Back to the real world

In June we presented a report on teen's use of social media. Our research group was statistically relevant and represented teens in a unique demography -- church. According to Reginald Bibby about 21% of teens attend church regularly. Interestingly our survey found the media habits of church teens very similar to generals surveys done by other organizations.
Recent research surveyed the teens and their parents to discover what the parental influence was on teen internet habits. The results are fascinating.
The Benenson Strategy Group examined how social networks affect kids and families. The results indicated a significant gap between parents' believes and kids' actions.49% of parents say their child was age 13 or older before starting unsupervised surfing, but just 14% of teens say they actually waited this long.
The survey of both teens and parents found that many teens use the internet as a forum for gossip, sharing and blowing off steam, but others are also engaging in bullying and risqué behaviour online.
Parents do not realize how much time teens spend on social networking sites. 4% say their children check social networking sites more than 10 times a day, but 22% of teens do. 23% of parents say their children log in more than once a day, but 51% do. 12% of teens with Facebook or MySpace pages admit their parents don't know about the account.
Kids hiding things from their parents is not new to this generation. The gap between parents and children has always existed. I'm not even sure that the delusion of parents thinking they know everything about their children is new.
What is new is the ease of access to information and world-wide influence -- both good and bad. It is much more difficult to control children and teens in an environment where access is so free.
As an advertiser, I have am excited about the potential. Through new media we have a lot of opportunity to send our message.
In my role as a communicator I have a responsibility to use wisdom and discretion in the forms of advertising I use and the way I communicate.