.5%) grade 4-6, 21 (16.5%) year 7-10, and 2 (16.7%) year 11 students reported 

that they got around these rules or blocks either every time or most times they were on the 

internet. 

UNWANTED EXPOSURE TO SOMETHING HORRIBLE, WORRYING OR 

SCARY 

Sixty seven (23.7%) grade 4-6, 29 (22.9%) year 7-10, and 6 (50%) year 11 students reported 

that they had found something horrible, worrying or scary on the internet and that this occurred 

in the last week or month for 20 (7.1%) grade 4-6, 13 (10.2%) year 7-10, and 3 (25%) year 11 

students. 

Students were asked an open ended question as to what the horrible, worrying or scary thing 

was and answers fell into the following categories from most frequent to least: scary 

images/movies or games (i.e. www.scarymaze.com), pornographic photos and videos, sexual 

harassment or solicitation, images/videos of animal cruelty, being threatened or bullied, 

grotesque images (i.e. www.rotten.com or physical insult/injury) and being offered drugs. 

Most often this exposure came from the following sources: pop-up screen from website 

(13.5%), searching for something else (12.7%), sent/recommended by someone I knew 

(11.1%), and friend/someone they know showed it to them (7.9%). 

This exposure made 26 (39.4%) grade 4-6, 6 (20.7%) year 7-10, and no year 11 students feel 

pretty or very upset. In terms of reporting this exposure, 57 (87.7%) grade 4-6, 19 (65.5%) 

year 7-10, and 4 (100%) year 11 students reported the exposure to someone, with the most 

common person being a parent for grade 4-6, and a friend for year 7-11 students. 


ACCESSING INAPPROPRIATE WEBSITES 

Fifty six (19.7%) grade 4-6, 50 (38.8%) year 7-10, and 11 (100%) year 11 students reported 

that they had gone to a website that they are not allowed to visit or might get in trouble for 

visiting. Access to these websites occurred in the last week or month for 10 (17.8%) grade 4-6, 

28 (56%) year 7-10, and 5 (45.4%) year 11 students. For most of these students the website 

was accessed at home (76%), school (22%), a friend‟s house (10%), or other (4%). 

Thirty five (12.3%) grade 4-6, 42 (32.6%) year 7-10, and 8 (61.5%) year 11 students reported 

that they had gone to an adults only (18+ years) website and that this occurred in the last week 

or month for 10 (3.5%) grade 4-6, 24 (18.8%) year 7-10, and 5 (41.7%) year 11 students. For 

most of these students the website was viewed at home (70.7%), school (14.6%), a friend‟s 

house (12.2%), or other (2.4%). 

BUYING ONLINE 

Eighty three (29.5%) grade 4-6, 54 (42.2%) year 7-10, and 6 (60%) year 11 students reported 

that they have bought something online or paid to join a game/club or go up another level on a 

game. The payment was made with their parents‟ account (75.4%), their own bank account 

(18.5%), sister/brother‟s account (2.3%), or friend‟s parent‟s account (3.9%). When asked if 

their parents knew about this 76 (97.4%) grade 4-6, 47 (94%) year 7-10, and 7 (87.5%) year 11 

students reported that they did. Whilst in the majority of circumstances parents know about 

their children‟s online purchases, these data suggest that the concept of online purchasing (both 

cyber and material goods) is one that young people are familiar with. 

ONLINE FRIENDS 

One hundred and twenty nine (45.6%) grade 4-6, 82 (63.6%) year 7-10, and 8 (72.7%) year 11 

students reported that they have met new people online that they do not know in real life. 

The most common means of meeting friends online for grade 4 to year 8 students was playing 

games, and for year 9-11 students it was through MySpace/facebook. Students communicated 

with their new online friends via social networking (43.8%), MSN/IM (45.2%), email (33.8%), 

or texting (26%). 

Students in year 7-11 were asked how many of their online friends they knew in real life, as 

shown in Table 4. 


Table 4. What best describes your online friends? 

Most of my friends 

online I know in real 

life 

I know about half of 

my online friends in 

real life 

I haven‟t met most 

of my online friends 

in real life 

Year 7-8 16 (61.5%) 2 (7.7%) 8 (30.7%) 

Year 9-10 47 (83.9%) 7 (12.5%) 2 (3.6%) 

Year 11 6 (75%) 1 (12.5%) 1 (12.5%) 

Of the 129 grade 4-6 students who have online friends they do not know in real life 12 (9.3%) 

reported that they have been asked to meet new online friends in real life and 10 reported that 

they have met online friends in real life. 

Of the 82 year 7-10 students who have online friends they do not know in real life 36 (44.4%) 

reported that they have been asked to meet new online friends and of these 26 students reported 

that they actually followed through on this invitation. 

Of the 8 year 11 students who have online friends they do not know in real life, 4 (50%) have 

been asked to meet new online friends and of these 3 students reported that they actually 

followed through on this invitation. 

If they indicated that they had met an online friend in real life (only students in year 7-12 were 

asked this question) they were then asked the following open ended question “what it was like 

meeting an online friend in real life?” For quite a number of young people their new online 

friends were game players and they met face to face at a gaming convention and reported this 

to be a positive experience. Some said it was good to see what people look like in real life and 

one reported “great & went out for a month.” There were no reports of being endangered by the 

meeting, but one student reported “not very comforting.” 

COMPULSIVE INTERNET USE 

It was important to understand not only what children and young people do on the internet but 

also whether their internet use was experienced as compulsive, out of their control, or having a 

negative effect on their lives. An adolescent internet addiction questionnaire was developed by 

Dr Reid from an adult version and students in year 9-12 completed this questionnaire. 

All students completed questions about how long they spent on the internet on a normal school 

day and weekend day and also how they felt when they were away from the internet. 


Table 5. Time spent on the internet in an average school day 

How long do 

you normally 

spend on the 

internet in one 

school day? 

4hours 

Grade 4-6 66(23.4%) 133(47.2%) 58(20.6%) 14(5%) 5(1.8%) 6(2.1%) 

Year 7-8 16(30.2%) 20(37.8%) 5(9.4%) 4(7.6%) 3(5.7%) 5(9.4%) 

Year 9-10 13(17.3%) 31(41.3%) 20(26.7%) 6(8%) 3(4%) 2(2.7%) 

Year 11* 1(8.3%) 2(16.7%) 2(16.7%) 4(33.3%) 2(16.7%) 1(8.3%) 

*Interpret with caution: data only suggests rates/problems/concerns and is not representative 

for senior secondary students. 

Table 6. Time spent on the internet on an average weekend day 

How long do you 

normally spend 

on the internet in 

one weekend 

day? 

4hours 

Grade 4-6 72(25.5%) 84(29.8%) 69(24.5%) 30(10.6%) 13(4.6%) 14(4.9%) 

Year 7-8 11(20.8%) 12(22.6%) 7(13.2%) 7(13.2%) 4(7.6%) 12(22.6%) 

Year 9-10 11(14.7%) 11(14.7%) 24(32%) 13(17.3%) 8(10.7%) 8(10.7%) 

Year 11* 1(8.3%) 3(25%) 1(8.3%) 4(33.3%) 1(8.3%) 2(16.7%) 

*Interpret with caution: data only suggests rates/problems/concerns and is not representative 

for senior secondary students. 

The majority of students spend 2 hours or less on the internet on an average school day. The 

amount of time increased to 3 hours or less on a weekend day. For some students, in particular 

a reasonable proportion of year 7 and 8, their online time on weekends exceeds 4 hours. 


INDICATORS OF COMPULSIVE USE 

Possible indicators of compulsive use are the way young people feel when they are not 

connected to the internet (i.e. worried, nervous, left out, bored). 100% of participants reported 

that they sometimes or always felt worried, nervous, left out, or bored when they were not able 

to be on the internet. In terms of individual responses when not able to be on the internet, bored 

was the most common feeling (66.5%) followed by feeling that they are missing out on 

something important (32.8%), and nervous or worried (15.9%). 

Other behaviours that may indicate compulsive use are: thinking about the internet a lot when 

away from it, spending longer than allowed, constant checking, feeling like they should cut 

down, giving up sleep, losing track of time, and using the internet to make them feel better. 

These questions were posed to students in grade 4 to year 8 (students in year 9-11 answered the 

adolescent internet addiction scale). 

Eighty five percent of grade 4-6 and 57.4% of year 7-8 students said yes to two or more of 

these indicators of compulsive use. Twenty three percent of grade 4-6 and 29.6% of year 7-8 

students said yes to 4 or more of these indicators of compulsive use. 

“INTERNET ADDICTION” 

“Internet addiction” is not a diagnosable disorder and is not recognised by international 

medical associations. “Internet addiction” is not included in the two internationally recognised 

manuals of psychiatric disorders: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric 

Disorders – IV, and the International Classification of Diseases – 10. Nevertheless, a number of 

psychologists and psychiatrists have written about and researched the phenomenon commonly 

likening it to gambling addiction. Furthermore, many young people often talk about how the 

internet is addictive, and parents are often concerned that their teenagers spend too long on the 

internet and can be distressed or aggressive when asked to reduce their online time. 

According to Kimberly Young of Centre for Online and Internet Addiction, meeting 5 out of a 

possible 8 symptoms listed below suggests a possible “addiction” or significant compulsion to 

the internet. 

