Let’s Think They are Safe Online! A Malaysian Perspective on The Classification of Children’s Cyber Risks

Abstract

Children currently spend more time on the Internet and corresponding technologies to socialise virtually and play video games. Scholars have not reached a consensus on whether children’s participation in such recreational activities is beneficial or detrimental. Although Malaysian parents are concerned about the digital threats that may be encountered by their children, most of the detriments remain unknown. Children still hesitate to inform their families about their online exposure to inappropriate content, such as cybersex and pornography, which remain taboo subjects in Malaysian households. This study performed a descriptive analysis to determine the risk factors associated with children’s internet use with 420 school-going children aged from 9 to 16 years around Selangor. Resultantly, children were highly exposed to unwanted exposure to pornography (17.4 %), potentially dangerous user-generated content (9 %), sexting (8.8 %), personal data misuse (6.4 %), cyber grooming (3.3 %), and cyberbullying (1.7 %) in the past 12 months of using the Internet.