How the internet is killing Santa

Two-thirds of parents never delete their browser history, meaning kids can easily figure out there's no jolly middleman placing presents under trees. Photo / Getty

It used to be that parents feared their children would learn the truth about Santa from older kids or an inconsiderate friend. Now they have a new contender: the internet.

According to a recent poll, one in eight American parents said the internet was responsible when it came to their child learning the truth about Saint Nick.

Fourty-four per cent of parents blame Google for ruining childhood Christmas dreams as kids search for Santa and find pages explaining he's as real as a plastic pine tree.

Between Google's launch in 1997 and Facebook's public release in 2005, the average age that a child learned the truth about Santa fell from eight years and five months to seven years and seven months.

About 34 per cent of children asked questions about Santa after seeing online ads for the gifts they had asked for in letters to the North Pole.

And one in three had their Christmas spirit crushed after seeing a Facebook post about Santa's falsehood.

Before the internet, learning the truth about Santa was often from the discovery of presents in bad hiding places.

Today, two-thirds of parents never delete their browser history, meaning kids can easily go snooping and figure out there's no jolly middleman placing presents under trees.

The poll, conducted by browser based web proxy Hide My Ass!, revealed one in 10 kids will actively search their parent's browser history and work out the truth after finding their gifts in parent's shopping accounts.

In an effort to keep the magic of Santa alive a little longer, Hide My Ass! has launched a campaign called "Keep Believing in Santa," which helps parents avoid online traps that could put an end to their kids belief.

Parents are given free software that monitors all online search results, web pages or social media communications that could reveal the truth about Santa, by hiding any images of him that may suggest he doesn't exist.

Cian Mckenna-Charley, marketing director at Hide My Ass! told the Daily Mail it is hoped the campaign will help parents keep the Santa story alive a little longer for their child.

"With this campaign, we wanted to give parents an optional tool that would allow them to maintain the magic of Christmas and the mystery of Santa for that little bit longer."

- nzherald.co.nz