1. Do you feel preoccupied with the internet (think about previous online activity or 

anticipate next online session)? 

2. Do you feel the need to use the internet with increasing amounts of time in order to 

achieve satisfaction? 

3. Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop internet 

use? 

4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop 

internet use? 

5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended? 

6. Have you jeopardised or risked the loss of significant relationship, job, educational or 

career opportunities because of the internet? 


7. Have you lied to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of 

involvement with the internet? 

8. Do you use the internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric 

mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)? 

Source: www.netaddiction.com 

For the purpose of this survey the Adolescent Internet Addiction Scale was developed from the 

Internet Addiction Scale (Nichols & Nicki, 2004) and students in year 9-11 completed this 

survey. The Adolescent Internet Addiction Scale has items which cover each of the above 

symptoms. In this sample 3.5% of the students reported that they frequently experienced 5 or 

more of the 8 symptoms of “internet addiction”, and therefore would be considered to be 

experiencing “internet addiction.” 

Table 7. Proportion of students who reported frequently experiencing the 8 symptoms of 

“internet addiction” 

Number of symptoms 

reported 

Percentage of 

students 

No symptoms 32.9% 

1 or more 67.1% 

2 or more 42.4% 

3 or more 20.0% 

4 or more 9.4% 

5 or more* 3.5% 

6 or more 0% 

*5 or more symptoms fulfils criteria for “internet addiction” 

The most common symptoms that students reproted struggling with in order of frequency were: 

staying on longer than intended, risking relationship, social or educational opportunities, 

repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down, using the internet as a way of relieving feeling 

down, need to be on the internet more to feel the same effects, lied to family members about 

extent of internet use, feeling restless or moody when cutting down, and feeling preoccupied 

with the internet. 


ONLINE HARASSMENT 

Students were asked about their experiences of being harassed online and also whether they 

had harassed others online. 39 (13.7%) grade 4-6, 12 (22.2%) year 7-8, 26 (34.7%) year 9-10 

and 7 (53.9%) year 11 students reported that someone had posted something on the internet 

about them that they did not like. 

VICTIM OF ONLINE HARASSMENT 

Students were presented with a number of different ways that people can be harassed online or 

via technology from being sent nasty text messages, emails, MSN/IM, embarrassing 

pictures/video taken of them and shared, nasty posts about them on a website or social 

networking profile, having their account hacked into, being excluded, ranked low on friendship 

lists, or having their personal details entered into a website without their permission. Students 

were asked to rate whether any of these things had happened to them and how frequently they 

had happened in the last month. The prevalence of this harassment is displayed in Figure 11 by 

year group. 

Figure 12. Proportion of students by year level who reported online harassment at least 

once and in at least one way in the last month 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

**Interpret year 9 and year 11 data with caution: low response rate renders data not 

representative. 

Students were also asked if they had reported this online harassment. The rates of online 

harassment, weekly or more harassment and reporting are displayed in Table 8. 


Table 8. Rates and reporting of online victimisation per year level 

Total 

number of 

students 

Victim of online 

harassment at least 

once in last month 

Victim of online 

harassment at 

least weekly in 

the last month 

Reported this 

harassment 

Grade 4 43 8 (18.6%) 3 (7.0%) 2 (25%) 

Grade 5 121 29 (23.4%) 8 (6.6%) 13 (44.8%) 

Grade 6 119 30 (25.2%) 13 (10.9%) 13 (43.3%) 

Year 7 23 8 (34.8%) 2 (8.7%) 4 (50%) 

Year 8 31 10 (32.2%) 4 (12.9%) 6(60%) 

Year 9 6 2(33%) 0 0 

Year 10 69 38 (55%) 17 (24.6%) 9(23.7%) 

Year 11 11 5 0 3 (60%) 

**Interpret year 9 and year 11 data with caution: low response rate renders data not 

representative. 

These results suggest that online harassment whilst occurring in primary school is considerably 

more common place in secondary school in the Bendigo region. In this sample more than half 

the students in year 10 reported being the target of online harassment in the last month. The 

rates of reporting harassment were low, and it is surprising that the year 10 group who reported 

experiencing the most online harassment had the lowest rates of reporting harassment. 

Table 9 shows that for the young groups reporting to parents was the most commonplace, and 

for those in year 9 and 10 they took advantage of being able to report harassment to the 

provider of the website. 

Table 9. The most common places to report online harassment 

Reported to: Parents Teachers Web/server host 

Grade 4-6 51(76.4%) 5(7.3%) 11(16.4%) 

Year 7-8 14(77.8%) 1(5.51%) 3(16.7%) 

Year 9-10 16(40%) 8(20%) 16(40%) 

Year 11 2 (40%) 2 (40%) 1(20%) 


To understand the online harassment more closely, the ways in which young people were 

victimised are listed in the tables below by year groupings. 

Table 10. Frequency of types of online harassment in grade 4-6 

Types of online harassment No. 

students 

% of bullied 

Rude/nasty email 28 41.8% 

Rude/nasty MSN/IM message 25 37.3% 

Excluded from internet group 23 34.3% 

Rude/nasty email about you spread to friends 19 28.4% 

Ranked low on friend's list 17 25.4% 

Rude/nasty things said about you on a website 14 20.9% 

Had personal details entered on website without your 

permission 

13 19.4% 

Pictures/video taken of you on mobile 10 14.9% 

Someone sent rude/nasty messages pretending to be you 9 13.4% 

Pictures/video of you spread by email 8 11.9% 

Rude/Nasty posting about you on 

MySpace/bebo/facebook 

8 11.9% 

Rude/Nasty text 7 10.4% 


Table 11. Frequency of types of online harassment in year 7-8 


Students 

% of bullied 

Rude/nasty email 9 50% 

Rude/nasty MSN/IM message 6 33.3% 

Someone sent rude/nasty messages pretending to be you 6 33.3% 


Pictures/video taken of you from mobile 4 22.2% 



Rude/nasty things said about you on a website 3 16.7% 

Excluded from internet groups 3 16.7% 





permission 

2 11.1% 

2 11.1% 


Table 12. Frequency of types of online harassment in year 9-10 


Students 

% bullied 

Rude/nasty MSN/IM message 20 50% 


Rude/nasty email 19 47.5% 


Someone sent rude/nasty messages pretending to be 

you 

15 37.5% 

Pictures/video taken of you on mobile 13 32.5% 

Rude/nasty things said about you on a website 12 30% 




11 27.5% 

Excluded from internet groups 10 25% 



permission 

PERPETRATOR OF ONLINE HARASSMENT 

7 17.5% 

Students were presented with the same list of behaviours of which they indicated being a 

victim in the section above and were asked to indicate if they done any of the behaviours to 

someone else in the last month. 


Figure 13. Proportion of students who reported harassing someone else online at least 

once and in at least one way in the last month by year level 

% of Students 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

*Note: Caution must be used interpreting year 9 and year 11 data as less than 11 participants in 

each renders data not representative. 

Interestingly, in the year 10 group, the group with the highest incidence of victimisation, there 

was also a high rate of perpetrating online harassment. 

BEING A BYSTANDER AND AN “UPSTANDER” TO ONLINE HARASSMENT 

The students were asked how often they felt online harassment occurred within their friendship 

groups and their experiences of being a bystander and being an “upstander” (someone who 

watches but then acts against the harassment) against online harassment. 

Thirty two (11.2%) grade 4-6, 22 (41.2%) year 7-8, 40 (50.7%) year 9-10 and 10 (100%) year 

11 students have watched a friend harass someone else online. Of these students, 19 (59.4%) 

grade 4-6, 14 (61.9%) year 7-8, 13 (31.6%) year 9-10 and 5 (50%) year 11 students reported 

that they said something to the perpetrator about the behaviour. They were asked to complete 

an open ended question about what they said to the perpetrator. For the majority of reports, the 

students behaved as “upstanders” and told the person to “please stop,” “grow up and stop 

being rude and mean,” and “that it wasn‟t right and that they shouldn‟t do it.” There were a few 

reports in which the students encouraged the bullying behaviour by saying things like “this is 

funny.” 


UNDERSTANDING LAWS REGARDING THE INTERNET 

Students were asked about their knowledge of and attitude to different issues on the internet by 

posing a number of sentences regarding online behaviours and asked to indicate whether they 

believed the sentence to be true or false. 

