Who invented the internet? Was it Simon Cowell?

Research has reveals that nearly half of children aged seven to 16 in the East of England think that the world wide web was invented by Apple boss Steve Jobs or Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

And one in eight believe music mogul Simon Cowell is responsible for the birth of the web, with Alexander Graham Bell and Albert Einstein also given a lion’s share of the credit.

Further findings reveal a more concerning side to internet usage by youngsters.

Although they’re deemed old enough to use the internet, nearly all of the children surveyed in East Anglia admit to accidently clicking links which led them to adult websites, downloading viruses to their computers and visiting a website they were unsure of ‘because it sounded like fun’.

A further one in six confess to being embarrassed by a picture someone else has posted of them online and downloading ‘free’ music from the internet.

One in four also report being upset by something they’ve seen online and admit to being friends with people on Facebook who they don’t know in real life.

So who does know the most when it comes to using the internet?

For those children in East Anglia one in six believe it’s them, while over a quarter believe they know more than everyone else in the family.

Dad definitely rules the roost overall nearly half of children revealing he knows his stuff when it comes to the internet, followed by mum and older siblings.

And the story isn’t that different when it comes to sharing internet safety, over three quarters say it’s Mum or Dad who’s had ‘the talk’ with them, followed by one in three who get their advice from teachers or grandparents.

When it comes to Facebook, who is it children really want to befriend? Justin Bieber tops the chart with nearly one in five (18 per cent) young fans, followed by over one in ten (14 per cent) of One Direction-ers, with Amy Childs and Cheryl Cole fighting it out for third place in the hearts of the UK’s children.