Social networking sites popular with children are not necessarily safe, the NSPCC has warned. Joe Willis reports

LIKE many parents, Cheryl Ellis thought her son would be safe playing his games console in his bedroom.

But a chance overheard conversation alerted the Darlington mother that ten-year-old Hugo may be putting himself in danger.

“Lots of his friends had Xboxes and he said they all talked to each other on them so he was really keen to get one," says the 42-year-old.

"I thought he could only talk to his friends on it then one day I overheard him saying ‘yes Dennis’. I didn’t recognise that name so I asked him who he was talking to and he said ‘he’s my friend, Dennis, he’s from Sweden. It’s ok, he’s my age’."

Cheryl says she was quite shocked that he was talking to a stranger.

"I spoke to Hugo and told him he should only talk to people who he knows and never give out personal details like which school he goes to. Dennis could be anyone and he wasn’t necessarily who he said he was."

The receptionist at Darlington Memorial Hospital, who also volunteers for the NSPCC’s ChildLine Schools Service, is using the experience to highlight the charity's Share Aware campaign.

As part of the campaign, which aims to get families talking about socialising safely online, a panel of more than 500 parents from Mumsnet reviewed 48 social media sites.

They found that all those aimed at adults and teenagers were too easy for children under 13 to sign-up to. On more than 40 per cent of the sites, the panel struggled to locate privacy, reporting and safety information.

At least three quarters of parents surveyed by the NSPCC found sexual, violent, or other inappropriate content on Sickipedia, Omegle, Deviant Art, and F my Life within half an hour of logging into the sites.

Those aimed at younger children, like Club Penguin, Moshi Monsters, Popjam and Bearville, fared better and parents did not find any unsuitable content on them.

The NSPCC also asked just under 2,000 children and young people which social networking sites they used. Talking to strangers or sexual content were the main concerns mentioned by children. But they also thought the minimum age limit for signing up to many sites should be higher, despite saying they had used the sites when they were underage.

The NSPCC has used the reviews to create a new online guide to help inform parents about the risks of different social networking sites used by children.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, says children are taught from an early age that it is good to share but doing so online can be very dangerous.

"This Christmas many children will have been given a smart phone, a tablet computer, or a games console. So it’s the perfect opportunity for parents to have that important conversation with their children about who they are talking to and what they share when they socialise online.

“We know that children do take risks online, sometimes without realising it. And we know some parents feel confused by the internet – out of their depth, and out of control. Our Share Aware campaign gives parents straightforward, no-nonsense advice that will help them to untangle the web and feel confident talking to their children about online safety.

“Keeping children safe online is the biggest child protection challenge of this generation. Parents have a vital role to play but we want social networking sites to respond to parental concerns about their children’s safety and privacy. The NSPCC will continue to challenge and work with internet companies and the Government to make the internet a safer place for children.”

The NSPCC’s Share Aware campaign is aimed at parents of eight to 12-year-old children and also features two animations to be shown on prime time TV and digital spaces. I Saw Your Willy and Lucy And The Boy are designed to be engaging films with a serious message that follow the stories of two children who share too much about themselves online. Both films contain the simple that although children are taught that it’s good to share, this is not always the case online.

People can find out more about the NSPCC campaign at www.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware and join the debate on social media by following #ShareAware.

Anyone looking for advice about keeping children safe online, or concerned about the safety and welfare of a child, can contact the NSPCC’s 24-hour helpline on 0808-800-5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk

Children worried about online safety or any other problem can call the free, 24-hour helpline on 0800-1111 or get help online at www.childline.org.uk