Thursday, October 23, 2008

Teens Use the Internet, Moms Worry

McAfee, the computer-security guys, did a survey of teenagers and mothers of teenagers, and found that A.mothers are very concerned about what their teens are doing online and B.teenagers know how to keep their parents from finding out what they do online.
About two-thirds of mothers of teens in the United States are just as, or more, concerned about their teenagers' online safety, such as from threatening emails or solicitation by online sexual predators, as they are about drunk driving (62 per cent) and experimenting with drugs (65 per cent), according to new research released today by Internet security company McAfee, Inc.

This fear is supported by the McAfee study, which revealed that 52 per cent of teens have given out personal information to someone online they don't know offline, with 34 per cent of online teen girls having given out a photograph or a physical description of themselves to someone they don't know. The biggest hurdle mothers face is keeping track of what their kids do online, as 32 per cent of teens said they have cleared the browser history when they have finished using the computer, and 16 per cent have created private e-mail addresses or social networking profiles to hide what they do online from their parents. McAfee, Inc. Research Reveals Mothers Rate Cyber Dangers as High as Drunk Driving or Experimenting With Drugs

I've seen parents go both ways on this. I've known parents who make their kids get permission for every link they click on, and I've known some who let their kids do pretty much whatever they want. When my kids were younger we used to keep the computer in the family room, but as they got older they had more independence. And yes when they were younger I didn't mind going through the History list or occasionally reading an IM that had been left open. Over the years there was a little bit of stuff that I would have preferred not to find, but not much.

In a lot of families I think the kids understand the computer better than their parents do. I could tell some stories, so could you.
The research conducted by Harris Interactive® for McAfee among more than 1,000 U.S. moms of online teens aged 13-17 and online teens aged 13-17, offers numerous insights into moms' fears and teenagers' behaviors on the Internet. Fifty-eight per cent of mothers do not believe the government is doing enough to keep children safe online. And moms no longer view their children's bedrooms as a safe place either – 44 per cent said they worry about their teens' safety when they are online in their bedroom unsupervised, and about one in four (24 per cent) are more concerned about what their children do online than what they do when they are out of the house. When it comes to their teens' online behavior, sharing too much personal information is a primary worry of 58 per cent of mothers.

The survey results are not available online, only this press release. You have to remember that this is an advertising tool for McAfee, it's in their interest to word things so that parents worry, so they'll buy McAfee's products.

The article asks, "Are Mothers Deluding Themselves About What Their Kids Do Online?"
According to the study, the answer is a resounding "yes." McAfee's research found that 72 per cent of mothers have a verbal agreement with their teen – that is, a discussion of what is and is not allowed online – and 48 per cent admitted they don't always know what their kids do online. Through polling teens, McAfee discovered that the reality is that many teenagers are spinning a web of evasive operations to avoid their parents' supervision, while potentially exposing themselves and others to cyber dangers.
  • 63 per cent of teens said they know how to hide what they do online from their parents. 43 per cent have closed or minimized the browser at the sound of a parental step, 32 per cent have cleared the browser history when they have finished using the computer, 16 per cent have created private e-mail addresses or social networking profiles and 11 per cent have unlocked/disabled/ parental/filtering controls
  • 52 per cent of teens have given out personal information online to someone they don't know offline including personal photos and/or physical descriptions of themselves (24 per cent). Double the number of teen girls have shared photos or physical descriptions of themselves online as boys (34 per cent girls vs. 15 per cent boys)
  • 20 per cent of teens have engaged in cyberbullying behaviors, including posting mean or hurtful information or embarrassing pictures, spreading rumors, publicizing private communications, sending anonymous e-mails or cyberpranking someone
  • 9 per cent of teens have used the Internet to cheat at school

There is a certain school of thought that says that using technology to do your schoolwork should not be considered "cheating." In the future, it will be more important to know how to use a computer creatively than to memorize a bunch of facts -- you can always Google for the facts, right? Knowing how to Google is now the important skill to have.

It's funny in this survey to realize that no moms of teenagers had the worldwide web when they were teenagers. It only appeared in the mid-nineties. So they have no personal experience of what it's like to put something on your Facebook and have some creep try to friend you. The kids, on the other hand, cannot imagine a world without it. I tell my kids about the old black and white video games we had when I was their age, and they totally buy it. Remember the old crank-handled computers, before electricity?

It seems to me we have to raise this generation to be responsible, to make wise decisions, we can't look over their shoulders every second their online. And they know how to hide what they're doing when we're watching.

30 Comments:

Blogger Tish said...

