McAfee Releases ‘New Family Dynamics in a Connected World’ Study Report

McAfee released findings from a recent global study, “New Family Dynamics in a Connected World,” that aims to better comprehend how families’ attitudes and habits are evolving as their homes and lifestyles become increasingly connected.

This study underscores the need for simple ways for parents to manage internet connectivity in their homes – from blocking inappropriate sites to controlling the amount of time users spend on their devices.

The growing integration of connected devices in the lives of children is paving way for unique and hackable gateways for cybercriminals into the smart home network of consumers. Gartner forecasts that “there will be more than 10.5 billion ‘things’ in homes by 2020,” which, we believe, would further create a larger potential risk that the devices and personal data, that flow from them, can be compromised. While internet-connected devices offer consumers new opportunities, they can also come with some drawbacks and potential risks that can be the detriment of relationships.

“In today’s connected world, parents play a crucial role to decide on the usage of technology and how it can influence their kids’ lives,” said Anand Ramamoorthy, Managing Director, South Asia, McAfee. “As Indians shift towards smart connected homes, we must help parents actively manage the way their families interact with connected devices to ensure that security and privacy measures are implemented. When these measures are realized consumers can enjoy the full potential that connected devices and smart homes have to offer.”

Current Monitoring Methods Don’t Keep Pace with Technology

• Parents tend to use older methods to monitor the device usage of their children. For example, 59%of Indian parents monitor their child’s device usage by keeping the device in their possession and only giving the child the device when the parent can monitor. Only 36% of Indian parents are using software to monitor.
• 49%of Indian parents are concerned about their child potentially interacting with a social predator or cybercriminal online.

Today’s Digital Habits Cause New Parenting Concerns

• Bedtime habits have changed a lot since the introduction of smartphones and tablets. 84%of Indian parents allow their child to bring an internet-connected device to bed.
• Not only are parents concerned about who their children are interacting with online, they are also monitoring how much time they spend in front of a screen. 57%of Indian parents allow their child to have 1-2 hours of screen time per day, and 21% allow their child less than one hour a day.
• The need for monitoring internet usage is real, though, with 54%of Indian parents claiming they have discovered that their child visited an inappropriate website, highest when compared to 13 other countries: Australia (26%), Brazil (45%), Canada (25%), France (41%), Germany (33%), Italy (33%), Japan (18%), Mexico (35%), Netherlands (26%), Singapore (37%), Spain (32%), U.S. (37%), U.K. (23%)
• 50%of Indians stated that they have argued with their child about bringing a device to bed.
• Conversely, kids aren’t the only ones who are using devices when they shouldn’t: Approximately 71%of  Indian parents surveyed also claimed that their child has called them out for being on their device during family time.

The Good News: Online Safety Conversations Are Happening Between Parents and Children

             Indian parents understand the importance of talking to their children about the potential dangers on the internet, with roughly 93%having addressed the risks with their children at some point.