The Digital Divide

14 August, 2015
Reformed Free Publishing Association

Do parents know what their teens are doing on the internet? An article entitled The Digital Divide: How the Online Behavior of Teens is Getting Past Parents demonstrates that parents are in the dark. Some parents decide not to monitor what their teens are doing. Others think they know what their children are doing but studies show that they do not. Here are some of the statistics from the article.

8% of teens visit a website parents disapprove of (only 23.6% of parents are aware of this)
43% of teens intentionally access simulated violence online (only 15%of parents are aware of this)
36% of teens intentionally access sexual topics online (only 11% of parents are aware of this)
32% of teens intentionally access nude content or porn online (only 12% of parents are aware)
Of those who intentionally accessed pornography, 43% do so on a weekly basis and only 18% of parents are aware of this.

On the basis of these many other disturbing statistics the article states, “Parents must be jolted out of their complacency. A huge gap exists between what teens are doing online and what parents really know. Parents must take an active role to ensure their teens are practicing save online behavior.”

For parents who need help because they know their children have more tech knowledge than they do, I suggest Covenant Eyes or some other similar filtering/monitoring software.