craigmanderson

Seventy percent of teens hide their online behavior from their parents, according to a new survey from online security provider McAfee. That percentage is up from 45% in 2010. McAfee’s Robert Siciliano blogged about the survey’s findings, saying, “Parents, you must stay in-the-know. Since your teens have grown up in an online world, they may be more online savvy than their parents, but you can’t give up. You must challenge yourself to become familiar with the complexities of the teen online universe and stay educated on the various devices your teens are using to go online.”
The survey also included a list of the “top 10 ways teens are fooling their parents”: clearing their browser history (53% of teens); closing or minimizing a browser when a parent walks in (46%); hiding or deleting Instant Messages or videos (34%); lying or omitting details about online activities (23%); using a computer parents don’t check (23%); using an Internet-enabled mobile device (21%); using privacy settings to make certain content viewable only by friends (20%); using private browsing modes (20%); creating private email addresses unknown to parents (15%); creating duplicate and/or fake social network profiles (9%). [cnn.com, 6/25/12 stats] [from Focus on the Family’s “Plugged In”]