Following the recent report by the DQ Institute has shown that 54 per cent of Nigerian children between eight years and 12 years are exposed to one or more types of cyber risks.
The survey by the institute examined specific cyber risks ranging from cyberbullying, video game addiction, online grooming and online s*xual behaviours when using online platforms.
The most prevalent cyber risk was found to be victimisation by cyberbullying (37 per cent), followed by exposure to inappropriate content (16 per cent) and video game addiction (14 per cent).
The inaugural DQ Impact report summarises the current state of online child safety and digital citizenship, by interviewing 38,000 children across 29 countries.
According to the report, Nigeria’s cyber risk exposure is two per cent lower than the global average of 56 per cent.
To minimise children’s exposure to all forms of cyber risks when using the Internet, a Nigerian company, RAVE Et Al has partnered the DQ Institute to infuse children in Nigeria with needed digital intelligence quotient through its initiative DQEveryChild.
The Founder, RAVE Et Al, Charity Babatunde, said in pursuit of her mission to reinforce values and ensure that children were empowered with essential life skills for navigating life online and offline, her company had collaborated with the DQ Institute to ensure that the DQEveryChild movement was getting the necessary awareness in Nigeria.
According to her, the DQEveryChild is a strategic global movement, run by the DQ Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and RAVE Et Al Limited, the pioneer DQ Ambassador in Nigeria, to empower children with digital intelligence at the early stage of life.
Babatunde said she particularly enjoyed the DQ Framework’s focus on digital footprints that encouraged students to be careful of what they would share and post online.
According to her, RAVE Et Al embraced the challenge and ensured that over 1,000 children across Nigeria took part in the 2017 Multinational Screen Time study and made important first steps into digital citizenship education.
She said RAVE Et Al would receive Nigeria’s National Report – containing detailed insights into children’s exposure to cyber risks and digital media use habits – and begin planning new initiatives to help empower more children with digital intelligence.
While commenting on the study and the need for the collaboration between the two companies, the Founder, DQ Institute, Singapore, Dr. Yuhyun Park, said, “We must act quickly and take positive steps to help these children facing cyber risks around the world, especially in the ICT emerging countries.”
Safer Internet Day is celebrated globally in February each year to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people and inspire a national conversation.
