Digital Disconnect Between Adults & Teenagers: Many American Parents Are Clueless About Their Children’s Online Activity

Social media and internet use are one of the things that disconnect teenagers from their parents nowadays. A new study found that majority of moms and dads in America have no clue about what their children do online.

The National Cyber Security Alliance studied teen internet use and found that out of the 804 online teens and 810 parents with teens, only 13 percent of the youngsters believe that their parents understand how they use the internet and social media platforms. Moreover, 60 percent of teenagers involved in the study have parents who don't know that they have accounts on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

Meanwhile, only 28 percent of parents surveyed believe their teenage sons or daughters have social media accounts that they are not aware of. The NCSA called this huge gap between American parents and teenagers as "digital disconnect," The Guardian reported. Rules about internet use don't seem to exist between parents and teenagers either.

According to the study, only 67 percent of parents require their children to disclose them frightening or uncomfortable online incidents to them. Only 32 percent of teenagers, however, have parents with rules on internet use.

Michael Kaiser, the NCSA's executive director, said the absence of rules is alarming, especially now that horrible things happen to young people through the internet. Parent Herald previously reported about children and teenagers being forced into "sextortion" by online predators. Some pedophiles also use the internet to sexually abuse children as young as one.

Many teenagers experience cyberbullying; others are vulnerable to app-enabled kidnappings. Teens who are cyberbullied were often harassed due to their sexual orientation, religion, gender, or race, The Guardian listed.

Kaiser believes that the solution for the digital disconnect between parents and teenagers isn't knowing every move youngsters make online. Parents should accept that they can't know everything there is about teenagers' online activity, and the least they could do is help young people make sound decisions about their online presence.

Kaiser advised parents to help their kids develop "resistance and resilience" to negative things on the internet and to encourage teens' problem-solving skills. This way, teenagers would know who to turn to when the going gets tough.

Social media is being blamed for the surge of psychological distress experienced by teenagers, BBC reported. These teens, who are mostly girls, are less likely to be involved in risky and dangerous activities, but they have an increased risk of poor mental health because of pressure, anxiety, and believing that they don't have control over their lives.