Tran Dang Khoa, deputy head of the Authority for Information Security (AIS) under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), said cyberspace has become an integral part of modern life. With 70 percent of the population using the internet, Vietnam has a high percentage of internet users. Vietnam has 24.7 million children, or 25 percent of the total population.

Vietnamese children can access internet and digital devices very early. Two thirds of children can access internet connection devices for study, entertainment and communication with friends and relatives.

Children will be the next-generation digital citizens to bring prosperity to cyberspace and the country. However, the lack of necessary skills and knowledge to protect themselves will pose online challenges and risks in cyberspace.

Khoa pointed out five major risks and threats for children. First, they may access toxic content which poisons their thoughts, lifestyle and development.

Second, children’s personal information may be leaked and spread under different forms, which will have a negative impact on their lives.

Third, children could become victims of online bullying.

Fourth, they may abuse the internet and fall into ‘internet addiction’.

Fifth, they may be enticed, seduced, harassed, defrauded, threatened, blackmailed, or forced to get involved in illegal activities.

Ngo Tuan Anh, deputy chair of the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA), said at a seminar on online bullying and internet addiction, an event organized on the occasion of the launch of Vietnam Children's Protection Club on Cyberspace that Vietnamese children are using smartphones, computers, tablets and smart TVs more frequently.

He cited a UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) survey in 2022 that showed that 82 percent of Vietnamese children aged 12-13 use the internet every day, while the figure is 93 percent for children aged 14-15.

According to MOLISA’s Ngo Tuan Anh, Vietnamese children spend 5-7 hours a day using the internet

Do Duong Hien from Childfund Vietnam said the age of internet child users is becoming lower. Many parents in cities allow children to use social networks and watch YouTube videos as a reward for their children.

Meanwhile, there are more devices for children to access internet, not just smartphones, which is also a challenge for child protection organizations.

Asked about the symptoms of child internet addiction, Hien said there is still no standard concept about internet and digital content addiction. However, in 2006, an American researcher mentioned the most common signs of the symptoms.

First, the children always think about what they will access the internet for, what they sought on the internet yesterday, and what they will do on the internet today. 

Second, they feel increasingly high demand to use the internet.

Third, they have reactions when parents refuse to allow them to access the internet

Fourth, they show anxiety when there is no internet network.

Fifth, they show signs of depression and sadness when they cannot use the internet.

Hien said the signs could be major indicators to find out if their children suffer from the internet addiction, though it is still necessary to consider other criteria as well.

Nguyen Thi Nga, deputy head of the Department of Child Affairs, said that Vietnamese children also have problems related to internet addiction, but there have been no official statistics about this.

Nga said that it is very difficult for children to give up internet addiction, therefore, it would be better if parents keep a close watch over their children.

Nguyen Lam Thanh, TikTok’s policy director at the event introduced some features the platform has to help protect child users. He emphasized the adults’ responsibility for preventing children from becoming internet addicts.

Van Anh