My son just set up a facebook account, so of course, now I have one too. I am not one of the more computer savvy parents, but it wasn't hard to put together a face book page. I know what my son has put out there and I also can see what's going on with his writers' group. Sometimes I wonder if all we parents shouldn't be linking into these social networking sites and making ourselves "friends" with each other and each other's children. I would certainly make my son's next pizza party easier to plan.

October 23, 2008 9:23 AM  
Anonymous Robert said...

Schools have a variety of programs that block various websites, including social-networking sites such as myspace and facebook (Prince William County Schools and many schools in Virginia, prohibit access to HRC and PFLAG, among others). Students, however, invariably know backdoors to access these sites.

My feeling, as a teacher, is that students should not have unsupervised access to the internet when in my classroom. I know that internet filters don't work.

rrjr

October 23, 2008 10:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Robert - so you do have some decency values. You don't want unsupervised access to the internet for kids. That is a start.
Yet, you don't care if materials depicting varient sexuality are pushed on kids in the school system. You don't care if they are encouraged(!) to become transgender or whatever?
You want internet filters, but don't want to filter the filth that the kids are taught on homosexual acts?

October 23, 2008 11:28 AM  
Anonymous Robert said...

Dearest Anonymote,

You make the same mistake that Regina does, of not listening carefully to what I say, and projecting your own straw men onto my opinions:

It is not that I don't care that youth are taught positive attitudes about lgbt people.

I am definitely not indifferent.

I believe strongly that students should be taught that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including youth, are normal and productive members of our society, and lgbt people should be accepted, indeed welcomed by non-minority people. Students should be taught that pejoritive attitudes towards lgbt people are wrong.
Students who have a minority sexual orientation or gender identity/expression should be respected by all members of all school communities.

I am not the least bit indifferent.

Your incessant statements are useful examples of attitudes that students should not embrace (as you know; I'm aware you exude prejudice here just to be annoying. Whatever floats your boat).

You should pay more attention.


rrjr

October 23, 2008 12:12 PM  
Blogger BlackTsunami said...

Anonymous,

that's just silly and indicative of the shrillness that your side seems to always rely on. Now when you say "homosexual acts," are you talking about lgbt families, companies that have opportunities for lgbts. When someone looks up the subject of homosexuality in the library, it doesn't necessarily mean sexual intercourse.

October 23, 2008 12:12 PM  
Blogger Dana Beyer, M.D. said...

Encouraged to be transgender? What are you talking about?

October 23, 2008 2:03 PM  
Blogger Dana Beyer, M.D. said...

"Encouraged to be transgender?" what are you talking about?

October 23, 2008 2:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, IBD seconded AP's poll of yesterday and said Obama leads by 1 point nationally.

Margins of the six polls released today: 1-4-4-5-7-12.

So Obama either leads by 12 or 1 or somewhere in between.

Glad they could narrow that down.

We may be seeing the end of the science of polling.

October 23, 2008 4:35 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

If the "margin of error" is 4%, that means that 95% of the sampling results will be within that number of the "real" figure (which is, I would think, the way people would vote if they voted at the time they were asked the question), and that 5% will not. That is setting aside all other errors in measurement.

Seems to me that if Osama actually leads by about 6%, 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 of the polls taken have been between 2 and 10%.

(Am I right Jim, or do I have it backwards?)

I didn't actually count (I don't care that much), but it seems to me that the "science of polling" is pretty much delivering what it says it will deliver. Better than our financial advisers are doing.

rrjr

October 23, 2008 5:25 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

70% of statistics are made up.

October 23, 2008 5:26 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

Gay-Straight Alliance Conference

Saturday, November 1

Fairfax Virginia

Followed by pizza and dance.

Open to:
LGBT youth in high school in VA, MD, and DC under the age of 20.
Straight friends and allies
Supportive faculty and staff

Youth should bring proof of age
Adults should bring a current school ID badge

12:30-5:00 Conference
5:00-6:00 Pizza
6:00-10:00 Dance

Free of charge
Pre-registration required

Go to www.novayouth.org for details and registration info.

October 23, 2008 5:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Seems to me that if Osama actually leads"

You know something the rest of us don't, Robert?

Margin of error doesn't save the pollsters. Both the 12 point and 1 point polls have margins of errors of 3, the rest are between 2 and 3. There is still a huge discrepancy in the numbers and it has been apparent far more than 5% of the time.

October 23, 2008 5:37 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

As I said, I didn't care enough to actually tote up the numbers. Polling has its uses.

You should check these people from California out:


American River Community College (Sacramento) Christian Club


Maybe you could apply for honorary membership.

October 23, 2008 6:28 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

Good god I said Osama I meant Obama.

