Families encouraged to take 'CyberBreak' following stark school children survey findings

People across Ireland are being encouraged to take a 'CyberBreak' for 24 hours next weekend. 

Online safety charity, CyberSafeKids, is hosting its sixth CyberBreak on October 17th. 

It will run from 5pm that day until 5pm on October 18th. 

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Families are being encouraged to switch off all smart devices such as phones, laptops, computers, and game consoles.

A recent report by CyberSafeKids called 'A Life Behind Screens' surveyed 9,000 children of school age and found that 50% of 8-12-year-olds feel they spend too much time online. 

64% of secondary school children aged 12-15 felt the same.

Children also reported feeling as though they "waste a lot of time online" with the belief increasing with age. 

21% of 8-12-year-olds felt like that however that jumped to 38% when children reached age 12-15-years-old.

Less than half of young people (41% of 8–12 year olds, 46% of 12–15 year olds) indicated that spending time online was a mostly positive experience this year.

The survey also revealed there may not be boundaries in place for many young people when it comes to spending time online. 

28% of 8-12-year-olds reported they can go online "whenever I want", while that number jumped to 58% for 12-15-year-olds. 

Between 60% and 80% of children said their parents cannot see what they do online. 

The annual CyberBreak encourages families to find a healthier balance between online and offline life.