You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow. Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here. -Mark Schaefer
Sometimes you just get some data across your desk that makes you lose faith. New research from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, shows that just 63% of parents say they are very concerned about their 12-13-year-old’s interactions with people they do not know online.
What?
Doesn’t this just make you a little dizzy? Nearly 40% of American parents aren’t concerned about what their kids are doing online with strangers? What am I missing? Can this possibly be true? Other findings from the survey:
- 81% of parents of online teens say they are concerned about how much information advertisers can learn about their child’s online behavior, with some 46% being “very” concerned.
- 69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child’s online activity might affect their future academic or employment opportunities, with some 44% being “very” concerned about that.
- 69% of parents of online teens are concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online, with some 49% being “very” concerned about that.
- 63% of parents of teens ages 12-13 say they are “very” concerned about their child’s interactions with people they do not know online and 57% say they are “very” concerned about how their child manages his or her reputation online. For parents with children over 13, the number of “very concerned” parents drops from 63% to 53%.
Folks, parenting is not a democracy. You need to be involved with what your children are doing online and don’t take “but nobody else’s parents care” as an excuse. Take an active role in monitoring online behavior and who is connecting to your kids! Agree?