A Lapsus Linguae, honest.

rrjr

October 23, 2008 6:29 PM  
Anonymous Derrick said...

It happens to the best of us, Robert.

At least you admit when you make a mistake, unlike AnonBigot.


OBAMA FOR YO' MAMMA!!!

Obama '08 :-)

October 23, 2008 7:21 PM  
Anonymous Derrick said...

Something that I find interesting is that one CAN search for sexism, racism, xenophobia but not homophobia in MCPS. Odd.

However, sites like HRC and PFLAG and even the pro-hate group PFOX can be reached on MCPS computers.

October 23, 2008 8:05 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

FCPS will allow access at the high school but not elementary level to LGBT and "family" groups, including PFOX, but not Westboro Baptist. I've been told Prince William claims it as a consequence of Virginia's no-promo-homo law for schools.

rrjr

October 24, 2008 6:28 AM  
Anonymous Robert said...

According to the Blade story today, PFOX acknowledges that they didn't really file a lawsuit, they appealed a decision on a complaint (about the National Education Association and booths at the NEA convention):

PFOX Admits Inaccurate Press Release

Buried in the story is the NEA statement that next year they will allow a PFOX booth at their next convention.

Again, where does PFOX get it's money? Is there any way we can find out? Do they publish a financial statement (as do groups such as HRC, GLSEN, PFLAG, etc.).

Looking at the Blade the past few months, there seems to me to be large upswing of violent crimes specifictally targeted at lgbt people. The MPD says no, but I'm concerned about going into the city.

rrjr

October 24, 2008 12:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"According to the Blade story today, PFOX acknowledges that they didn't really file a lawsuit, they appealed a decision on a complaint (about the National Education Association and booths at the NEA convention)"

fascinating

who cares?

"Buried in the story is the NEA statement that next year they will allow a PFOX booth at their next convention."

as they should

sounds like they settled the non-existent case

"Again, where does PFOX get it's money? Is there any way we can find out? Do they publish a financial statement (as do groups such as HRC, GLSEN, PFLAG, etc.)."

They get it from donations from the responsible adults in our society.

btw, here's where the money for the gay agenda is coming from:

"Here's a pop quiz: Who's donated the most money to an effort in California to defeat Proposition 8, an initiative on the November 4 ballot that would define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state?

A) Gay-advocacy organizations

B) Civil-rights groups

C) The California Teachers Association

If you guessed "C," you understand the nature of modern liberal politics. And if you didn't, perhaps you're wondering what exactly gay marriage has to do with K-12 public education. The high school dropout rate is 1-in-4 in California and 1-in-3 in the Los Angeles public school system, odds that worsen considerably among black and Hispanic children. So you might think the CTA, the state's largest teachers' union, would have other priorities.

Yet last week the union donated $1 million to the "No on Proposition 8" campaign. Of the roughly $3 million raised by opponents of the measure so far, $1.25 million has come from the teachers' union. "What does this cause have to do with education?" said Randy Peart, a public school teacher in San Juan who was contacted by a local television station. "Why not put that money into classrooms, into making a better place for these kids?"

In fact, the CTA and its parent organization, the National Education Association, have used tens of millions of dollars in mandatory teachers' dues to advance all manner of left-wing political causes. And members like Ms. Peart are right to ask questions. In some years barely a third of the NEA's budget has gone toward improving the lot of teachers themselves.

In addition to vigorously fighting school choice and other reforms that benefit underprivileged children but threaten the public education monopoly, the NEA has directly (or via state affiliates) bankrolled Acorn, the Democratic Leadership Council, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and, naturally, the Human Rights Campaign, which lobbies for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights."

Public school teachers of America, take note. This is your dues money at work."

"Looking at the Blade the past few months, there seems to me to be large upswing of violent crimes specifictally targeted at lgbt people. The MPD says no,"

The police say it doesn't exist but it must be so if advances robert's delusions.

"but I'm concerned about going into the city."

Why? How would people know you're g? Do you wear a sign on your back? Or are you one of the obnoxious ones Jim referred to the other day that try to push it on others?

October 24, 2008 1:12 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

Anonymous

You're "no one would bother you if you didn't flaunt it" statement is pretty dispicable (if they only stayed in their place) and echoes the sentiments of generations of closeted queens.

To be honest, I don't know whether anyone walking down the street knows if I'm gay or not.

The violent homophobes (some of whom you hang with, perhaps?) are targeting people leaving, patronizing, approaching and working in gay establishments.

It is genuinely alarming.

