A new survey of parents from security vendor Trend Micro that the percentage of parents using filters is holding steady at 55%. This is almost the same as a Pew survey in 2005, which found that 54% were using Internet parental controls. A survey in the European Union earlier this year found 59% of parents using parental controls. From the Trend Micro press release:
Parents may have a misperception of their kids’ online safety — over 65 percent of parents surveyed believe their kids are safe while using the Internet and 60 percent are not concerned about kids coming into contact with cyber threats such as spam and viruses, or inappropriate content such as nudity and gambling through Internet-related devices like game consoles aside from the computer. While the parental control feature in a security software program is a tool parents can use to prevent kids from accessing inappropriate Web site content – especially since 63 percent of parents surveyed said they will not be sending their kids to daycare or summer camps (and will likely be home alone) this year due to tighter family budgets — 45 percent of them said they either don’t have it, or they don’t know if they do. In addition, 30 percent of parents think their kids are protected from inappropriate Web site content.
Filed under: Filtering, Internet Safety, Research
