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New Poll: 9 out of 10 Parents Think They Should Have A Lot of Responsibility
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Added: 08/14/2006
Type: Summary
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New Poll: 9 out of 10 Parents Think They Should Have A Lot of Responsibility
Ninety percent of parents or legal guardians of children ages 8-18 believe they should bear a lot of responsibility for ensuring children have safe online experiences, although only 34 percent see themselves as "very knowledgeable" about how to educate their children to use the Internet safely and responsibly.
According to a new national poll commissioned by Cable in the Classroom and conducted by Harris Interactive®, 71 percent of parents also think a major portion of the responsibility for ensuring children’s safety on the Internet falls to schools. The poll was released at the PTA Back-to-School Media Briefing held at the New York City Public Library.
"Parents want to take primary responsibility for guiding their kids’ use of the Internet," said Douglas Levin, senior director of education policy for Cable in the Classroom. "Yet, as the Internet continues to change and evolve, most parents don’t feel very knowledgeable about how to ensure children’s Internet safety and are looking for schools to help."
Among other key highlights of the survey:
•The vast majority of parents (94 percent) have taken some steps to ensure their children’s safe and responsible use of the Internet, including talking to them about how to use the Internet (88 percent), monitoring online activities (82 percent), confining home Internet use to the living room or other open spaces (75 percent), setting time limits on their use of the Internet (74 percent), and installing software to limit or block their child’s online activities (55 percent).
•A majority of parents say they have sought advice from other parents (54 percent), and many (42 percent) have sought advice from their child’s school.
•One in ten parents (10%) say they are "not at all knowledgeable" about how to guide their children’s safe and responsible use of the Internet.
•Only about half of parents (49 percent) think that government and law enforcement agencies should have a lot of responsibility in ensuring that children have safe experiences on the Internet.
"We know that most parents have positive views of the value of the Internet for children," said Levin, "and that they are taking steps to make certain these experiences are safe and enriching."
A related poll of full-time classroom teachers and library/media specialists at K-12 public schools, commissioned by Cable in the Classroom and conducted by Grunwald Associates in March 2006, found that most educators (60 percent) say their schools put less emphasis than they should on teaching media literacy – an important 21st century skill students need to make the best use of the Internet and other media technologies.
"Considering the Internet’s enormous educational potential and the crucial role media, technology, and content play in the 21st century workplace, it’s increasingly important for parents and schools to equip children with media literacy skills," said Helen Soulé, Ph.D., executive director of Cable in the Classroom.
To help guide families toward responsible Internet use, Cable in the Classroom is recommending a three-step approach including: setting rules, using parental control technology, and instilling media literacy skills.
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