Internet & Media

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.

Two-thirds of parents agree that parents need to give tweens some freedom to make mistakes. 9 in 10 parents feel social media makes it easier for tweens to get in trouble. Mothers are more likely than fathers to monitor tween by reading their social media or tracking their location via cell phone.

Nearly one-third (30%) of parents have looked at online doctor ratings for themselves or a family member in the past year. 69% of parents believe doctor rating websites may have fake ratings. 11% of parents have left a rating about a doctor.

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.