Parents Concerned But Positive About the Internet

More parents are talking to their kids—at least their older kids—about what they do and where they go on the Internet, and monitoring kids' web activities. And the ones who do have an overall positive view of how the Internet is helping their kids at school and with friendships.

That's a sampling of the findings of a poll of 411 parents of kids between the ages of 6 and 18 by Harris Interactive for Common Sense Media and Cable in the Classroom.

But that's not to say that parents haven't witnessed their kids having problems on the Internet. Most (71 percent) of parents say their kids have experienced an "Internet-related issue." It's a wide umbrella that takes in being exposed to too much advertising and commercialism (52 percent), spending too much time online (31 percent) and not enough time outdoors exercising (26 percent). One in four parents are concerned their kids are being exposed to coarse language, violence, and misleading information on the Internet. One in five think their kids are distracted from homework by it.

And yet...more than 80 percent of parents who spend time online themselves believe the Internet is beneficial to their kids, helping them learn about different cultures and ideas, keep up on news, and express themselves creatively.

The poll shows that parents' fears about the Internet are subsiding as parents talk to their kids more about behavior on the Internet and spend time on the sites that their kids' frequent on the web.

Conducted over two days in August, the poll found two pretty sizable gaps in all of this good news, however. With the "aging down" of the Internet, as younger kids spend time on web sites like Webkinz and Club Penguin, 25 percent of parents of kids ages 6 to 10 say they have not talked with their kids about Internet-related topics. "Parents have to have conversations with their kids at earlier ages," said Anne Kallin Zehren, president of Common Sense Media, a nonpartisan organization which rates and reviews media and entertainment for parents.

The other gap? Moms and dads have different views when it comes to what's inappropropriate. Eighty percent of moms say creating a searchable online profile on social networks is inappropriate, compared with 65 percent of dads. Similarly, dads are more in favor of playing online games with other people (64 percent) versus 46 percent of moms.

For a look at more of the poll results, check out the links below. The findings are in line with my views of kids on the Internet, though I'm sure there are some teens who would say we parents are clueless.

LINKS: Common Sense Media

Cable in the Classroom