Online Social Media and Risks: An Exploration into Existing Children Practice

Social media has rapidly becomed so ingrained in our daily lives that most users are unable to socialize without access to some form of platform. Various studies conducted in other countries have found social media activities has increased especially among the younger generation. As such, the potential online risks on these platforms especially among children has become crucial as the platform usage increases each year. Such situation is also found to be common in different Asian countries especially Malaysia. In this research, a survey was conducted among children between the ages of 7 to 12 years old to identify relevant online activities that increases potential online risks on social media platforms. Based on previous research, three categories of online risks were used to develop the survey scenarios and respondents were required to provide their answers based on them. From the results, it was found that online activities such as photo or video uploads, online video watching, online chatting and commenting on social networking sites could lead to increased potential risks. These online activities influence the risks that is categorized into content, private and contact.