One in Ten Children in Kazakhstan Met Online Strangers, Sent Personal Photos — Study

Every tenth child in Kazakhstan has agreed to meet someone they met online and shared personal photos with them, Orda.kz reports.

These findings were presented by Nasymzhan Ospanova, Chair of the Committee for the Protection of Children's Rights under the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, during an expert meeting focused on restricting LGBT content.

According to the ministry’s study, key statistics include:

• 4.2% of children admitted to communicating with unknown adults online
  
• 11.1% sent personal photos or videos to strangers
  
• 12% of boys and 10% of girls agreed to meet someone they met online
  
• 25% of children did not tell anyone about unpleasant online experiences
  
• 10% fully agreed that they had come across frightening or disturbing content online

The fragile and not yet formed psyche of a child is often not ready to withstand an information attack — information changes and deforms the child's psyche, affects imagination, introduces new attitudes and behavioral models, and as a result, harms their mental and emotional health. In addition, children face risks of violence, misuse of personal data, and threats to their physical well-being,
 Ospanova stated.

She emphasized the growing need to address online safety concerns, particularly the dangers related to exploitation and exposure to harmful content.

Original Author: Ilya Astakhov