The technological revolution could be affecting many young people and the judgements they go on to form in later life, according to an expert in internet matters.

Ellen Ferguson, education manager at Childnet International, said that parents should certainly be worried if their children are unable to remove themselves from technology.

This is because the lines between real and online life start to blur, putting them in potential danger - particularly if they are young.

She continued: "In actual fact, some children think of these environments as being very different and don't transfer their offline safety strategies to the online environment.

"It is vital that all children consider the implications of actions online."

However, not all is bad with the internet, with Ms Ferguson promoting the educational value of online environments.

According to npower research released today, children spend around nine hours every day staring at a screen, whether it is their mobiles while texting, games consoles or surfing the internet.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were guaranteed response times and allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues.