Parents were warned today to monitor their children's use of the internet and protect them from online predators.
International and Irish experts joined forces at the makeITSecure seminar in Dublin to advise adults on navigating cyberspace safely.
They said children should be encouraged to speak out if anything online makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened, and be told others online are not necessarily who they say they are.
Advice offered at the seminar also included discovering the internet with young children together, sharing online user names and passwords, and forbidding them from meeting anyone in person that they encounter online without parental consent.
The event explored how social networking sites work, how parents can monitor their children's activities, what kinds of threats are posed, and what parents should do if they are worried that their child is being bullied or targeted.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan, who opened the seminar, said although 70 per cent of children use social networking sites, fewer than half of parents are familiar with them.
PA