Internet risks for children: Parents' perceptions and attitudes: An investigative study of the Saudi Context

Internet has become a part of our children's daily activities at home and at school. The benefits of the Internet for children are huge and include education and entertainment. However, the same technologies also pose some risks that parents need to identify and guard against. A lack of awareness can cause children to encounter serious danger and become victims of Internet criminals. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous research has been conducted in Saudi Arabia on parent's awareness of the risks of Internet use to their children and how Saudi's parents seek to mitigate those risks. This paper investigates the associations and correlations between what parents do and what children say about online risks. It compares and contrasts parents' mediation strategies and their children's online habits with the aim of investigating which parental mediation strategy has taken place to reduce the risk of online activity against children. The findings indicate a substantial gap between what children do online and what their parents know. The majority of parents are interested in monitoring their children's online activities and collaborating with their children on those activities, but most parents also do not have a strategy for accomplishing this. The survey indicated an absence of collaboration between parents and children to ensure online safety. This is not a result of a lack of interest, but rather a result of a shortage of resources due to time constraints, and poor knowledge of the Internet, or lifestyle choices.