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FILTERS TO CONTROL
TEEN WEB USE
source: www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/
CIP/filterlaws.htm
www.pewinternet.org/
PPF/r/152/report_display.asp
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Use of Internet filters to protect teenager web surfers has expanded substantially over the last four years…* - In the United States, twenty-one states have Internet filtering laws that apply to public schools or libraries. The majority of these states simply require school boards or public libraries to adopt Internet use policies to prevent minors from gaining access to sexually explicit, obscene or harmful materials. However, some states also require publicly funded institutions to install filtering software on library public access terminals or school computers;
- 54% of parents with teens who have access to the Internet have filtering software installed on home computers, up from 41% in 2000, the Pew Internet and American Life Project study found. 13% of American teens do not use the Internet at all. 62% of parents of online teens say they check the sites their children visit, though only a third of teens who use the Internet at home believe their parents do so. And any reasonably tech-savvy teen knows how to erase their online footsteps. Big majorities of both teens and parents believe that teens do things on the Internet that their parents would not approve of;
- given the current online population (about 19 million youth live in homes with Internet connections), this means the number of teens whose Internet use is screened by filters has increased from 7 million to 12 million in the last four years.
- in addition to filters, parents are also trying other techniques to control and monitor their teenagers' web use. Pew found 73% of online teens say their household computer is located in a ‘public’ place in the home. About 64% of parents say they set rules for their children's time online;
- Pew also found parents and teens share similar views about the carelessness of teen behaviour online. Approximately 81% of parents say their teenagers aren't careful enough online when giving out information about themselves. For their part, 79% of teens agree they aren't careful enough when sharing such information.
* According to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, published in March 2005.
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