Study: 1 in 5 parents say kids online too much

To continue with the  adult/child computing gap, I found another interesting article and poll that  says  20 percent of  parents think their children are online too much.  One in five American parents believe their kids are spending too much time on the Internet, though most say the online activities have not affected grades either way, a new survey indicates. Here is the link to the article:  http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/11/29/internet.use.ap/index.html

A study by USC found 21 percent of adult Internet users with children believe the kids are online too long, compared with 11 percent in 2000. Still, that is less than the 49 percent who complain their kids watch too much TV. About 80 percent of the children say the Internet is important for schoolwork, although three-quarters of the parents say grades have not gone up or down since they got Internet access. 47 percent of the adults say they have withheld Internet use as a form of punishment. Banning television is still more popular, reported by 57 percent of adults surveyed.

The study, meanwhile, found that although only 27 percent of cell phone owners use them for text messaging, photo transmitting and other non-voice functions, the figure grows to 54 percent among those 18-24 and 45 percent among those under 18.  The study has been conducted most years since 2000. Over that time, researchers have seen Internet use grow to 78 percent, from 67 percent. Access at home increased to 68 percent, from 47 percent. In one of the few surveys to look at why people are offline, the study found the lack of a working computer most often to blame. Of the 22 percent of Americans who do not currently use the Internet, more than a quarter are former users who dropped out.

What’s interesting about these findings is the large gap between young people and older people when it comes to internet usage.  Americans 66 and over remain the most disconnected, with only 38 percent online. For all other age groups, at least 74 percent are online, with penetration hitting 99 percent for those 18 and under, likely because most U.S. schools now have some form of Internet access.

 Also, those who use the internet are doing it longer than they have just 6 years ago.  On average, users spend 14 hours a week online, compared with 9.4 hours in 2000.  37 percent of home users still have dial-up accounts, compared with 26 percent for high-speed cable modems and 24 percent for DSL.  11 percent of users go online through mobile devices not necessarily exclusively  averaging two hours a week.   We are online now more than we ever have been and  that is a fact of life and  it looks like parents will just have to deal with that fact.  As long as children are getting their work done,  it shouldn’t be a big deal if kids are online for several hours a day.