Safer Internet Day: How the net snares you

South Africans – regarded in many quarters as the biggest addicts in the world – spend an average of nine hours and 38 minutes on the internet daily – far higher than the global average of six hours and Americans’ more than two hours, according to Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Philly Mapulane.

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He was marking Safer Internet Day yesterday – celebrated in about 140 countries on the second Tuesday of the second month of each year to raise awareness of emerging online social ills, such as cyberbullying and child sexual abuse.

Quoting Stats SA figures, Mapulane said South Africa had 43.5 million internet users, translating into “an impressive penetration rate of 78.9% among the population of 62 million”.

It represents an increase of about 400 000 individuals, compared to last year. South Africa, he said, was “topping the rankings of internet penetration and freedom on the continent”.

While this gave the country “the edge towards bridging the digital gap helping globally to connect the 2.7 billion unconnected people”, Mapulane warned of dangers.

“The advances we’ve made in internet penetration and use also exposes us to many internet ills, such as human trafficking and child pornography,” he said.

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Addressing the Safer Internet Day gathering in Cape Town, Mapulane said the internet has brought into the world a daily lexicon: “a new phrase that we often use without expanding too much on it – digital footprint”.

“In simple terms, the digital footprint is information about a particular person that exists on the internet, due to their online activity.

“This personal information can lead to a harmful use of the internet. Safer Internet Day is a reminder to keep a watchful eye on what information is shared and how it is being used.

“The proliferation of online content that is now readily available for consumption to our citizens through the internet and social media platforms also places us at risk of exposure to harmful content.

“The internet is a complex platform that we use to transact with banks and to conduct all manner of commercial activities, as well as to communicate and share with the world information that is sometimes sensitive and of a very personal nature.

“We also use it to access health information, education and entertainment. As they say, the internet is not sleeping and neither should we,” said Mapulane.

While technological transformation introduced a greater variety and convenience, “it also opens more and more avenues for people to be targeted by cybercriminals”.

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“The growth in internet penetration and use is always accompanied by new and serious threats,” Mapulane said.

“International and domestic cyber criminals increasingly view businesses and private individuals as attractive targets for a range of cybercrime.

“This ‘digital paradox’ means governments and organisations can offer more services, more quickly than before. Yet, at the same time cybercrime has become a powerful countervailing force that is limiting that potential.”

The risk of cybercrimes was fuelled by spending an excessive amount of time on the internet, with South Africa having the highest screentime worldwide.

“CEOs of apps such as TikTok, Snapchat and X and Meta products such as Facebook and Instagram report that they continue to intensify measures to block users linked with drug-dealing and other criminal activities.

“The cybersecurity threat landscape is exponentially growing in complexity, aided by the increasing sophistication of threat actors. Critical infrastructure and information infrastructures, which is owned and operated by both government and the private sector, has become a strategic imperative – especially in the light of recent attacks,” said Mapulane.