Parents See Internet as Greatest Media Risk
by AFA Journal
September 1, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A recent survey of parents revealed that the Internet is feared as posing the greatest risk to their children, ages 11-16, even while those same parents understood the power of the Web as a learning resource.According to eMarketer.com, the nationwide poll conducted by Common Sense Media found that 85 percent of U.S. parents were concerned that the Internet would expose their children and teens to hazards, such as sexual predators, wrong values, and "ideas that children are too young to see." Television was second, with 13 percent of parents saying it was the riskiest media outlet. Magazines, DVDs/videos, and radio were all tied at 1 percent. (Percentages add up to 101 because of rounding.)
However, 91 percent of parents also said they believed the Internet helped their children find information about things that interested them, while 77 percent said the Web was an important educational tool.
"It's a double-edged sword," said James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media. "Parents view the Internet as a learning tool, but are scared that they do not know how to make it safer for their kids."
Steyer said many parents felt especially unequipped to deal with some of the Internet bells and whistles that are popular with kids, such as "social networking sites, chat rooms. ITunes and [Instant Messaging]," which are "unfamiliar territory to many parents."
Still, parents feel it is their duty to be the Internet gatekeeper. The survey found that 82 percent of parents said they were responsible for learning what they needed to know in order to protect their children.
"Parents need easy-to-use information to help them teach their kids to be Internet safe and smart," Steyer says. Toward that end, his group's website offers "The Internet Survival Guide for Parents."
This article, printed with permission, appears in the September 2006 issue of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
