Web search

What do I need to know about search?

Search engines like Google are key tools for young people – they’re often the first port of call when they want to find out about something for school or that’s in the news, for example. They simply type in a keyword and a long list of relevant websites to support their homework, hobbies or friendships appears on the screen.

It’s so much easier than wading through books and newspapers and search can now be done from mobiles, games consoles and other portable devices, as well as the family computer. They can even search just for pictures, video or audio content.

According to security company Norton, the top five terms that young people searched for online in 2009 were: 1) YouTube, 2) Google, 3) Facebook, 4) Sex and 5) Porn. Other popular keywords include eBay, Wikipedia, Club Penguin, Miley Cyrus, Games, Lady Gaga, New Moon and Google Earth. You can find the full list of kids’ top searches, including trends by age and gender, on the Online.Family Norton website

Watch this video about Google SafeSearch:

Whilst the internet offers a huge online library and all the benefits that go with it, you might be concerned that your son or daughter could be exposed to unsuitable or illegal material online, even if they are searching on a seemingly harmless keyword or subject.

Many of the leading search engines have recognised this potential risk and offer personalised search options that you can set for younger internet users. Google SafeSearch screens for websites that contain explicit sexual content and deletes them from your search results, for example. You can even choose to use search engines that have been designed specifically for younger internet users, like Yahooligans.

No internet filter is 100% accurate but setting up Safe Search or using a specialist search engine on your family’s computer should help to eliminate most inappropriate and harmful content.

At the same time, your children might create and post their own content – on social networking and video-sharing websites, for example – so they need to be aware that this will be available for other internet users to find online via a search engine, unless they set their profile to ‘private’.

What can I do?

  • Experiment on the family computer by typing in some terms your child might search for in relation to their schoolwork, hobbies or socialising. What websites come up? Is there anything you wouldn’t want them to see?
  • Make the most of Parental Controls to help protect your children when they’re online – but remember they might not be 100% accurate and they’re not a substitute for parental supervision
  • Set up Safe Search on any computers that your child uses, taking into account their age and maturity – you should be able to find this in the ‘Preferences’, ‘Help’ or ‘Settings’ area of the search engine. For example, Google SafeSearch offers three settings:
    • Moderate filtering – this filters out most explicit images from Google Image Search results but doesn’t apply to ordinary Web search results. This is your default setting on Google so if you want stronger filters, you’ll have to change the setting
    • Strict filtering – this applies SafeSearch to all your search results (ie both image searches and ordinary Web searches)
    • No filtering – this turns off SafeSearch completely
      You can find more information about Google SafeSearch here
  • Explain to your child that some search results are sponsored listings, which means that a company has paid for them to rank high up on the search engine and they’re not necessarily the most relevant or credible search result
  • Read our articles about illegal content, inappropriate & harmful content and misleading content
  • Take a look at our articles about social networking and privacy, then talk to your kids about why they should keep their online profiles set to ‘private’
  • If, having set up a Safe Search filter, you still come across unsuitable or potentially illegal content, report it to the search provider so they can take action – look for the ‘Help’ or ‘Report’ buttons on their website
  • If, despite your best attempts at setting up Safe Search, you or your kids see evidence of potentially illegal material online, report the matter to the relevant internet hotline in your country – in the UK, that’s the Internet Watch Foundation

Where can I go for more information and support?

FAQs related to this article

Find out more about Parental Controls

How old are your kids?

What you need to know to get started

  • 5-7 years old

    Technology is part of your child's life before they start primary school. They're probably using the computer, the internet and interactive TV for fun - watching programmes on the CBeebies channel and website or taking part in the Club Penguin chat rooms...but they still need adult guidance and supervision.

    Read more

  • 8-11 years old

    If you have 8-11 year old children, your house is probably full of technology - PlayStation, Nintendo, iPod...the list goes on. In fact, research shows that 8-11 year olds in the UK have an average of four media devices in their bedroom.

    This is a crucial age for young people to embrace new technologies and develop their ICT skills both at home and at school...and it's a crucial time for you to take control when they start exploring the digital world as well as the real world.

    Read more

  • 12-14 years old

    They're at secondary school and growing up fast. It's a time of change and their digital world might seem as important as the real world to them. They might spend their evenings on Bebo, Facebook or MySpace ; watching videos on YouTube and uploading their own for others to watch; or doing research for their homework.

    You want to encourage their technology and social skills, of course, so it's useful to understand what they're doing with technology and to get involved with it.

    Read more

  • 15+ years old

    Once your children are teenagers, it might be tempting to think that they're tech-savvy and dealing with everything the virtual world can throw at them. You probably watch in awe as they switch from chatting with friends on Facebook to updating their Twitter profile; playing against someone on the other side of the world on their games console to downloading music on their mobile.

    It's all great fun but, as they get older, the things you need to help them to cope with in their digital world are ever more challenging. Far from leaving them to it, you really need to keep communicating with them.

    Read more

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