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Publication #FAR1245

 

Teenagers' Internet Use1

Suzanna Smith2

Figure 1. 
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In my household, everyone uses the Internet to get information for reports, news, to shop, and to communicate with friends. We are pretty typical of families these days—in fact, more than half of American families with children now have Internet access (Wang, Bianchi, & Raley, 2005).

While the Internet is a useful tool, it also poses challenges for parents who want to protect their children from inappropriate content (Wang et al. 2005).

In a recent study appearing in the Journal of Marriage and Family, researchers used data from a national survey of online teenagers and their parents to develop a profile of parental Internet rule setting. "The majority (61%) of American parents with Internet access" said that they "regulate their teenage children's Internet use" (Wang et al., 2005, p. 1257) by limiting the time they can spend online and by checking the websites teens use. Another option is to install software to block questionable websites, and about 44% of parents reported using this option (Wang et al. 2005).

Parents who use the Internet with their teens are more likely to regulate Internet use, although older teens are less likely to have many rules.

You might be surprised that the research revealed that fathers are more likely than mothers to "check the websites their children visit" (Wang et al. 2005, p. 1257) and parents with lower education are more likely to "put monitoring software on their home computers" (Wang et al. p. 1257).

More information is needed to better understand the challenges of the Internet for families. But understanding the opportunities and the risks of the Internet may help parents make decisions about the access they allow their teens.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

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Reference

Wang, R., Bianchi, S. M., & Raley, S. B. (2005). Teenagers' Internet use and family rules: A research note. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 1249-1258.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR1245, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 360 in April 2009. Published on EDIS September 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Suzanna Smith, associate professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.