Table 13. Proportion of students who said “true” to the following questions 

Grade 4-6 Year 7-8 Year 9-10 Year 11 

There are no rules on the internet 47(17.1%) 41(80.4%) 51(68%) 6(66.7%) 

The internet is completely private 

and has nothing to do with my 

parents 

The police do not monitor the 

internet 

My parents have no way of finding 

out what I do on the internet 

It is okay to put photos of me and 

other people on the internet 

It is okay to put my full name on 

the internet 

Meeting people on line that you do 

not know is okay 

You can't get caught doing the 

wrong thing on the internet if no 

one sees you 

It is legal to share music and 

video/DVD files on the internet 

You can do whatever you like 

online because no one knows who 

you are 

It‟s okay to copy and paste text 

you find on the internet into your 

own work without saying where it 

came from 

If you are bullied by someone on 

the internet/IM/mobile/email there 

is nothing you can do about it 

16(6%) 46(90.2%) 48(64%) 7(77.8%) 

76(28.3%) 38(74.5%) 61(81.3%) 9(100%) 

23(8.5%) 43(84.3%) 64(85.3%) 8(88.9%) 

55(20.5%) 30(58.8%) 20(26.7%) 3(33.3%) 

59(21.9%) 29(56.9%) 31(41.3%) 4(44.4%) 

51(18.9%) 44(86.3%) 39(52%) 6(66.7%) 

43(15.6%) 42(82.4%) 64(85.3%) 9(100%) 

112(41.6%) 34(66.7%) 40(53.3%) 7(77.8%) 

20(7.4%) 45(88.2%) 67(89.3%) 9(100%) 

31(11.5%) 45(88.2%) 61(81.3%) 8(88.9%) 

25(9.3%) 48(94.1%) 63(84%) 9(100%) 


* As there were only 11 respondents in year 11, two of which did not answer this question, this 

data is not representative and must be interpreted with care. 

There is an interesting discrepancy between the primary and high school students around 

understanding parental and legal monitoring and behaviours on the internet. The majority of 

high school students reported that their parents and the police do not monitor the internet. 

Interestingly, the majority of high school students also reported that copying text from the 

internet without acknowledging its source was acceptable. This is concerning as researching for 

homework is one of the most common online activities of high school students. 

MESSAGES FROM STUDENTS REGARDING THE INTERNET 

Finally, students were asked in open ended questions what was the best thing and the worst 

thing about the internet and what they believed adults needed to know about young people and 

the internet. 

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE INTERNET 

The themes that emerged in answer to this question were: access to information (schoolwork, 

research, music, sport and general interest), communicating and chatting with friends near and 

far, games, forums, YouTube, getting help, and the freedom and simplicity of the internet. 

Direct quotes from students were: “emailing my sister in another state,” “chatting with 

friends,” “If u need help the internet helps,” and “makes me feel free.” 

WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT THE INTERNET 

The themes that emerged in answer to this question were overwhelmingly about cyber bullying 

and harassment. Other concerns were pop ups, anyone can find you, get information about you 

or put up information about you, viruses, exposure to unwanted rude or disturbing 

images/videos i.e. pornography, or grotesque physical accidents, speed and reliability of 

access, and that it can be addictive. 

Some direct quotes from students were: “that you can be hurt badly with words,” “there is no 

escape from people,” “your personal details are never safe,” “you don‟t know who you might 

be talking to,” and “people hack into your account and steal passwords.” 

WHAT DO YOU THINK ADULTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET 

The themes that emerged in answer to this question were predominantly that adults need to 

know what websites children are visiting, what their online activities are, that they are being 

bullied, that children and young people want to be kept safe and that there are many ways their 

safety is being compromised. Overall, the communication was that children and young people 

want to feel safe and that boundaries (in particular parents knowing what their children do) 

around their online behaviours will make them feel safe. 


On a positive note some students reported that internet is primarily used for communication 

and that they are also trustworthy and sensible. 

Some direct quotes from students regarding what adults need to know about online activities 

were: “what they [kids] do and how they use it,” “what websites they [kids] go on,” “keep an 

eye on them,” “that they [kids] are mature and can be trusted,” and “that we are using it in a 

safe manner.” 


PARENT SURVEY 

DEMOGRAPHICS 

The gender distribution of parents who responded to the survey was 58 (90.6%) female and 6 

(9.4%) male. The average age was 45.3 (SD=6.6) with a range of 17 to 59 years. The average 

number of children living at home either full or part-time was 2.3 (SD=1.1), with a range of 1 

to 6 children. Almost all (98.4%) the sample spoke English at home. One parent (1.6%) spoke 

Afrikaans. 

HOW THE INTERNET IS USED 

Parents reported that they most commonly used the internet everyday and this was most often 

from home. For most parents they used their computer in the study/office (45.3%), lounge 

room (32.8%), or kitchen (12.5%). Parents were asked about their own online activities with 

the aim of exploring the similarities and differences between students and parents. 

Figure 14. Parents‟ different activities on the internet 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Parents‟ approach to the internet revolved around communicating with others via email and 

retrieving information. Downloading music and messaging, which are common activities for 

their children, were not typical parental activities. 


Parents were asked to answer the following questions “thinking about their oldest child still at 

school.” Parents were asked to indicate which of a list of online activities they believed their 

child to participate in. 

Figure 15. Parents‟ understanding of their child‟s different internet activities 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

INTERNET COMPETENCY 

Parents were asked to rate their level of competency in doing a number of tasks on the internet. 

Figure 16 depicts the proportion of parents who rated their ability as “good to excellent” in 

doing a number of online activities. 


Figure 16. Proportion of parents who reported that their ability was good to excellent at a 

range of online activities 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

It is positive to note that the majority of parents felt competent to check the history of the 

computer, protect personal information, and stay safe when online. 

MONITORING AND CONTROL OF INTERNET USE AT HOME 

Parents were asked to what extent they knew what “their oldest child still at school” did online. 

Table 14. Parent‟s reported knowledge of their oldest child still at school‟s online 

behaviours. 

Do you know what 

your child does online? 

Not at all Almost 

nothing 

A little Mostly Everything 

1.6% 0 11.1% 73.1% 14.3% 

Parents were asked what rules they had in their home about using the internet. 


Figure 17. Proportion of parents who reported having a range of internet related rules or 

protection for their children‟s internet use at home 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Of concern was the 20% of parents who reported that they had no rules regarding internet use 

in their home. Twenty eight percent of parents reported that they blocked some websites which 

suggests that they are using some program to restrict access to inappropriate content. Further, 

the most common rules are about length of time spent on the internet, which is important but 

does not protect against inappropriate behaviours or exposure. 

When asked if their child knew how to get around any rules or internet blocks at home 32 

(50.8%) parents reported that they thought their child was able to get around some or all of the 

blocks. Only, 4 (6.4%) reported that their child did this either every time or most times they are 

on the internet. 


MONITORING AND CONTROL OF INTERNET USE AT SCHOOL 

Parents were asked if there are rules in their oldest child‟s school about using the internet. 

Figure 18. Parents‟ understanding of which internet use related rules are present at their 

oldest child‟s school 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Interestingly, most parents were aware that their child‟s school had some internet related rules, 

but it appears they do not know the details of the rules or protective filters that may be on the 

school network. 

When asked if their child knew how to get around any rules or internet blocks at school 25.4% 

reported that they thought their child was able to get around some or all of the blocks. Further, 

3.2% reported that their child did this either every time or most times they are on the internet at 

school. 


PARENTS‟ CONCERNS AND OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT CHILDREN DO ON 

THE INTERNET 

Of the following threats, computer viruses, cyber bullying/harassment, sexual predators, theft 

of financial information, theft of money, and identity theft, 73.4% of parents were concerned 

about computer viruses, 70.3% were concerned about sexual predators and 54.7% were 

concerned about cyber bullying/harassment. 

In terms of exposure to inappropriate content on the internet, parents rated that they were most 

concerned about their child being exposed to pornography (75%), violence (71.9%) and hate 

advocacy (67.2%). The things of least concern about children being exposed to were online 

advertising (60.9%), social networking (53.1%) and alcohol/tobacco (48.4%). 

A number of health and safety problems are linked specifically to internet use - i.e. compulsive 

internet use/ “internet addiction,” or are a consequence of internet use -i.e. lack of sleep or 

physical activity. In terms of the internet affecting children‟s health and safety parents were 

asked to rate their concern about a number of these problems. 

Figure 19. Percentage of parents who rated that they were concerned to extremely 

concerned about the impact of internet use on their children in a range of health and 

safety problems 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Approximately 50% of the parents were concerned about internet use causing „internet 

addiction”, lack of sleep and isolation from the family. 


The internet poses a number of opportunities for young people to participate in illegal or 

unethical activities such as plagiarism, cyber bullying, illegal file sharing, publishing obscene 

material and computer hacking or spreading viruses. Parents were asked to what extent they 

were concerned about their child/children participating in illegal activities. The issue they were 

most concerned about was illegal downloading/sharing (39%) and posting inappropriate 

content (37.5%) and they were least concerned about their child/children hacking (78%). 

Interestingly, only 30% of parents were concerned that their child will participate in cyber 

bullying. 

RESPONDING TO THREATS AND PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE 

INTERNET 

PREVENTATIVE CONVERSATIONS 

Parents were asked to what extent they had spoken to their child/children about seeing 

pornographic content, people who want to talk to children about sexual topics online, and 

people who harass, threaten or bully them online. 

Table 15. The extent to which parents have talked with children about inappropriate 

exposure, people or behaviours online. 

Have your talked 

to your children 

about: 

Seeing 

pornography 

online 

Sexual predators 

online 

No Yes a little Yes moderately Yes 

extensively 

14 (24.1%) 8(13.8%) 19(32.8%) 17 (29.3%) 

8 (13.8%) 11(19%) 19 (32.8%) 20 (34.5%) 

Cyber bullying 6 (10.3%) 12 (20.7%) 17 (29.3%) 23 (39.7%) 

REPORTING OF BULLYING/HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL SOLICITATION 

Parents were asked if they knew of places where they can report online bullying or harassment. 

