1/1/13
More than eight in 10 parents of teens who use the Internet (81%) say they are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their children’s online behavior, according to the Pew Research Center. More than two in three parents (69%) are concerned about how their children’s online activities may affect their future academic or employment opportunities.
Parents of teens ages 12-13 are more likely than parents of teens ages 14-17 to be concerned about their teens interacting with strangers online (63% vs. 48%). Parents with household incomes less than $30,000 a year are less likely than parents in households earning more than $30,000 a year to be concerned about their teens’ online interactions with people they don’t know (39% vs. 58%). Those living in middle-income households ($30,000-$74,999) are most likely to worry about the future implications of their teens’ online behavior.
More than four in 10 parents (44%) have read the privacy policies of social networks that their children visit, and 42% have searched their children’s names online to see what information is available. A majority of parents of teens who visit social network sites (59%) have spoken with them because of concerns about something posted to their teens’ profiles or accounts.
White parents are more likely than Black parents to help their teens set up privacy settings (44% vs. 23%). Parents living in households with incomes exceeding $75,000 are more likely than those in households earning less than $30,000 to have helped their teens with privacy settings on social network sites (44% vs. 27%).
One in two parents (50%) who use social media and have teens who use the sites have commented or responded directly to something that was posted to their children’s profiles or accounts.
Source: Pew Research Center, Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist, 1615 L St., NW, #700, Washington, DC 20036; 202-419-4500; info@pewinternet.org; www.pewinternet.org.
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