The Secret Life of an Online Teenager
Parents, listen up! Do you know what your teen is doing online?
You may glance over and see them im-ing with friends, doing research for school, and watching the latest YouTube video. But, what happens behind closed doors, or more fittingly, behind minimized browsers?
According to McAfee, Inc., a major security technology company, teens are using the Internet more than ever before and one third of them say that they “often” or “always” hide their online activities from their parents.
The Youth Online Behavior Study, a recent survey commissioned by McAfee, looked at how U.S. teens use the Internet and shared some insight into what our kids aren’t sharing with their parents. From May 4 to May 17, 2010 this study examined what kind of content and media teens were viewing and downloading, and how they were engaging in risky online behaviors.
Here are some findings from the study:
- Almost all of the kids surveyed say that they knew how to be safe online, but around half admit to giving out personal information to someone they don’t know over the Internet.
- By the time they reach the ages of 16 or 17, 56% of teens hide their online activities like cyberbullying, downloading programs without their parent’s knowledge and sharing cell phone numbers with strangers.
- The most common ways that kids hide their online activities from their parents are by minimizing the browser when their parents are nearby (29%); hiding and deleting text messages (20%); and clearing the browser history (21%).
- One in four kids reported they wouldn’t know what to do if they were bullied or harassed online.
- Teen girls tend to communicate more and engage in risky behaviors such as chatting with people they don’t know (43% among 16- to 17- year-olds).
- More girls than boys reported being harassed and bullied online.
Good stuff to think about. But there’s still a lot that needs to be explored – especially as new technologies emerge. One thing is for sure: we need to continue to connect and communicate with our teens – and keep a keen eye on Internet usage, smartphones, gaming consoles and the plethora of social networking platforms.
What did you think of this study? And how do you monitor your teens’ online activities?
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This has always been a big-hitter around my household. I’m glad that this post is up for all to see!
When my oldest was in his first year of college, my second son was just getting interested in computers and “screens”, as my husband and I call them. I remember that we were adamant about having a family computer and not separate computers in the childrens’ rooms. But, one thing led to another and eventually he wore us down (I was busy with my baby girl, my husband was having difficulties with work–it was all too much) and we bought him a laptop computer from bestbuy. It soon became a black hole for his time and energy. I remember walking in on him as he snapped the screen shut, or closed an open browser, at least four or five times. He stopped talking to us, never played with the family pets, or his little sister. The last straw was when my husband opened his closed door and caught him masturbating to pornography. When he told me I was appalled; I felt lost.
Today, my son is a happy, single man. He is in his second year of college and wants to earn a degree in computer science! He recently brought up the masturbation incident with me, and I was uneasy. We came to a consensus: that if you have a laptop and internet, why not use masturbate?
I do not think that technology is bad, but i do think that it should be limited when it comes to raising children. Just like drugs or alcohol, it can go too far.