Eighteen parents (31%) answered that they knew of a reporting stream and the types of places 

they suggested were the police, schools, ACMA, or the social network providers. Of the 18 

parents who answered that they knew of a reporting stream, only 8 of these parents felt that 

reporting online bullying and harassment was somewhat to very effective. 

Parents were asked if they knew of places where they can report online sexual harassment or 

solicitation of their child. Ten (17%) parents reported that they did know of a reporting stream 

and the types of places they suggested were primarily the police. Overall 8 of these parents felt 

that reporting online sexual harassment or solicitation was somewhat to very effective. 


INTERVENTIONS TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE SAFE 

It was important to assess both what parents felt they needed in relation to keeping their 

children online and also whom they felt should deliver intervention. 

A number of solutions or interventions aimed at keeping children safe on line were presented to 

parents and they were asked to rate not only if they should be implemented but also how 

effective they felt they would be. 

Figure 20. Parents‟ rating of the effectiveness of different interventions to keep kids safe 

on line 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Over 70% of parents reported that they felt in-school education, filter software, guidelines, 

information and resources for parents would be effective strategies for keeping children safe 

online. 

In terms of any strategies posed that should not be implemented, 2 parents reported that 

government regulations of internet should not be implemented as a way of keeping children 

safe online. 


WHO SHOULD DELIVER THE INTERVENTIONS 

A number of possible people or groups to deliver interventions to increase children‟s online 

safety were presented to parents. Parents were asked to rate whether they thought these groups 

should be involved and how effective they would be in delivering internet safety interventions. 

Figure 21. Parents‟ rating of the possible effectiveness of different people or groups to 

deliver interventions to keep kids safe online 

% of Parents 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

In terms of any people or groups that parents felt should not be involved the following were 

rated by some parents: 3 parents reported international not-for-profit organisations, 

international legislative organisations, and international law enforcement, 2 reported 

local/national community, and 1 reported medical professionals, social workers/ psychologists/ 

counsellor, and state/federal government. 


PARENTS‟ UNDERSTANDING OF LEGAL AND ETHICAL BEHAVIOURS OF 

INTERNET USE 

Parents were asked the same questions regarding legal and ethical behaviours of internet use 

that young people were posed. 

Table 16. Parents‟ understanding of legal and ethical behaviours on the internet 

% who indicated 

“True” 

There are no rules on the internet 34.5% 

The internet is completely private and does 

not involve parents 

0.00% 

The police do not monitor the internet 22.40% 

I have no way of finding out what my kids do 

on the internet 

It is okay for kids to put photos of themselves 

and others on the internet 

It is okay for kids to put their full name on the 

internet 

Meeting people online that you do not know is 

okay 

You can't get caught doing the wrong thing on 

the internet if no one sees you 

It is legal to share music and video/DVD files 

on the internet 

You can do whatever you like on line because 

no one knows who you are 

It‟s okay to copy and paste text you find on 

the internet into your own work without 

saying where it came from 

If you are bullied by someone on the 

internet/IM/mobile/email there is nothing you 

can do about it 

5.20% 

13.80% 

10.30% 

8.60% 

1.70% 

22.40% 

3.50% 

100% 

96.6% 


MESSAGES FROM PARENTS REGARDING YOUNG PEOPLE AND THE 

INTERNET 

Finally, as in the case of the students, parents were asked in open ended questions what was the 

best thing and the worst thing about the internet for young people and what they believed 

young people needed to know about being on the internet. 

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT THE INTERNET? 

The themes that emerged in answer to what is the best thing about the internet were: access to 

unlimited information and resources for school work and research, communication, and 

freedom. 

Some direct quotes were: “the internet offers a window to the world,” “access to the world‟s 

largest library,” “research for school, we live in an isolated area and getting to a library is 

difficult” and “global communication.” 

WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT THE INTERNET? 

The themes that emerged in answer to what is the worst thing about the internet were: games, 

cyber bullying, addictive and time wasting, too much access and too much information, 

predators, that information (personal or otherwise) may be used against them at a later date, 

reduction of other activities and reduction of face to face social interactions. 

Some direct quotes were: “discussing their problems with friends and having this information 

used against them at a later time,” “Once the send button is pressed the email has gone and may 

be misinterpreted by someone else. Also a bully can seem to be right in your home if they 

choose to email or contact someone through facebook etc,” and “isolation, misinformation and 

inactivity.” 

WHAT DO YOU THINK KIDS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET 

The themes that emerged in answer to what do you think kids need to know about the internet 

were: that kids need to know how to keep safe, not to put their personal information online, not 

to get involved with strangers, and that that they can report bullying. Some direct quotes were: 

“safety, safety, safety. How to discern reputable sites and how to communicate safely,” “they 

should know the dangers of giving their personal details to people they meet. Also they should 

be aware of how easy it is for other people to gain their trust and tell them lies” 


WHAT DO YOU THINK ADULTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET 

The themes that emerged in answer to what do you think adults need to know about the internet 

were: how to keep kids safe online, how to monitor usage, that parents can have a role in 

keeping kids safe by monitoring and regulating, and the legalities of different behaviours. 

A direct quote was: “the same as the kids. We need to keep ourselves safe as well as the kids so 

it‟s just as important to understand that just as fabulous as the net can be so too does it have its 

negatives and can be a very unsafe place” 


TEACHER SURVEY 

DEMOGRAPHICS 

The gender distribution of teachers who responded to the survey was 45 (62%) male and 27 

(38%) female. The average age was 44.1 (STD = 10.5, range = 23 – 64) and 31% had school 

aged children. The majority of the teacher sample taught senior school (72.9%) and 100% of 

the sample spoke English at home. 

INTERNET COMPETENCY 

Teachers were asked to rate their level of competency in doing a number of activities on the 

internet. 

Figure 22. Percentage of teachers who rated their ability as good to excellent on a number 

of internet related activities. 

% of Teachers 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Interestingly, whilst social networking and establishing a social networking profile is one of the 

most common activities for young people it is the one that the least number of teachers felt 

competent to do. 


ATTITUDES TO INFORMATION AND CONNECTED TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN 

LEARNING 

Teachers were asked to what extent they felt that technology had impacted on the achievements 

of their students. Overall, teachers reported that technology plays an important part in learning 

by communicating knowledge (89%), increasing student motivation (80%) and constructing 

new knowledge (78%). 

ICT USE IN TEACHING 

A number of different ways of including ICT in teaching were presented to teachers and they 

were asked to rate the extent to which they used each of them. The four most commonly used 

ICT activities in teaching were email (98%), online resources (98%), word processors/ 

spreadsheets (94%) and PowerPoint and presentation hardware (88%). The two least common 

methods of using ICT in teaching were to monitor student performance and maintain student 

records. 

SCHOOL RULES ABOUT INTERNET USE 

Teachers were asked what rules the school they taught in had about using the internet. 


Figure 23. Percentage of Teachers who indicated that their schools had the following 

rules in place regarding internet use 

% of Teachers 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

It is concerning that only just over half the teachers reported their school had rules or policies 

in place regarding students‟ internet use at school and indeed 2 teachers reported that their 

school had no rules regarding internet use. 

Almost all the teachers (90.8%) reported that they thought their students were able to get 

around some or all of the blocks. Further, 10.6% of teachers reported that they thought their 

students did this either every time or most times they are on the internet. 

TEACHERS‟ CONCERNS AND OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT CHILDREN DO ON 

THE INTERNET 

Of the following threats that can occur to children when online: computer viruses, cyber 

bullying, sexual predators, theft of financial information, theft of money, and identity theft, 

92.4% of teachers reported that they were concerned about cyber bullying or online harassment 

(92.4%), 81.4% reported sexual predators, and 82.9% reported theft of personal information. 

In terms of exposure to inappropriate content on the internet, 92.9% of teachers reported that 

they were concerned about their students being exposed to pornography, 90% reported violence 


(90%) and 85.7% reported hate advocacy. The things of least concern were online advertising 

(45.7%), social networking (41.4%) and multiplayer games (40%). 

A number of health and safety problems can be linked back specifically to internet use i.e. 

compulsive internet use/“internet addiction” or be a consequence of internet use i.e. lack of 

sleep or lack of physical activity. Teachers were asked to rate their concern about a number of 

these problems occurring in their students. 

Figure 24. Percentage of teachers who are concerned to very concerned about the impact 

of internet use on children‟s health and safety. 

% of Teachers 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Interestingly, the majority of teachers rated that they were concerned about all the above threats 

to well being (with the exception of drug and tobacco use). 

The internet poses a number of opportunities for young people to participate in illegal or 

unethical activities such as plagiarism, cyber bullying, illegal file sharing, publishing obscene 

material and computer hacking or spreading viruses. Teachers were asked to what extent they 

were concerned about their students participating in these activities. The issue that they were 

most concerned about was cyber bullying (88.2%) and posting inappropriate content (83.8%) 

and they were least concerned about their students hacking (35.3%). 

INTERVENTIONS TO KEEP YOUNG PEOPLE SAFE 

As in the case with parents, we were keen to understand what teachers felt was needed in 

relation to keeping children and young people safe online and also whom they felt should 

deliver intervention. Therefore, the same range of possible solutions or interventions that were 

presented to parents was also presented to teachers. Teachers were asked to rate whether they 


thought the solution or intervention should be implemented and how effective it would be if 

implemented. 

