Friday, February 8, 2013

Teens Hiding Online Activity


According to a recent CNN article teens are hiding their online activity from their parents.  The security software maker, McAfree, completed a 2017 person study and found 70% of teens "hide their online behavior" from parents.  

The article stated that the study found that teens, not surprising, were mostly hiding violent online content at 43% and pornographic content at 32%.  However, some of the other things teens were hiding were surprising.  The study reported that "fifteen percent of teens have hacked into social networks; 9% have hacked into e-mail accounts; 12% have met face to face with a person he or she met on the Internet; and 16% of teens surveyed said they had used their phones to cheat on tests at school."

Teens have been hiding their activities from their parents for many generations, however, today the dangers and stakes are much higher.  Several companies now offer online controls and spy software for parents.  If you choose to use spy software, it is important to be up front with your child that you are monitoring their online activities.  To read this article, including the top ten ways "teens are fooling their parents" go to the CNN article,  70% of Teens Hide Online Behavior From Parents.