We all spend a lot of time surfing the web. It can simplify finding things, getting information from trusted sources, and where your kids are concerned it helps with education, completing their school work, performing research, accessing tutoring and study clubs and connecting with school study partners online. There are certainly times when your kids are not using their internet time for school and with that said it is actually quite difficult to know exactly what your kids are doing online.
Your kids could be spending a lot of time playing online games and if they are, you need to know what kinds of games they are playing. Some online games can be educational and teach essential skills, other games can affect mental attitude, encourage aggression and sanction violent behavior. Your kids may even have multiple online identities. Surprised? You shouldn’t be! According to CBS News TechTalk, 34 % of teens have at least one secret online account and at last report, 42% of teens clear their browser history when they leave the computer. This is especially true as your kids get into their pre-teen and teen years and are striving for independence from their parents.
A revealing report published by World Science links excessive internet use to depression, mental health problems and in the extreme suicide. Studies show that excessive time spent online interferes with a young person’s emotional, intellectual, social, physical and spiritual development. So how much time online is too much and how can you tell unless you know how much time your kids are spending online.
Often, parents don’t really know how much time kids spend on the internet. Most likely it is much more time than you think and if they are truly addicted to the internet they take steps to make sure you don’t know what they are doing. The prevalence of Smartphones and iPhones, especially by tweens and teens, can make tracking their internet use even more difficult. Parents may first of all see the indicators of internet addiction so it is important to know the signs. If you are concerned that a family member is suffering from internet addiction, take a few minutes to go through this simple test and find out if your suspicions are warranted.
Monitoring your child’s internet use is a growing trend. A survey from kidsandmedia.org, reveals that a large percentage of parents have a different view of online activity and safety from that of their teens. Pew Research Center, conducted research using a sample of parents and their kids and found that 81% of parents, of online teens, monitor their child’s internet activity. Parents were concerned enough to purchase monitoring programs so they could accurately track their child’s online use. If you are concerned about how much time your child is on the internet, it may be worth it to look into monitoring programs.