Figure 25. Percentage of teachers who rated the listed interventions as effective to very 

effective in keeping kids safe on line 

% of Teachers 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Overall teachers leant toward education and avenues for reporting for both students and 

parents, plus greater parental participation as the best strategies for interventions around 

keeping kids safe online. 

In terms of any interventions that should not be implemented, 6 teachers reported that 

government regulations of computer industry, and 5 teachers reported that software-based 

parent controls and filter software should not be implemented. 

WHO SHOULD DELIVER THE INTERVENTIONS 

The possible people or groups presented to parents to deliver interventions to increase 

children‟s online safety were also presented to teachers. Teachers were asked to respond 

whether they thought the people or groups should be involved and how effective they would be 

in delivering internet safety interventions. 


Figure 26. Percentage of teachers who rated the listed group as effective or very effective 

in delivering interventions to keep students safe online 

% of Teachers 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Interestingly, teachers predominantly felt that schools and teachers were the most appropriate 

people to implement interventions regarding keeping students safe in their online activities. 

Over 70% also felt that parents should play a critical role and media coverage is also needed. 

Many did not feel that it was the role of international organisations (law and not-for-profits) to 

implement interventions to keep students safe in their connected activities. 

In terms of any groups of people that teachers felt should not be involved in implementing 

cybersafety solutions, 6 teachers reported international legislative organisations, 5 reported 

international law enforcement and 2 reported international non-profit organisations, 

state/federal government, medical professionals, computer/internet industry. 


CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

The Cybersafe Survey covered a wide range of behaviours, attitudes, experiences and concerns 

about children and young people‟s online world and sampled from the perspective of students, 

parents and teachers in the Bendigo region. In the instance of the responses from primary 

school children, these data are likely to be representative of the behaviours and concerns of 

primary aged children in the Bendigo region. In terms of the secondary school student, parent, 

and teacher data, the responses are best interpreted as suggesting possible behaviours, attitudes 

and concerns of these groups in the community, but are not representative due to low 

participation rates. 

The low response rates for secondary school students, including the case of one high school 

where many parent consent forms were obtained yet the school failed to have students 

complete the survey, and poor participation particularly by parents in this research possibly 

suggest: 

a lack of community engagement, 

a lack of knowledge of the risks of children‟s online behaviours 

an unwillingness to acknowledge these risks, 

and a low rank for cybersafety amongst a range of priorities that compete for time and 

resources. 

It is our aim that the results and recommendations from this research inspire and assist the 

Bendigo region to take children‟s online safety seriously and act effectively and with energy as 

a community to protect their children. 

TYPICAL INTERNET USE 

Most primary school students used the internet every second to every day and for less than an 

hour, and most high school students used the internet everyday for less than 2 hours. These 

rates are similar to other Australian research (Click and Connect: Young Australian‟s use of 

Online Social Media Report, ACMA, 2009). For primary school children, playing games, 

doing homework, and surfing websites were the most common activities. For high school 

students, a behaviour change in accord with adolescent development was displayed as the most 

common activities were social networking (development of the importance of peers and social 

connection) and downloading music/videos (participation in teen culture). The students‟ 

patterns of online activities are similar to national and international studies of young people‟s 

internet use (ACMA, 2009; PEW Research Centre Internet & American Life Project Social 

Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens & Young Adults Report, Feb 2010). 


SOCIAL NETWORKING 

The majority of high school students (50% of year 7-8 and 76% of year 9-10 students) had a 

social networking profile which is directly in accord with international rates of around 75% for 

teens (PEW, 2010) and slightly lower than national rates (ACMA, 2009). It is important to note 

that 20% of grade 4-6 students also had a social profile. Where this social networking profile 

was and the extent of engagement with this profile was not investigated, but the simple act of 

having a profile exposes these children to a teenage and adult world of content, material and 

images. The most popular social networking sites have an age requirement of 13 or above. 

On a positive note, overall children and young people are being careful with their personal 

information, with the majority not disclosing their home address, phone numbers or email 

addresses, and even fewer students (no grade 4-6) had entered their parent‟s details into a 

website. Most students reported having a photo of themselves, their name and city on public 

display in their social networking profile. This level of presence allows young people to be 

found and contacted by their friends and acquaintances via social networking – i.e. search on a 

friend‟s name and city, confirm identity by the photo, and make contact. In the open ended 

responses, young people reported being aware that “predators or paedophiles” solicit children 

online. They also reported being uncomfortable when strangers contact them via their social 

networking, and most “new online friends” were from within their communities (i.e. friends of 

friends). From this survey and national research (ACMA, 2009) it appears that children and 

young people have received and understood the warning message about “strangers” on the 

internet. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: For primary age children, offering an attractive and age 

appropriate alternative to adult social networking sites is an imperative to protect them from 

adult or inappropriate content on these sites. Giving these children the opportunity to learn and 

practice appropriate social networking skills guided by adults before they become participants 

in adult social networking sites is of the highest importance. SuperClubsPLUS offers a safe and 

moderated social networking forum for students aged 6-12, in which they can learn the skills, 

ethics and appropriate behaviours of online social networking. 

For high school students, helping them to understand that despite their “public” protection 

status from strangers, the real risk of social networking is that their profile offers many 

opportunities for “friends” to copy their pictures or posts and use this information in ways they 

may not like in the future. Assisting students to understand the range of privacy settings on 

facebook (i.e. that they can have internal groupings of people that only see particular bits of 

information) using guidelines such as “10 Privacy settings every facebook user should know” 

by Nick O‟Neil (www.allfacebook.com) is critical. Further, as teen social networking is not 

likely to decline, finding ways to encourage young people to bring their healthy scepticism to 

online activities and consumption of social networking is critical. For example, a number of 

facebook applications, such as “my daily photo” require full access to their profile and their 

friend‟s profiles via the user even though these friends do not agree to run the application. 


INTERNET USE RULES AT HOME – STUDENTS‟ AND PARENTS‟ 

RESPONSES 

According to the student reports, internet use rules are most common for primary school aged 

children (86%) and decrease in frequency with the age groups across high school. Over 50% of 

year 9-10 students reported that there were no rules at home regarding their internet use. In 

addition, the most common rules in student homes regarding internet use were around the 

length of time they spent on the internet. Children‟s reports of parents blocking and checking 

websites at home was low (11% for grades 4-6 students) and parents checking emails or social 

networking profiles even lower. It is positive to note that most students (80%) reported that 

they access the internet from a common household space such as the lounge room or study. 

To compare students responses with parents responses (and these are not necessarily the 

parents of the children who participated), the most common internet rule at home according to 

parents was also about length of time on the internet. This is in accord with international 

research which also found that the greatest focus of parental rules around internet use was 

length of time (Norton Online Family Report, 2010). Parents also reported checking which 

websites their children had visited (37%), checking social profiles (31%) and 28% reported 

blocking some websites. The rates of checking are lower than other Australian research 

(ACMA, 2009) which found that the majority of parents surveyed (approximately 87%) 

reported checking their child‟s online activities. This may be due to different phrasing of 

questions, but does at least suggest that checking is not a common activity for the parents who 

were surveyed in the Bendigo region. Of concern was that 20% of parents reported that they 

had no rules regarding internet use, this is well below Australian research which has this figure 

at around 1-3% (ACMA, 2009). 

Focusing on length of time and checking content is important, however, these rules do not 

teach values or set standards of responsible and ethical online behaviours and do not provide 

opportunities for parents to teach and guide children‟s development as digital citizens. When 

parents do not set guidelines for the way their children should behave online, their children are 

left to devise their own guidelines. 

In addition, when children were asked about going to websites that they are either not allowed 

to or adult only (18+) the rates ranged from 12.3% of primary children to 32.6% for year 7-10 

students. Overwhelmingly, children are accessing inappropriate information and pornography 

at home (70-76% of reports). From the parent surveys, 75% of parents surveyed reported that 

they were concerned to extremely concerned about their children being exposed to online 

pornography, and yet from the above student reports they are accessing pornography in their 

own homes and few homes have filters or blocks to stop this access. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: The presence of at least one internet use rule in the majority of 

students‟ homes suggests acknowledgment by parents of the need for boundaries around 

internet use. It is of highest importance that ways are found to leverage this recognition of the 


need for internet use rules to encourage parents to extend the rules to focus strongly on 

engagement and ethical behaviours when online. New and innovative means of reaching 

parents are needed as information nights and workshops are typically poorly attended and the 

low response rate by parents to the Cybersafe Survey suggest that cyber safety is not a priority. 

It is recommended that a marketing strategy is developed for the Bendigo region to help 

disseminate breakthrough messages to parents. 

INTERNET USE RULES AT SCHOOL – STUDENTS‟, PARENTS‟ AND 

TEACHERS‟ RESPONSES 

In terms of internet use rules at school, almost 100% of the student and parent sample reported 

that they had at least one rule at school and the most common rules were that the school had an 

internet use policy and rules, and that particular websites were blocked. This is in stark contrast 

to the teachers‟ responses. Less than 60% of teachers surveyed reported that their school had 

internet use policy and rules and less than 70% reported that their school blocked websites. 

