60% of Teens Rarely or Never Talk to Their Parents About Appropriate Online Behavior, Survey Finds
Summary
“ This data highlights the importance of initiating potentially uncomfortable conversations about appropriate online behavior and keeping open communication channels with your children,” said Laura Higgins, director of digital civility at Roblox. Despite these differences, millennial, Gen X, and baby boomer parents who don’t monitor their children’s behavior do so for nearly the same reasons: “ It can feel intimidating at times to keep up with the fast pace of which apps and devices our children use. This requires parents to educate themselves and ensure they understand how functions like chat work on a platform, or how to report bad actors and harmful content,” said Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute. Additional survey findings: “ While some platforms strive to create a safe environment for younger users and are relentless in combating bad actors, teens may opt to use more open platforms—like unmoderated chat apps—in tandem with curated ones to bypass restrictions and push boundaries,” added Higgins. Roblox’s director of digital civility Laura Higgins shared her commentary on the Roblox blog leading to her presentation of the research at the 2019 International Bullying Prevention Conference this week.