The most popular search terms kids are searching for include sites like YouTube, eBay and Craigslist, as well as social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, according to a new report from Symantec.
The words “sex” and “porn” also made it to the top, ranking number four and six respectively. Number nine on the list was “fred”, for Fred Figglehorn, popular fictional character whose YouTube channel has become a hit among kids.
Marian Merritt
Symantec
Other popular search terms include Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and the Black Eyed Peas song “Boom Boom Pow.”
Symantec says since launching OnlineFamily.Norton in April it has offered parents using the service with more than 90 million “teachable moments” with their kids. OnlineFamily.Norton blocks attempts by kids trying to visit inappropriate websites and alerting parents to these activities in real-time. Kids were also prevented from sending out personal information via the Web and social networking sites.
“We’ve found through the Norton Online Living Family Survey that both parents and kids want to speak with each other more frequently about their day-to-day lives, not just the “big issues,” said Marian Merritt, Symantec’s Internet Safety Advocate.
“This can seem like a daunting task, but with a tool like OnlineFamily.Norton, which is built on a philosophy of dialogue, parents can stay in the loop on what their kids are doing online. It also helps identify “teachable moments” when parents should be talking with their kids about appropriate online behavior and other issues in their kids’ online lives.”
