Most nights found “Dylan” in front of his laptop looking at online pornography when his parents thought he was asleep. We know teens love the Internet…so why is it that 41 percent of parents are still clueless about their kids’ use of it?
Here’s one simple example of the glaring misunderstanding between kids and parents when it comes to kids’ use of the Internet. A new study by Norton Online Living claims kids spend almost 20 hours online each week. Does that amount shock you? Maybe, maybe not. But it DID shock the parents of the same group of kids who thought their children only spent 2 hours online each week!
Are these 41 percent of parents just disconnected from their kids, or, do these kids intentionally keep mom and dad in the dark?
A Quick Test
Whether you’re a parent or a youth worker, take a moment and answer each of the following questions?
- How much time do your kids spend online in a typical week?
- Do your kids have a Facebook and/or MySpace profile? If so, are you a “friend” of theirs?
- What are they actually doing when they connect to the WWW?
- What are their favorite sites to visit?
Many parents do not have the “right” answers to these questions. Sadly, many more don’t have an answer at all.
