Symantec Corp. says that more than 80% of children surveyed who use email receive inappropriate spam on a daily basis. In addition, half of the kids surveyed reported feeling uncomfortable and
offended when seeing improper email content.
When asked what kind of spam emails they have received, 80% of the respondents said they are bombarded by sweepstakes messages such as "win a
Playstation," 62% have received relationship-related spam such as "meet singles online," 61% have seen finance-related spam offering cut-rate mortgages or homes for sale, 55% have read weight-loss
messages such as "lose 15 pounds in two days," 51% have received pharmaceutical sales pitches such as "buy herbal Viagra online," and 47% have received emails with links to X-rated sites. Most
importantly, about one in every five kids (21%) open and read spam emails, especially the ones with a subject line that interest them (16%).
The survey also shows that youths feel uneasy when seeing
inappropriate spam email content. Oftentimes, they do not even communicate their negative feelings about spam with their parents. When asked what their reactions have been when they see improper email
content, 51% of the respondents said that they have felt annoyed, 34% have felt uncomfortable, 23% have felt offended and 13% have felt curious. When they feel annoyed, uncomfortable, offended or
curious after seeing unsuitable email content, 38% of the youths surveyed do not tell their parents.
Further evidence indicates that not every child has a clear understanding of spam. Although 89%
of the kids surveyed responded that they have heard of spam, nearly one in three still do not know whether spam is good or bad for them. In addition, 22% of respondents said that their parents have
never talked to them about spam.
The survey discloses that most of the youths surveyed have personal email accounts and more than half of these kids check email without their parents' guidance. The
findings show that 76% of the kids studied have one or more email accounts. When asked how often they check emails, 72% of the respondents said a few times a week to a few times a day. When asked how
important it is to always have mom or dad check emails with them, nearly one in three said it is not important, 21% said they don't care and 16% said they don't want their parents to check their
emails with them. Furthermore, when asked whether they get parents' permission before giving out their personal email addresses to friends or even people and Web sites with which they are not
familiar, 46% of the youths responded that they do not.
Results of the study also confirm that kids spend more time online during their summer vacation compared to during a regular school season.
When asked the number of hours they use the Internet, 44% of youths said that they spend an average of more than two hours a day online on a summer day, compared to only 23% who said they spend as
much time online on a school day. Of the youths who spend an average of more than two hours a day online during summer, 75% mainly use the Internet to send and receive emails.
The survey, conducted
online for Symantec by Applied Research, a full service market research firm, interviewed 1,000 youths between the ages of seven and 18.