Survey: More Parents Turn to Online Filters
March 18, 2005 — -- In this week's Cybershake, we take a look at the latest survey regarding the struggle parents face in trying to protect their kids online. Plus, we note that there may be good news for nerds: Geek is chic.
Protecting minors from inappropriate material on the Internet is a parental task that still has no easy solutions. But, "parents themselves are becoming a little more savvy," says Amanda Lenhart, a research specialist at the Pew Internet and American Life Project in Washington, D.C.
According to the results of the nonprofit polling organization's latest survey, an increasing number of parents are using so-called Internet filters -- software programs that block access to Web sites of questionable content.
"Fifty-four percent of American families have filters installed on their home computers," she says. By Pew's reckoning, that translates into roughly 12 million households.
By contrast, only 41 percent -- or 7 million Net-connected homes -- used filters in December 2000, says Lenhart. "Filtering is up 65 percent over the past four years."
But technology isn't the only arrow in parents' quivers. Results from the Pew survey show that U.S. households are trying to follow the advice of online safety advocates. Specifically:
Still, not all the news is good. The survey finds, for example, that there is a certain amount of disconnect between parents and their teens.
Sixty-two percent of parents surveyed report checking up on their child's Web habits after he or she has gone online. But only a third of the teens in the survey say they believe their parents are monitoring their online activities.
Miscommunications aside, one thing both adults and kids agree on: Teens are engaging in risky online behavior.
