eSafety and Sharing Habits with Family and Friends Among Children and Adolescents

The aim of this study was to examine eSafety, children’s and teenagers’ awareness of safe browsing, identify their Internet usage patterns, their habits of sharing their surfing experiences with parents and family, and the relationship between usage patterns, sharing habits, and socio-demographic attributes. This is a mixed-method study. A total of 345 participants from Israel completed questionnaires. The findings indicate that children and adolescents spend an average of 3.1 h a day surfing the Web. Their level of awareness of eSafety is medium–high. Young children have a more significant need to share and consult about dealing with Internet-related dangers, with others than do adolescents. It was found that many children and adolescents block channels of dialogue and sharing with their parents, fearing their parents’ reaction, especially parental criticism. Because of the complexity of the environment in which children live, involvement in the children’s lives is important.