Your attitude is a reflection of your, shall we say, hateful point of view. You have effectively said that violence against queer people is of no matter to you. The next step on the sociopathological chain is encouraging others to violence, then finally committing it yourself.

Beware those slippery slopes, my friend.

October 24, 2008 2:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

andrea- not anon
The internet is a powerful tool. I discussed with my daughter and my son that you don't give anyone information about yourself- unless they are someone you actually know because people lie and pretend to be who they are not. Now that my kids are adults - I don't worry so much about the internet.

October 24, 2008 2:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anonymous" troll...you are burdened with one helluva grudge against teachers and their professional associations, aren't you? You must have been a "difficult" child who caused your teachers to spend an inordinate amoount of time focusing on your disruptive behavior, pleading for whatever assistance they could get to identify and address your pre-adolescent and adolescent problems, but to no avail.
But, then again, your prolific posts here tell us that you really don't like much of anything. Sad.

October 24, 2008 2:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"You have effectively said that violence against queer people is of no matter to you."

No, I don't like violence directed at anybody. What I said is that I have no reason to doubt the DC Police Dept when they say it isn't happening.

I also asked why you were afraid of "going into the city". I understand now though. When you say "going into the city", it's a euphemism for "cruise gay bars".

Of course, officials say there is no problem with heightened danger in that situation. You only believe official reports, however, when they support the gay agenda like when you cited them to say crossdressers in the girls' rooms are no problem. If police don't support the gay agenda, they are dismissed by you.

October 24, 2008 3:52 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

And honey, what do you know about cruising gay bars.

In fact, when I go into DC, it's either go to museums, the zoo, or lgbt and lgbt-favorable environments.

Outside of work, work friends and family, I live my life centered on the lgbt community.

Given the frequency which you blog on lgbt issues here (gay agenda one time, gay agenda two times, gay agenda all the damn time! to paraphrase the FSU cheerleeding squad), honey, so do you.

Queer people are my peeps. In a truly odd sort of way, we are yours also.

rrjr

October 24, 2008 5:54 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

Setting the anonymoid's annoying statements aside, I do ask our friends here to be aware of the real danger of hate crimes in our community. Our trans members have always known about the very real possibility of violence. Their courage is real courage.

I always recommend to youth that they take proper caution in being "out" in any situation. The increased "chatter" of anti-lgbt groups and people has, I think, heightened the danger to lgbt people in general.

Just me speculating, of course; it seems that way to me, though. It could be an effect of muckraking on the part of the Blade.

October 24, 2008 6:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"According to the Blade story today, PFOX acknowledges that they didn't really file a lawsuit, they appealed a decision on a complaint (about the National Education Association and booths at the NEA convention)"

fascinating

who cares?


Supporters of TTF care because PFOX has filed lawsuits against MCPS over the sex education curriculum. They seem to constantly seek activist judges to advance their ex-gay agenda.

"Again, where does PFOX get it's money? Is there any way we can find out? Do they publish a financial statement (as do groups such as HRC, GLSEN, PFLAG, etc.)."

They get it from donations from the responsible adults in our society.


That's not the only place they have obtained money. PFOX, along the CRC, also took some money that could have been used to enhance educational opportunities for students who attend MCPS.

October 24, 2008 6:55 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

I really am curious about where PFOX gets there money. I'll admit I would be a little surprised if most of it came from Parents of Ex-Gays.

How would one go about researching this? Do non-profits file public financial statements? Is PFOX open or secretive about their bankrollers? I don't know, but think it would be interesting.

rrjr

October 24, 2008 7:10 PM  
Anonymous Robert said...

PFOX sued Arlington County Public Schools too.

October 24, 2008 7:12 PM  
Anonymous Jen said...

Moms should worry. I found this article - Teen Tortured by Online Friend - and while it's the extreme case that cause parents to worry, it just illustrates how real the dangers are.

October 26, 2008 1:06 AM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Well, I've been away a week and bad anonymous is still idiotically pounding the drum that a single poll he likes has everything to say about the election and the majority of polls have nothing to say about it. Of course any statistician would laugh his head off at the thought. If bad anonymous knew anything about statistics he'd realize this is why statisticians rely on averages of polls, the sample size and accuracy goes up while the margin of error goes down. Each poll has something to say about the attitudes of voters it surveyed but taken together they have very much more to say.

The average of polls has Obama leading by 7.8 % and only a fool like bad anonymous would think that isn't the most accurate statement on the attitudes of voters. As to the value of the 1% IBD poll he's clinging to, he was quoting Pat Buchanan last week and today on meet the press Buchanan said the IBD poll was clearly an outlier and Obama has a substantial lead.

October 26, 2008 3:37 PM  

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