No parent wants his or her child walking alone in a dangerous neighborhood. That is exactly how many of them now feel about when their child ventures online. Parents simply do not know where their child is going, what the child is doing or even who the child is talking to. Understandably, this has them scared.
A nationwide poll conducted by Common Sense Media, found that the number one media concern for parents has shifted from television to the Internet.
Currently, 85% of parents say the Internet poses the greatest risk to their children among all forms of media, compared to compared to 13% who consider television the biggest risk.
Despite their fears, parents are conflicted about children‘s use of the Internet. They know the medium also offers many educational advantages.
"It‘s a double-edged sword," said James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media. "Parents view the Internet as a learning tool, but are scared that they do not know how to make it safer for their kids."
Parents are clearly worried about Internet access exposing their children to sexual predators, to values they do not agree with or to ideas that their children are not ready to see or understand.
At the same time, an overwhelming majority of parents, 91%, felt that the Internet helped their children explore interests they were passionate about, and 77% said the Internet was an important learning tool.
Parents‘ conflicted feelings extend to their children. While 95% of them trust their children for information about what they‘re doing on the Internet, 88% said that knowing where their children are online is more important than respecting the children‘s privacy. In other words, take their word for it, but check up too.
Parents obviously feel responsible for protecting their children online — 82% said that there was no excuse for not knowing enough to protect your kids. And nearly all parents, 98%, said they trusted their own instincts and intuition when it came to information about the Internet.
"It‘s the same way parents feel about their child applying for a driver‘s license at age 16, but with the Internet parents are not equipped with the tools to help their kids in the way they can help them with driving," said Mr. Steyer. "The Internet is here to stay, but social networking sites, chat rooms, iTunes, and IM are unfamiliar terrain to many parents. Parents need easy to use information to help them teach their kids to be Internet safe and smart."
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