Most Australian children hide internet use from parents: study

Seventy percent of Australian children aged between 8 and 17 said their parents did not know about all their internet activities, a new survey released on Monday has revealed.

According to the report, conducted by cyber security firm McAfee and published by Fairfax Media, about 70 percent of the 1000 young people surveyed admitted trying to hide their internet usage from their parents.

Nearly 50 percent said they changed their browser histories in an effort to fool their parents, and 10 percent said they created fake social media profiles so their parents were unaware of their online activities.

The top online concern for users aged 8 to 12, was cyberbullying, while teenagers, aged 13 to 17, were more worried about losing privacy and being hacked.

Eighty percent of those surveyed had seen cyberbullying take place, up from 56 percent a year ago, and almost 40 percent said they were victims.