Most parents don't stop their children using the internet despite occasional exposure to bad language or sex content online. Photo / Bradley Ambrose
Most parents don't stop their children using the internet despite occasional exposure to bad language or sex content online. Photo / Bradley Ambrose
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LOS ANGELES - Most parents said their children had encountered "issues" like bad language, sex or advertising online over the past year, but they are not stopping their kids' internet use, according to a new study.
A survey by market researcher Harris Interactive of 411 parents of childrenaged between 6-18 who use the internet found 71 per cent admitted their child had encountered at least "one issue" with the internet within the past year.
But four out of five US parents said the internet helped their children in school and only three in 10 parents - or 31 per cent - said their children spent too much time online.
Rather than banning or restricting online access, parents were found to be taking an active role in monitoring their children with 93 per cent engaging in some sort of monitoring activity, said the survey released today.
"The poll confirms that parents continue to have issues with their kids' Web use, but those issues aren't scaring them away from letting their kids go online," said James Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, which commissioned the study with Cable in the Classroom.
The survey, conducted on August 16 and 17, was released a day after New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office had subpoenaed Facebook, the social networking site, for not keeping young users safe from sexual predators and not responding to use complaints.
It found that 24 per cent of parents reported their kids were exposed to strong language, sexual or violent content online over the past year and 52 per cent of parents said their child was exposed to advertising.
But to address these problems 74 per cent of parents visited websites with their children, 56 per cent reported using a filter or blocking software, and 55 per cent would visit a website before their child.
It also found that 85 per cent talked to their children about online safety in the past year.
"We know parents understand that talking to their children about using the internet is a really important thing to do," said Helen Soule, executive director of Cable in the Classroom.
