FEB. 7, 2019

Digital Census: Study reveals that 20% of children and young people in Chile have strangers as contacts in their social networks

The Office of the Undersecretary of Telecommunications of Chile (Subtel) and VTR presented the "Safe Internet Digital Census," a study carried out in 2018 by the telecommunications operator with a sample of over 3,300 users between the ages of 8 and 14 in order to measure their digital behavior.

This morning Undersecretary of Telecommunications Pamela Gidi and VTR’s Assistant Manager of Sustainability, Verónica Díaz de la Vega, launched Internet Safety Month as part of Safer Internet Day, which was marked internationally on February 5. The aim of the initiative is to promote a safer digital environment for Chilean citizens, especially children and young people, by encouraging the safe and positive use of digital technologies.

During the event, VTR presented the "Digital Census" study of over 3,300 Internet users aged 8 to 14 attending schools in Chile's Metropolitan Region. The study measured the digital behavior of the young people during 2018, and showed that 20% of respondents have strangers as contacts in their social networks, while 8.7% have been victims of bullying through the same type of platforms.

The report also found that the activities in which Chilean children and young people engage most on social networks are watching videos (39%), playing online games (20%), chatting (19%), listening to music (18%) and publishing photos (1.5%). The study concluded that 4 out of 10 children surveyed spent more than three hours online each day and that 67% did so from their smartphones.

"Digitization is changing the way we consume content from any platform or device. Also, children and young people have more time to surf the Internet during vacation and are thus exposed to more digital risks. Subtel suggests that parents increase their control over the content that their children access. Children may be encouraged to take part in certain activities in order to gain acceptance from peers and may be contacted by adults they don’t know who could encourage them to engage in inappropriate and/or harmful activities," said Undersecretary of Telecommunications Pamela Gidi.

Gidi added, "We suggest that all parents get involved in their children’s digital world because this is essential to understanding how they use the Internet, which sites they visit and with whom they interact. We also call on parents to use tools like

parental controls, which offer them the ability to access a record of children’s activities on devices or streaming platforms."

VTR Assistant Manager of Sustainability Verónica Díaz de la Vega explained, "VTR conducted this study to inform the community about the conduct of children in today’s digital environment. This effort and our Safe Internet program are designed to educate children and young people about online risks and provide them with tools for having a safer digital experience."

Recommendations for Safe Internet Use

As part of the international celebration of Internet Safety Month, the Chilean government is promoting the #ConcienciaDigital (Digital Awareness) campaign, which provides tools designed to inform citizens and families of digital risks.

Subtel offers the following recommendations for safe Internet use:

1) Keep your information and that of your loved ones private: Never share your personal data via email or unknown applications. This is valuable information that could be misused.

2) Do not use open Wi-Fi networks to access private information such as banking transactions, product purchases or payments for online games and services.

3) Create strong passwords: You can create strong passwords by mixing numbers, symbols and uppercase and lowercase letters.

4) Be careful what you download: If you have any doubts about the origin of an email, game or film, or you receive a message that asks you to download a file, ignore the content because it could be a scam.

5) Ensure that minors use the Internet under adult supervision to prevent them from having contact with strangers or accessing malicious content.

6) Use support tools such as parental controls, which allow parents to obtain a record of minors’ activities on devices and streaming platforms.