According to a recent study, 2/3 of Israelis spend over two hours daily surfing the net for non work related web time. 40% of Israelis do not supervise their children’s internet visits. The facts are released by the Israel Internet Association.

Respondents were asked if they have a Facebook account and it was learned that 70% of those answering in the affirmative spend two hours daily on the net as opposed to 52% of respondents that do not have an account with the social network. One-third of the attacks recorded involved verbal assaults, with Facebook users recording higher abuse levels in all categories.

Two-thirds of respondents admit that have not taken any steps to prevent access to “unwanted sites” and 88% speak of the need for a body that will address internet abuse.

When asked to cite their level of involvement regarding the internet habits of their children, 37% admit they do not become involved at all.

The Israel Internet Association is working with a number of NGOs and government agencies and a hotline to report internet abuse has been established, operating on weekdays from 10:00-22:00. The number is 03-970-0911.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)