Kaspersky Lab has revealed the online activities of children across Nigeria, based on statistics from the company’s Parental Control modules. The research has revealed what children in the region watched, listened to, purchased and searched for online.
The report shows anonymised statistics on websites visited from Windows PCs and Macs, and search activity on Windows PCs, Macs, Android and iOS devices. The stats were taken from Kaspersky Lab’s flagship products that have the Parental Control module switched on, and from Kaspersky Safe Kids, a standalone service installed for kids’ online protection.
Globally, children were more likely to watch video content and listen to music, than spend time on social media, however this was not true for children in Nigeria, who were most active across internet communication media (referred to as social media/networks) in the region at 35% with the most popular being Facebook, Google Mail, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. This was then followed by video content and music at 29%. The research revealed that children spent more time on YouTube– in particular, showing an increased interest in Netflix and o2tvseries.com for movies and series.
Children in the region also began to visit news sites more frequently, including sports.ndtv.com, accounting for 20% of activities. Electronic commerce was also among the top four categories as well: 7% of children showed their interest in exploring online stores for clothes and mobile devices. With regards to online stores, children in Nigeria visited Amazon the most.
It should be noted that alongside computer games (just under 1%), similar statistics were noted for children in Nigeria who also searched for adult-content websites. However, if their parents had blocked such sites (for example with a Kaspersky Lab product), then the children’s attempts to visit these sites were unsuccessful.
“The statistics we have obtained indicate the interests of children and teens in the region today. This is why we recommend using parental control products not only to block potentially dangerous content but also to help parents stay informed about their children’s interests and passions. Many software programs, including those from Kaspersky Lab, allow parents to see reports about their children’s online activities. Naturally, reports like this do not disclose any private information. In our opinion, the parents’ knowledge of what their children do online should promote better family relationships, helping to encourage open dialogue and preventing more serious threats to children in the region,” Riaan Badenhorst, General Manager for Kaspersky Lab Africa.
