A new study from the EU Kids Online project has revealed youngsters rarely report distressing content they witness online.

The Towards a Better Internet for Children report found only one in ten individuals will highlight any issues, while one-third find the tools to do are inadequate.

According to the findings, one in four Irish youngsters have viewed harmful content via the internet, such as websites promoting eating disorders and suicide techniques.

Dr Brian O'Neill from the Dublin Institute of Technology said: "These findings highlight that the industry needs to do much better. The current approach just does not work."

The expert, who carried out the Irish section of the study, claimed "better solutions" for reporting inappropriate content need to be created.

Parents can help to minimise their children's exposure to harmful content and protect their privacy by altering the account settings on Facebook pages and video browsing sites such as YouTube.

Written by Donal Walsh

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