Despite having rules and blocks in place at school, 32.5% of grade 4-6 students and 58.9% of 

year 7-10 students reported being able to get around some or all of the school internet use rules 

or blocks. In addition, 25.4% of parents and 90.8% of teachers reported that they thought their 

students were able to get around some or all of the school internet use rules or blocks. Further, 

of the students reported accessing inappropriate or adult only 18+ websites, 20% reported 

accessing inappropriate websites at school and 14.6% reported accessing adult only or 18+ 

websites at school. Anecdotally the most common way of bypassing school networks is 

through the use of proxy servers which then provide full access to the internet. 

It is concerning that a reasonably high proportion of teachers are either unaware of school 

internet rules or policies or believe that there are none in place at their school. In rare 

circumstances this may leave schools and teachers exposed to litigation should an adverse 

incident occur. If, in fact, teachers‟ responses are accurate and their school does not have an 

internet use policy or block harmful content, this too may open schools to extensive 

reputational damage or litigation. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: For students to respect school internet use policies and rules, it is 

critical that students and teachers share a common understanding of what these policies and 

rules are and what the consequences and sanctions are for breaking them. 

School internet use policies and rules need to be devised/revised in consultation with students. 

This provides an opportunity to engage students in conversation around their online behaviours 

and may deliver opportunities for learning around ethics and legalities of online activities. 

The results of the survey show that it is known by all groups surveyed, students, teachers and 

parents, that students are bypassing risk controls within schools. It is recommended as a matter 

of urgency that a full risk assessment is conducted engaging many different stakeholders such 


as policy makers, legal advisors, teachers and most importantly students to cover many 

different risk contexts associated with internet access at school (e.g. legal, reputation, direct 

harm, financial and operational). The risk assessment will assist in prioritising which issues 

require urgent attention and how to best allocate limited resources. It is recommended that 

facilitators of the risk assessment follow the Australian Standard risk assessment guidelines 

AS4360. 

UNWANTED EXPOSURE TO SOMETHING HORRIBLE, WORRYING, OR 

SCARY 

Almost a quarter of the students in grades 4 to year 10 had been exposed to something 

“horrible, worrying, or scary” on the internet. Rather than direct answers, children were asked 

the open ended question “what was the horrible, worrying or scary thing” and their responses 

fell into the following categories from most to least frequent: scary images/movies or games, 

pornographic photos/videos, sexual harassment or solicitation, images/videos of animal cruelty 

(in particular images on the RSPCA website), being threatened or bullied, and disgusting or 

grotesque images (often of physical insult and body disfigurements). 

The source of this exposure was diverse, from pop-up screens, to outcomes of innocent 

searches, friends scaring each other when in each other‟s company, and being recommended 

via email/social networking to look at something. It is positive to note, however, that whilst 

this exposure was unwanted, only 39.4% of grade 4-6 and 20.7% of year 7-10 students were 

“pretty” to “very upset” because of the exposure. It is difficult to compare these results to other 

studies due to methodological differences, nevertheless, the rates of exposure are similar to an 

international study (Norton, 2009), but the extent to which children were upset by the exposure 

is lower. 

Whilst there is much public discussion about exposure to online pornography, these results 

suggest that there is a range of inappropriate and scary images and content that children are 

viewing online which they find disturbing, in particular scary images, animal cruelty and 

physical assault and disfigurement. 

In this sample, the students often reported exposing each other to these unsettling images: in 

some cases this was for fun, but in others this exposure occurred because they told their friends 

about finding something upsetting, and the friend wished to see it. Telling friends about 

upsetting events is a natural and immediate reaction particularly for high school students. In 

doing so, however, children and young people inadvertently expose others to the upsetting 

material. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: Children need education and assistance in harnessing their internal 

indicators that something is not okay with them (i.e. “the butterflies in the tummy,” “feeling 

shaky,” “feeling sick”) and to identify a safe adult they can share and process these feelings 

with rather than exposing their peers. It is critical that “offline” protective behaviours education 


is brought to bear on and taught explicitly in the context of exposure to online material and 

activities. 

As a society we need to become more aware and actively demand censorship of images on 

general public display – i.e. road injuries, animal cruelty, dead bodies and replays of violence 

not only on internet news homepages but also TV news during “family viewing hour.” With 

increased exposure we desensitise children and young people to horrific images/information 

and violence. Desensitisation leads to an increased acceptance of such images, behaviours and 

actions as normal and decreased likelihood of actively rejecting the behaviours. Further, 

research shows that desensitisation leads to an increase in pro-violence attitudes and lower 

empathy for victims (Funk et al., 2004). 

MEETING FRIENDS ONLINE 

Forty six percent of grade 4-6 students and 64% of year 7-10 students have met new people 

online that they do not know in real-life: most commonly this was through online games for 

grades 4 to year 8 students and via social networking for the older students. Students 

communicated with online friends via email, social networking, MSN/IM and text from 

mobiles. This suggests that a number of students have given out further personal contact 

information to their new online friends. 

Twelve students in grade 4-6 reported being asked to meet online friends, and 10 indicated that 

they had done this (3.5% of the total grade 4-6 sample). The frequency of meeting online 

friends in real life was higher for students in year 7-10, with 44% of those with online friends 

being asked to meet them in real life and 26 students reporting that they had (20% of the total 

year 7-10 sample). High school students were asked “what it was like meeting an online friend 

in real life” and the open ended responses suggested that many students had met up with online 

gaming friends at a recent gaming convention and that this was a positive experience. One 

student reported having a subsequent relationship with an online friend in real life, and one 

reported the meeting was “not very comforting”. 

Overall, whilst a significant number of young people have online friends that they do not know 

in real life and a proportion of them have gone on to meet these “friends” it appears for the 

most part this meeting has been in a public and relatively safe environment (e.g. an online 

gaming convention). 

Online friendships are the reality of a connected world for children and young people as they 

live significant parts of their lives online. One of the main things young people report enjoying 

about social networking is meeting new people (ACMA, 2009). Further, the greater adult 

community is role-modelling meeting romantic interests online as online introduction/dating 

services proliferate and advertise during prime time television hours. 


RECOMMENDATIONS: It is critical therefore, that “online friendships” are included in a 

positive and engaging manner in social skills curriculum in Bendigo schools given the 

frequency of such friendships reported by Bendigo students. Raising young people‟s 

consciousness about the positives and negatives of online and offline friendships and the 

experiential differences of the friendships will assist them to remain emotionally and physically 

well in both online and offline friendships. 

COMPULSIVE INTERNET USE AND “INTERNET ADDICTION” 

The results from the compulsive use questions were surprising, particularly for the younger 

group. Over 65% of the sample felt bored when they could not be on the internet, and a 

reasonable proportion (32.8%) felt they were missing out on something important when they 

could not be on the internet. More than half the students in grade 4 to year 8 reported that they 

“sometimes or always” experienced two or more of the following feelings or behaviours: think 

about the internet a lot when away from it, spend longer than should or allowed to, check 

messages all the time, think they should spend less time on the internet, are on it when they 

should be sleeping, and lose track of time on the internet. These data suggest that the grade 4 to 

year 8 students in this survey sometimes struggle to manage the negative feelings they 

experience when they cannot be on the internet and find it difficult to self-limit their time on 

the internet. 

For the older sample, 3.5% of students in year 9-11 qualified for “internet addiction.” These 

students reported that they “frequently” experienced 5 or more out of the 8 symptoms of 

“internet addiction” proposed by international researchers and modelled on general addiction 

criteria. This result is similar to a recent large Tasmanian study of “internet addiction” in which 

Thomas and Martin (2010) found rates in high school students to be 5.2%. The most frequently 

reported symptoms were staying online longer than intended, risking relationship, social or 

educational opportunities and repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down. Thomas and Martin 

(2010) also found the most common symptom to be staying online longer than intended. 

Interestingly parents and teachers seem to be aware that children and young people often 

struggle with feeling compelled to be online: 55% of parents and 80% of teachers surveyed 

reported that they were concerned about “internet addiction” and in the open ended questions 

parents responded that they are concerned that the internet is addictive and that children waste 

considerable amounts of time online. Anecdotally, Bendigo region parents have reflected they 

experience difficulties in detecting “internet addiction” and wish to know the symptoms or 

signs that they should be vigilant for (R.Treyvaud, personal communication, 1 st September, 

2010). 

Overall the results regarding compulsive internet use suggest that the students in this sample 

struggle with limiting the negative impact of their online activities in terms of time 

management, reduction of time for other activities, and feel somewhat out of control in 


managing the impact of their computer use on their emotions (i.e. anxiety and tension) and 

relationships. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: The internet is a fun, lively and generally positive place for young 

people to be. But as with many other enjoyable things, such as unhealthy food and television, 

left to their own devices, children and younger teens have trouble moderating themselves. 

Parents need to view limiting the internet in the same manner as limiting other enjoyable 

activities that require moderation. 

It is recommended that for older students, “internet addiction” as a concept and problem is 

included in drug education. Further it is critical that parents and teachers communicate 

explicitly and openly with students about why the internet can be “addictive,” the possible 

consequences of unlimited access, the benefits of limiting use. Students also need assistance 

with ways of managing their anxiety or negative emotions about being away from the internet 

and increase feelings of self-mastery over their use. 

