Internet Safety

Over half of parents do not know their state’s legal age for online betting. 1 in 4 parents have talked with their teen about online gambling. 1 in 6 parents think they would probably not know if their teen was betting online.

4 in 5 parents of young children use social media to discuss parenting topics. Nearly half of parents rate social media as very useful for getting new ideas to try. 2 in 5 parents think it’s difficult to distinguish good vs bad advice on social media. More than half of parents use privacy settings or restrict who can see posts about their children.

Top parental concerns center on children’s and teens’ use of devices and social media. Over half of parents rate mental health issues as a big problem. Parents in low-income households rate more issues as a big problem for children and teens.

Parents say half of children 10-12 years and one-third of children 7-9 years use social media apps. 1 in 6 parents are not using any parental controls for their child’s social media apps. 1 in 3 parents say their child has been taught in school about safe use of social media apps.

Overuse of social media/screen time and bullying/cyberbullying are the top 2 concerns among parents overall. Black parents rate racism as the top health concern for kids in the US. Almost half of parents rate COVID-19 as a “big problem.”

1 in 20 parents say their tween currently uses health apps. 2 in 3 parents are concerned about their tween being targeted by ads from health apps. Most parents want input from their tween’s health care provider on using health apps, but only 3% have talked with their tween’s provider. 38% of parents would not allow their tween to use an app that tracks health information.

Almost 9 in 10 parents agree teens spend too much time playing video games. Parents are twice as likely to report their teen boys play video games every day compared with parents of teen girls. 4 in 10 parents try to restrict the type/content of the video games played by their teen.

1 in 3 parents are very concerned about bullying/cyberbullying for their children. Black parents cite racial inequities as the top health concern for their children. Involvement of their child in a motor vehicle accident is a common concern for many parents.

Mothers are more likely than fathers to label actions as cyberbullying. One in five parents believe students who post online rumors about sex should be referred to law enforcement. Online rumors about cheating on a test are viewed by parents as less serious than online rumors about sex.

Adults rate childhood obesity, bullying and drug abuse at the top of the list of big health problems for kids across the U.S. Internet safety rises to the 4th biggest child health concern, up from 8th in 2014.  Sexting rises to #6 on the list of biggest health concerns, up from 13th in 2014.