British parents more worried their children will suffer online bullying than those in other European countries, research

Two-thirds of parents in Britain are worried that their children will become the victim of online bullying, see violent or pornographic images or have their digital identity stolen online.

A survey found that 66 percent thought it was 'likely' or 'very likely' that their children would be exposed to these online harms, a higher proportion than in other European countries.

Professor Giuseppe Veltri, of the University of Trento, Italy, interviewed 6,400 parents with children aged 6-14 in eight countries—800 each in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Italy, Sweden and the UK.

He told the European Sociological Association conference in Manchester, UK, that in the eight countries on average 53 percent parents were concerned that their children were likely or very likely to suffer online bullying or other personal harms.

Parents from non-British countries, particularly the Netherlands and Sweden, were more concerned about that their children would be persuaded to buy services and goods online such as products in virtual markets embedded in games, or otherwise manipulated as consumers.

Professor Veltri found that British parents were less concerned than average about this, with only 30 percent consider these threats likely or very likely.