Study finds most parents clueless about teens’ online activity

Do you know what your teen is up to online? A new study
finds most have no idea, and young people continue to grow
increasingly sophisticated when it comes to hiding their
activities.

Over 70 percent of teens have found ways to deceive their
parents, according to Internet security company McAfee.
The most popular techniques include clearing their browser
history, hiding or deleting instant messages and videos,
using a computer parents don’t check, using an Internet
enabled mobile device, lying to their parents or simply
closing their browser when parents come in the room.

Despite warnings about online dangers, the study finds
teens continue posting personal information and pictures
online, and downloading inappropriate content while their
parents have no idea. Ironically, while 73.5 percent of
parents
trust their teens to not access age-inappropriate content
online, the study finds 43 percent of teens have accessed
simulated violence online, 36 percent have accessed sexual
topics, and 32 percent have accessed nude content or
pornography.

“While it is not necessarily surprising that teens are
engaging in the same types of rebellious behaviors online
that they exhibit offline, it is surprising how
disconnected their parents are,” says Stanley Holditch,
Online Safety Expert for McAfee. “There is a major
increase in the number of teens finding ways to hide what
they do online from their parents, as compared to the 2010
study. This is a generation that is so comfortable with
technology that they are surpassing their parents in
understanding and getting away with behaviors that are
putting their safety at risk.”

While experts urge parents to do more to monitor their
kids online activity, the study finds 23 percent of the
surveyed
parents disclosed that they are not monitoring their
children’s online behaviors because they are overwhelmed
by technology.

“Parents need to get informed about their children’s
online behavior,” says Robert Siciliano, McAfee Online
Security Expert, in a statement. “The fact is that
allowing teens to participate in unmonitored online
activity exposes them to real dangers with real
consequences, and these dangers are growing exponentially
with the proliferation of social networks.”