When it comes to technology, students are more connected than ever. But there also seems to be a serious disconnect between what kids and parents think about teens online activity.
A recent survey of online teens conducted for the Cybersecurity Alliance found that 6 of 10 students had created social media accounts without their parents knowledge. But only 28 percent of parents suspected their kids offspring had secret accounts.
This suggests a lot of parents are just plain oblivious of their kids’ online activities. And other findings are equally troubling.
While two-thirds of parents expected their kids would report any online incident that made them uncomfortable, only one-third of students said they would report such incidents. And just under half of the teens said they’d seek their parents help for problems online compared to the 65 percent of mums and dads who expected their teens to share their online problems with them “most” or “all the time.”
This confusion between what teens and parents think about online conduct suggests that parents need to be more proactive in preparing their kids for the challenges of having access to the world through devices that fit in our pockets.
What’s a better excuse to talk technology than when you’re send your kid back to school?
Here are few topics of discussion to consider before the first class begins:
An open and honest conversation reduces chances that a uncomfortable situation online will become a crisis.
So before your kids go back to school, start talking about how important it is to you that they connect safely, especially when you’re not watching them.
As a TalkTalk customer you can get SuperSafe internet security for free on one device (worth £39 a year) and SuperSafe Boost which protects up to eight devices for only £2 a month (worth £99 for a year).
Just log in to My Account, select the package you want and you will receive an email from F-Secure to install it onto your device.
Hey everyone, I've worked for TalkTalk since 2004, as a member of the new broadband support team, moved to second line the following year, then CEO tech team and on to Community in 2009. You'll usually find me on the Broadband and Fibre boards (and email now and again). I'm interested in technology and photography and I'm a big coffee fan, have loads of coffee gadgets and roast my own coffee beans