Four in five teenagers 'hide internet activity from parents'

Teenagers are more aware than ever of how to hide inappropriate online activity from their parents, a new study has found.Few parents take security measures and when they do their teenagers know how to get around them.

Tactics including minimising internet browsers when a parent enters the room, clearing browser histories, and creating private email addresses without parents being aware were commonplace, the survey found.

The study of 400 parents and teenagers found that 50 per cent of parents expressed confidence they know how to track what their child does online, but only a fifth of teens said they didn’t know how to hide their behaviour from their parents.

Almost one in three British parents makes no effort at all to monitor their teenager's activity online, compared with less than one in five in other European countries.

Other findings included:

• 30.5 per cent of teenagers admitted visiting websites of which their parents would disapprove

• 31 per cent of teenagers intentionally viewed a video of something of which their parents would disapprove

• 25 per cent of teenagers are intentionally searching for nude images or pornography online – with over half (54%) viewing these images up to a few times a month – the highest in Europe

• 19 per cent of teenagers admitted to downloading pirated music online and 6% said they had purchased alcohol or drugs over the internet

• 13 per cent of teenagers said they had met up with someone they had met online (the lowest figure in Europe).

Only 12 per cent of British parents had a conversation about internet security with their teenagers, fostering uncertainty on the part of children who may be unaware of what constitutes appropriate online behaviour.

When it came to smartphones and internet safety, less than a third of parents set controls on their teen’s mobile device and just 12 per cent know their teenager’s mobile password.

Just over one in five parents (21.5 per cent) admit that their teenager is more tech-savvy than they are and that they will never be able to keep up with their online behaviours. Highlighting this point is the fact that 11 per cent of their children admitted to disabling parental controls on their devices.

“We believe the data will come as quite a shock to some parents, and we hope it will encourage them to take immediate action to protect their children,” said Raj Samani, EMEA CTO at McAfee, the internet security company which commissioned the study.

“It is clear that a huge gap exists between what teens are doing online, and what parents are aware of. Parents must take an active role to ensure their teens are practicing safe online behaviour.”