Whilst there is little research on detection of “internet addiction”, parents and teachers wonder 

what signs that they should be vigilant for. Therefore, possible early warning signs that may 

assist students, parents and teachers in detecting problems of compulsive use suggested by this 

and other research are the most common symptoms: 

1. “spending longer than intended on the internet,” 

2. “internet is creating social/educational difficulties” 

3. “repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down.” 


ONLINE HARASSMENT 

Online harassment and cyber bullying is a serious problem that has attracted considerable 

national and international attention with some high profile cases. We aimed to obtain a local 

perspective on the prevalence of online harassment in the Bendigo region. 

Online harassment had occurred to 23.7% of the grade 4-6 students at least once in the last 

month. This finding is higher than the national and Victorian rates found in the Australian 

Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (Cross et al., 2009). Rates similar to the Bendigo region 

rates were found for grade 4-6 students in both New South Wales and the Northern Territory in 

the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study. For 8.5% grade 4-6 students, online 

harassment is a weekly or more frequent occurrence. Such persistent bullying and the insidious 

nature of it being online is incredibly harmful for these children as they often report they 

cannot escape. 

There was a steady increase in reports of online harassment with age, with around 1 in 3 (33%) 

year 7-8 and more than 1 in 2 students (55%) in year 10 reporting they had been a victim of 

online harassment at least once in the last month. For more persistent bullying (weekly or more 

often) the rates were 1 in 6 (18.5%) year 7-8 and 1 in 5 (22.7%) year 9-10 students. The data 

from the high school students must be interpreted with care due to the low participation rates. It 

is possible that students volunteered to participate in this “cybersafety survey” because they 

were suffering from online harassment. As the majority of year 10 students in this study came 

from one school it may be that there was a particular incident or problem associated with cyber 

bullying in that school at the time of surveying as the rates of being harassed and victimising 

others were particularly high. 

In terms of methods of online harassment or cyber bullying, emails and MSN/IM was the most 

common way of being harassed for all students as these are the primary means of 

communication. Primary school children reported also being excluded from internet groups 

(e.g gaming groups). Harassment via text increased in frequency in secondary school students 

which is in accord with the increased ownership of mobile phones. Interestingly, being ranked 

in a low position on “friends‟ lists” on social networking sites was a common way of 

experiencing online harassment for students in year 7-10. 

In terms of children admitting to victimising others, 8.4% of grade 4-6, 9.3% of year 7-8 and 

40.5% of year 9-10 students reported harassing someone else online in the last month. Again, 

these results are slightly higher than the Victorian state average (Cross et al., 2009) but are 

similar to other state averages, the Northern Territory in particular. 

The cyber bullying rates in the Loddon Mallee Cybersafety Project are not exactly comparable 

to those the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study due to differences in the questions: 

our reference period was “at least once in the last month” and Cross et al.‟s reference period 

was “a few times in the last term.” In addition, a number of new ways of being harassed (such 

as being ranked low on a friend‟s list) were added to this study. The Loddon Mallee 

Cybersafety project surveyed students from grade 4 to year 12, whereas Cross et al. (2009) 


surveyed from grade 4 to year 9. These differences do not diminish either research but rather 

reflect different methodologies and contexts. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: Overall, these data suggest that online harassment may be higher 

in the Bendigo region than the Victorian state average and therefore requires immediate action. 

Many excellent recommendations can be drawn upon from the Australian Covert Bullying 

Prevalence Study (Cross et al., 2009). The ones that seem particularly relevant in relation to the 

findings from the Bendigo region are to establish in consultation with students and the whole 

school community: 

clear definitions of online harassment, 

policies, programs, and procedures which explicitly address online harassment, and 

clearly documented and displayed procedural steps to manage online harassment 

making explicit the roles and responsibilities of staff, students and parents, 

clearly documented and displayed consequences for students who are found to harass 

and bully their peers online 

UNDERSTANDING INTERNET ETHICS AND LAWS 

There was an interesting discrepancy in attitudes and understanding between the primary and 

high school students around the role of adults, parents and law enforcement on the internet and 

the ethics and legality of certain online behaviours. For the most part, students in year 7-11 felt 

that the internet was their private place with no rules, regulations, monitors or controls. For 

many of these students they experience the internet as the place in which they are the experts 

compared to the adults in their lives. Therefore, whilst there are programs available and ways 

for parents or other concerned adults to monitor young people‟s online activities, for most of 

today‟s teens “the horse has already bolted” and reining in these young people seems too hard a 

task for many parents. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: It is critical that parents implement monitoring programs (e.g. a 

free option is Norton Online Family) and develop a family culture of monitoring, responsibility 

and accountability for online behaviours. This must be implemented when the oldest child in 

the family is in primary school with the expectation that monitoring, responsibility and 

accountability for online behaviours will continue throughout adolescence. Further, as parents 

are arguably more involved in their children‟s schooling when they are in primary school 

compared with high school, this is an ideal time to target parents with strategies to implement a 

healthy online family culture. 


THE STUDENT VOICE - MESSAGES FROM STUDENTS TO ADULTS 

An overwhelming message from the students surveyed in the Bendigo region was that they 

want parents to help keep them safe when they are online. This message from students is 

echoed in other international research (Norton Online Family Report, June 2010). Young 

people want to feel safe from victimisation by others and from exposure to unwanted images 

and content. 

Children and students are crying out for a parental community response to bullying as they feel 

ineffective in stopping the bullying themselves. In the same way that immunising for polio or 

small pox relies on a community response to eradicate the disease, so does cyber bullying. If 

the majority of parents in the Bendigo community set clear rules, responsibilities and 

expectations about online harassment and do so in consultation with their children, the rates of 

online harassment within the community are likely to decrease and a cultural change around 

the internet for that community is likely to occur. 

PARENT CONCERNS AND NEEDS REGARDING KEEPING YOUNG 

PEOPLE SAFE ONLINE 

Whilst one of the greatest problems that young people experience in their online activities is 

harassment and the results from this survey suggest that online harassment may be more 

frequent in the Bendigo region than in the rest of Victoria, only 57% of the parents surveyed 

reported they were concerned about their child experiencing cyber bullying or online 

harassment and 30% were concerned that their child might victimise another person online. 

Parent‟s greatest concerns about threats posed by the internet were computer viruses and sexual 

predators, yet most children and young people surveyed were protective of their personal 

information, and the messages from the surveyed young people was that they are sensible about 

strangers online. Further, it is well documented that most often child sexual abuse offenders are 

acquaintances of the family or relatives, strangers are the offenders in only approximately 10% 

of child sexual abuse cases (Whealin, 2007). 

The parents and students surveyed in the Bendigo region do not appear to be on common 

ground around the issues and concerns for children and young people in their online activities. 

The majority of young people surveyed reported that they want their parents to be involved and 

knowledgeable about their online activities and to keep them safe when online. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: The parents and students in the Bendigo region require immediate 

assistance in bridging the communication and knowledge divide between the needs and 

concerns of young people in their online activities and the worries and concerns of parents. In 

addition, parents in the Bendigo region need clear direct steps and guidelines around 

implementing family rules and responsibilities for online behaviours and installing software 

that allows them greater understanding and management of their home online environment. 


ONLINE SAFETY INTERVENTIONS AND METHODS OF DELIVERY – 

PARENTS‟ PERSPECTIVE 

The majority of parents surveyed (over 70%) thought that in-school education, filter software, 

guidelines and information for parents, parent information evenings, and free website resources 

for parents outlining ways of keeping children and young people safe online were likely to be 

effective strategies. Furthermore, 90% of parents reported that they were the most appropriate 

people to be implementing interventions to keep their children safe online followed by teachers 

and schools. 

Information and guidelines are widely available for parents on websites such as 

www.cybersmart.gov.au, www.ikeepsafe.org, and free home computer management software is 

available from www.onlinefamily.norton.com. The greatest difficulty is distributing this 

information to parents and then elevating the priority of cybersafety within the home such that 

it attracts time and energy from parents. 

It must be kept in mind that only 64 parents from a possible 6000 completed the survey and 

hence the data are not representative. As suggested earlier, it is often the parents who are well 

informed and engaged in their children‟s education who respond to school surveys and attend 

information nights. Within the Bendigo parental community there may be a lower awareness of 

some of the issues children are facing in their online activities and a lower rate of household 

rules and monitoring. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: Creative means of disseminating and distribution information to 

parents regarding keeping kids safe online is desperately needed in the Bendigo region. 

Interventions that focus on solutions that are easy to use and time efficient are required. 

Targeting points in the education system at which parents are most likely to be engaged in their 

children‟s education, such as the early primary school years and year 7, hosting student 

produced information evenings, and a parent peer-to-peer education scheme using parent class 

representatives are some possible strategies. 


TEACHERS CONCERNS AND NEEDS REGARDING KEEPING YOUNG 

PEOPLE SAFE ONLINE 

Overall the teachers who completed the survey were positive about children and young 

people‟s engagement in online activities, were proficient at finding information on the internet 

and protecting their personal information, and readily used ICT in education. The teachers 

surveyed appeared to be more in touch with young people‟s experiences of the online world 

than the surveyed parents and rated cyber bullying as the greatest threat, followed by sexual 

predators and theft of personal information (which can be used in cyber bullying). In addition, 

88% of teachers were concerned about their students cyber bullying others and posting 

inappropriate content online (84%). 

