{"id":40408,"date":"2024-12-18T00:01:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T00:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=40408"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:03:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:03:39","slug":"isp-virgin-media-uk-warns-parental-controls-on-new-devices-still-confuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/isp-virgin-media-uk-warns-parental-controls-on-new-devices-still-confuse.html","title":{"rendered":"ISP Virgin Media UK Warns Parental Controls on New Devices Still Confuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new survey of 1,020 people in the UK, which was conduct by Strand Partners on behalf of broadband ISP Virgin Media<\/a> (O2<\/a>) and Internet Matters<\/a>, has found that 44% of parents don\u2019t know how to add safety controls or tools to the tech (devices) they\u2019re planning to gift this Christmas. This is despite 82% being worried about their children having unrestricted access to the internet.<\/p>\n

The study notes that 1 in 10 parents are planning to give their child a smartphone as a present this Christmas, including 64% to children below the age of 14. At the same time, some 60% of parents also believe their kids know more about technology than they do, which is not an uncommon reality.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> The survey included a subsample of 262 individuals who are parents of children aged 18 or under and say they celebrate Christmas. Not a very big sample, so take with a pinch of salt.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n

The survey also found that 37% of parents believe their kids would be upset if they\u2019d activated safety controls on their new device. Perhaps that\u2019s why 40% of parents would rather assemble flat pack furniture than set up safety controls on new tech, and are more likely to set up bikes (78%), play kitchens (70%) and remote-controlled toys (63%) over a phone (60%) or tablet (35%).<\/p>\n

In fairness, respondents could be forgiven for not knowing how to add or activate such features to these devices, since that is normally a process that only becomes apparent after the gift has actually been unwrapped on Christmas Day. Expecting prior knowledge of such features, on an unfamiliar device, is perhaps not always viable unless the parent proactively chooses to unbox and set-up the device ahead of time (not many people do that).<\/p>\n

However, it’s worth pointing out that both Virgin Media<\/a> and O2<\/a> – like most major network operators – also provide network-level parental controls (here<\/a> and here<\/a>), which will apply across your home network – regardless of the device being used.<\/p>\n

In addition, Virgin Media<\/a> notes that there are also a range of parental controls that can be set up across a range of operating systems and devices, which have been set out below.<\/p>\n

Online safety advice<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Broadband and mobile network settings <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n