AVG Parent Survey Results Reveal Need for More Online Safety Tools

Internet Security provider AVG Technologies this week revealed the results of an online safety survey they conducted over a sample set of 2,014 parents of children aged 2 – 18 years. The results show an overwhelming desire among parents to have more tools available to ensure their kids are using the internet safely and responsibly, especially for older kids.

Some of the highlights of the survey include the following:

• While 95% of parents want to see internet safety taught in schools, and 89% would like to see the government doing more in the way of education, 66% agree that they are ultimately responsible

Contrast the above with the following:

• 42% of parents of teenagers have not had a talk about viewing online sexual content, despite the fact that over half of boys as young as 14 have viewed this type of content
• 89% of parents believe their kids (middle and high school) have not been involved in cyber bullying or sexting

According to AVG’s Tony Anscombe:

"Despite their confidence, our research shows that parents clearly need help to stay ahead of how children are using the Internet. We're calling on the government and forward-thinking schools to support our recommendation and develop an easy to use assessment for parents…”

While it would be fantastic for schools or the government to develop effective parental tools, it is unlikely that any such effort will come soon enough, or will be dynamic enough to keep up with the changing trends in the internet, social media and apps.

In our experience, parent who haven’t yet had “the talk” about inappropriate internet content either don’t have the time and energy to do it justice, or are operating on the belief that their kids are good people, and probably won’t get into trouble. For parents who don’t believe that bullying and sexting are going on, especially with older kids, many statistics tell a different story.

The ThirdParent confidential audit service offers parents who are behind the curve or want to be extra sure some piece of mind that kids are using the internet and social media safely and responsibly. If you are a parent who can’t keep up with what your teen is doing online, or simply haven’t gotten around to focusing on it yet, we can help.

Contact ThirdParent any time for help and resources for monitoring teen internet activity.