ONLINE SAFETY INTERVENTIONS AND METHODS OF DELIVERY – 

TEACHERS‟ PERSPECTIVE 

The majority of teachers surveyed (over 80%) reported that in school education and easy 

procedures for reporting to the police were likely to be effective strategies in keeping children 

and young people safe in their online activities. Interestingly, the data suggest that teachers also 

felt that parents should be involved, as 70% reported that guidelines/ information for parents, 

filter software and stronger rules set by parents would be effective strategies for keeping 

children and young people safe online. Almost 90% of teachers felt that schools and parents 

were likely to be effective in delivering interventions around cybersafety to children, and 

interestingly only 69% of teachers felt that “teachers” would be effective. 

For both parents and teachers there was a focus on individual, local and a community approach 

to keep children safe in their online activities, and few reported that international organisations 

or indeed government should be involved in implementing interventions. 


SUMMARY 

In summary, the Cybersafe Survey covered a broad range of behaviours, attitudes, experiences 

and concerns about children and young people‟s online world and sampled from the 

perspective of children, parents and teachers in the Bendigo region. The results suggest that 

many young people have social networking profiles but are keeping most of their personal 

information safe, that they are often exposed to unwanted images, inappropriate or adult only 

websites, some struggle with feeling compelled to be on the internet, and that many have been 

harassed online recently. Parents and children in the Bendigo region do not appear to have a 

common understanding of the threats to children and worries to parents, and parents require 

immediate assistance to understand the current issues for children and strategies to keep them 

safe. Teachers appeared to be more in touch with students‟ current online behaviours and 

concerns, but are at significant risk as many teachers are not conversant with the school 

internet use policies or rules, and school networks are being bypassed by students. A number of 

recommendations have been made to address each of the major concerns for the Bendigo 

region and it is our hope that the community responds to this research and recommendations 

swiftly to ensure their children‟s online safety. 

Children and young people do not see the internet as an added extra to their day, or simply an 

activity, it is where they live, socialise, research, play and create. Therefore, cybersafety cannot 

be seen as an add-on or as something extra to squeeze into an already full day for teachers and 

parents; it needs to be an intrinsic part of daily life. 


REFERENCES 

Nichols, L. A., & Nicki, R. (2004). Development of a psychometrically sound internet 

addiction scale: A preliminary step. Psychology of Addictive Behaviours, 18(4), pp381-384. 

Click and Connect: Young Australian‟s use of Online Social Media. Australian 

Communications and Media Authority, July 2009. 

http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/aba/about/recruitment/click_and_connect- 

02_quantitative_report.pdf 

Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens & Young Adults. February 3, 2010, 

hhtp://pewinternet.org/reports/2010/social-media-and-young-adults.aspx 

Norton Online Family Report, June 2010, 

http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/home_homeoffice/media/pdf/nofr/Norton_Family- 

Report-UK_June9.pdf 

Thomas, NJ. & Martin, FH (2010). Video-arcade game, computer game and internet activities 

of Australian students: participating habits and prevalence of addiction. Australian Journal of 

Psychology, 62(2), pp 59-66. 

Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., & Thomas, L. 2009. 

Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (ACBPS). Child Health Promotion Research 

Centre, Edith Cowan University, Perth. 

Funk, J. B., Baldacci, H. B., Paswold, R., Baumgardner, J. (2004). Violence exposure in reallife, 

video games, television, movies and the internet: is there desensitization? Journal of 

Adolescence, 27(1), 23-39. 

Whealin, J. M., Zinzow, H. M., Salstrom, S. A., & Jackon, J. L. (2007). Sex differences in the 

experience of unwanted sexual attention and behaviours during childhood. Journal of Child 

Sexual Abuse, 16(3), pp 41-58. 


APPENDICES 

APPENDIX 1 

Table 17. Confidence intervals for key variables 

Variable Grade/Year Percentage 

that said 

„Yes‟ 

Confidence 

Interval 

Have a social network profile? 4 – 6 20% 18% - 27% 

7 – 8 50% 36% - 64% 

9 -10 76% 64% - 85% 

Have at least one rule at home? 4 – 6 86% 82% - 90% 

7 – 8 63% 49% - 76% 

9 -10 45% 34% - 57% 

Have at least one rule at school? 4 – 6 99.7% 98% - 99.99% 

Found something horrible, worrying 

or scary on the internet? 

Gone to a website they‟re not allowed 

to visit? 

7 – 8 94% 85% - 99% 

9 -10 98.7% 93% - 99.97% 

4 – 6 23% 19% - 29% 

7 – 10 22.9% 16% - 30% 

4 – 6 19.7% 15% - 25% 

7 – 10 38.8% 30% - 48% 

Gone to an adult only website? 4 – 6 12.3% 8% - 16% 


7 – 10 32.6% 25% - 41% 

Met new people online? 4 – 6 45.6% 40% - 52% 

7 – 10 63.6% 55% - 72% 

Internet addiction 9 – 11 3.5% 0 – 7% 

Online harassment in the last month? 4 – 6 23.7% 19% - 29% 

Reported harassing someone else 

online in the last month? 

7 – 8 33.3% 21% - 45.6% 

9 - 10 55.3% 41% - 69.6% 

4 – 6 8.4% 6% - 10.8% 

7 – 8 9.3% 3% - 15.6% 

9 - 10 40.5% 29% - 52% 


APPENDIX 2 

Table 18. All websites listed as a favourite 

Favourite websites Grade 4 – 6 Year 7 - 8 Year 9 -10 Year 11 -12 

39clues 1 0 0 0 

3chan 0 0 1 0 

Abc 1 0 0 0 

adventurequestworlds 1 0 0 0 

Afl 2 0 1 0 

amyciancio 1 0 0 0 

armor games 1 0 0 0 

ball breaker 1 0 0 0 

barbie 1 0 0 1 

bendigo cricket 1 0 0 0 

blizzard 1 0 0 0 

bmx 1 0 0 0 

box10 2 0 0 0 

cabelas 0 0 1 0 

chairpage 0 0 1 0 

chicken smoothie 1 0 0 0 

club penguin 12 0 0 0 

cool maths for kids 13 0 0 0 

cybersafesurvey 1 0 0 0 

demonoid 0 0 1 0 

deviantart 1 1 0 1 

disney channel 1 0 0 0 

dress up games 1 0 0 0 

ebay 0 0 4 0 

eclipse the movie 1 0 0 0 

egg2 1 0 0 0 

email/hotmail/gmail 8 2 2 1 

evertonfc 0 0 1 0 

facebook 29 11 18 4 

flonga 2 0 0 0 

fog 1 0 0 0 

ford 0 1 0 0 

foxsports 1 0 0 0 

fun4ponies 1 0 0 0 

funbrain 3 0 0 0 

funnygames 10 0 0 0 

gaiaonline 1 0 0 0 

games 13 0 1 0 

games for boys 1 0 0 0 

games2girls 4 0 0 0 

gamesgames 1 0 0 0 

girlsense 1 0 0 0 

google 14 3 8 1 

greenday 2 0 0 0 


greenpeace 1 0 0 0 

grooveshark 2 0 0 0 

heavy games 1 0 0 0 

heraldsun 1 0 0 0 

homestarrunner 0 0 1 0 

ign 0 0 1 0 

itunes 1 0 0 0 

kids web 1 0 0 0 

losi 0 1 0 0 

marapets 3 0 0 0 

mathletics 3 0 0 0 

maths is fun 1 0 0 0 

miniclip 7 2 0 0 

moshimonster 16 0 0 0 

mousebreaker 1 0 0 0 

mp3 raid 0 1 0 0 

msn 10 2 0 0 

music downloads 1 0 0 0 

mylife 0 0 1 0 

MySpace 3 7 28 1 

narutocentral 0 0 1 0 

narutoget 1 0 0 0 

national geographic 1 0 0 0 

nba 1 0 1 0 

newgrounds 1 0 0 0 

nikestore 0 1 0 0 

ninja kiwi 2 0 0 0 

nitrome 5 1 0 0 

nofunzone 1 0 0 0 

none 14 7 1 0 

panfu 1 0 0 0 

paramore 1 0 0 0 

photo bucket 1 0 0 0 

physics games 3 0 0 0 

pokemon 2 0 0 0 

poptropica 5 0 0 0 

Ravagelan 0 0 0 1 

rev6 1 0 0 0 

rollercoaster 0 1 0 0 

runescape 10 2 0 0 

sbs 0 0 1 0 

scratch.mit 1 0 0 0 

secret builders 2 0 0 0 

serebiinet 0 1 0 0 

silkroad online 1 0 0 0 

smartkiddies 4 0 0 0 

sploder game maker 1 0 0 0 

sport websites 1 0 0 0 


squiglys playhouse 1 0 0 0 

stardoll 3 0 0 0 

sticksports 4 0 0 0 

super clubs 10 0 0 0 

supercoach 4 0 0 0 

superpokepets 10 0 0 0 

take40 1 0 0 0 

toontown 2 0 0 0 

top gear 1 0 0 0 

ultimate-guitar 1 0 0 0 

wikispace/wikipedia 6 1 0 0 

y8 0 1 0 0 

youtube 23 9 11 2 

Ziptales 1 0 0 0

LODDON MALLEE - Cyber Safe Kids

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