Parents reveal they snoop on their kids online with almost 50 percent of them knowing their child’s social media passwords, survey finds

  • A Pew study revealed parents take more of a hands-on approach to monitor their child's internet usage
  • More than half of parents have checked which websites their child visits
  • About 48 percent of parents know the password to their teenager's email account 
  • And only 16 percent of parents use monitoring tools on their teen’s cellphone to track their location

By Valerie Edwards For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Nearly half of parents keep tabs on at least one of their kid’s social media passwords and email accounts, according to a new survey. 

Parenting in the age of the internet has become more difficult with independent exploration, forcing them to use different methods to monitor their teen’s online lives.

Parents have kept a close eye on their teen's internet usage because of concerns about the behaviors teens engage in online, the people with whom they interact and the personal information they make available.

Despite concerns of independent exploration, parents take proactive measures to monitor their teen's online usage instead of using technology-based tools to block or track their teen's location (file image)

Despite concerns of independent exploration, parents take proactive measures to monitor their teen's online usage instead of using technology-based tools to block or track their teen's location (file image)

A Pew study of about 1,000 parents of 13 year olds to 17 year olds found how involved parents are in monitoring their child’s online usage.

About 61 percent of parents reported looking at their child’s browsing history, 48 percent know the password to their teenager’s email account and 35 percent know the password to at least one of their kid’s social media accounts. 

However, parents are less likely to use technology-based tools to monitor, block or track their teen's online usage and instead have taken more proactive approaches to encourage their kids to use technology in an appropriate and responsible manner. 

Only 16 percent of parents use parental controls to restrict their teen’s use of their cellphone and use monitoring tools on their teen’s phone to track their location.

Parents, advocates and lawmakers have all raised concerns about online safety, cyberbullying and privacy issues affecting teens.

But the one thing most participants in the survey agreed on was the importance of talking with their child about what’s appropriate to share online (94 percent), what's appropriate content to consume (95 percent), and how to treat others online (92 percent).

Parents, advocates and lawmakers have expressed their concern for online safety, cyberbullying and privacy issues that affect teens (file image)

Parents, advocates and lawmakers have expressed their concern for online safety, cyberbullying and privacy issues that affect teens (file image)

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