National Parent Poll:
Parents Conflicted About the Internet
By Jim Steyer
When it comes to the Internet, parents feel deeply conflicted.
This is the conclusion that jumped out at us from a national study we conducted here at Common Sense Media about parents' attitudes toward their kids' online lives. While the results reflect the heart of the dilemma facing parents all across the country, we were astonished by how deeply polarized they felt. To parents, the Internet is a double-edged sword: On the one hand, parents feel that the Internet offers their kids the greatest opportunity to learn and grow. Yet, it also poses the greatest risk — far outpacing television.
What parents weren't concerned about was whose responsibility it was to keep kids safe. The poll confirms that parents understand that the burden of keeping kids safe and smart has shifted to them. That's a tough task to take on — especially when two-thirds of parents felt they had less influence over their kids' online behavior than their kids' friends.
These results remind me of the deep ambivalence that parents feel when they first hand the car keys over to their kids. They want their kids to be independent. But they also know that driving can be dangerous, and it's easy to take a wrong turn and end up in undesirable locations. But just as we teach our kids the fundamentals of safe driving, parents know that it's up to us to teach kids the fundamentals of safe Internet use.
To help parents do that, we've launched the Internet Safe and Smart campaign. In addition to running public service ads on television and online, we've created this Web site, and published tools such as our Internet Survival Guide for Parents.
These free resources provide information and tips to help you help your kids have safe and productive online lives.
At Common Sense, we are dedicated to improving the media lives of kids and families. The Internet is here to stay. And we are here to help your kids make the most of it. We urge everyone to spend a moment looking on our site and in the guide. After all, keeping our kids Internet Safe and Smart is up to us.
Poll: Parents' Attitudes Toward Their Kids' Online Lives
Here are some highlights from Common Sense Media's recent nationwide study. For complete poll results, please visit the online press kit for the Parents Poll.
What are parents most worried about?
- Sexual predators (80 percent)
- Having their kids exposed to values they don't agree with (72 percent)
- Having their kids exposed to ideas that they’re not ready to see (70 percent)
- Lack of outdoors time (71 percent)
- Computer viruses (76 percent)
- Experimentation with pornography or explicit content (55 percent)
How responsible are parents?
- 82 percent said that there was "no excuse for not knowing enough to protect your kids."
- 98 percent said they trusted their own instincts and intuition when it came to information about the Internet.
