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Written by Dominic Perri
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Monday, 29 March 2010 14:57 |
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All too often those of us inside the children and media policy world fall into overly simple descriptions of what is in fact a very complex reality. We promote caricatures of parents and children as being either hiding under the covers in fear of harmful media content - or not concerned at all. We present the parent as the totally informed, rational actor who is making wise decisions about media use (and thus has no need for government intervention) or a weak, overwhelmed figure who needs government to protect their family from everything.
The reality, of course, is somewhere in between, as a Harris poll of 411 parents of children aged between 6-18 from 2007 indicates. Consider these findings:
- 71 percent admitted their child had encountered at least "one issue" with the Internet within the past year.
- Four out of five parents said the Internet helped their children in school
- Only 31 percent said their children spent too much time online.
- 93 percent say they are engaging in some sort of monitoring activity
- 24 percent of parents reported their kids were exposed to strong language, sexual or violent content online over the past year
- 56 percent reported using a filter or blocking software
The results seem to suggest that parents see the Internet as needed and necessary for their children. They are aware that Internet use exposes their children to inappropriate content and are doing what they can to protect their children. And I suspect they would welcome all the help they can get all of us in the policy world.
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