LITTLE ROCK — As children spend more time online, doing everything from chatting with friends to researching homework, parents are struggling with how big a role the Internet should play in their children's lives, a study released Oct. 24 shows.
The number of parents who think the Internet is beneficial for their children declined from 2004 to 2006, according to the study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. But parents don't necessarily see it as a bad influence, either.
"We have more of a gray view of technology than we did in the past," says Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist with Pew. "It's not this fabulous and wonderful thing that will make your child get straight A's and improve 16 different aspects of your life. As you grow to know it, you realize where its power lies and what its frustrations are."
But as with the emergence of television in American homes in the 1950s and '60s, the Internet continues to provoke strong reactions from parents.
"There's too much garbage on there for them," says Patrick Thomas of Orlando, Fla., who has a 15-year-old son. "It's like a kid walking down the street. He's got to watch out. He never knows who he might come in contact with."
Thomas used to have Internet service from America Online at home but got rid of it about a year ago because he was worried about viruses infecting his computer and strangers taking advantage ofhis son, Zachary. He has purchased an array of educational software to help Zachary with his schoolwork.
"It was a great place to explore, and the information you could gather out there was great," Thomas says. "Now it's dangerous. It's gotten raunchier."
But Zachary Thomas still sees benefits to going online and says he can do it at the library or at school.
"It can be a good thing for kids," he says. But he wasn't upset when his father pulled the plug.
The teen's more nuanced attitude about the Internet is in line with the study's findings, confirming that teens - who have never known a world without online access - generally have a more positive view of the Internet and of technological devices, such as cell phones, than their parents. To compile the report, researchers conducted telephone interviewswith youngsters 12 to 17 and their parents, and found that 93 percent of teens are online, and 94 percent of their parents are as well.
More parents of teens are accessing the Internet themselves, which is making them feel less clueless about their children's online activities, Lenhart says.
But that doesn't mean they understand everything. It also doesn't mean they are being less vigilant in monitoring the Web sites their children visit or setting limits on the amount of time they spend online.
"I'm still trying to figure out the role of it," says John Horgan of Orlando, who has three daughters, 11, 12 and 15. "If theirgrades were to go down, that would be it."
The majority of parents surveyed by Pew said the Internet is a positive influence in their children's lives.
Horgan agrees but still checks his daughters' Webbrowsing histories to make sure they aren't visiting inappropriate sites and occasionally admonishes them for spending too much time online.
His 12-year-old daughter, Catherine, says she goes online after dinner to see whether any of her friends are on MySpace or RuneScape, a multiplayer online game.
"I don't think they understand what those sites are all about," Catherine Horgan says.
John Horgan thought he was up on his daughter's online activity, but after hearing her describe it to a reporter, he conceded that he has never actually seen her MySpace profile.
"I need to go check it out," Horgan says. "She said her profile is secure, but from what I understand, there is not too much that is secure online."
The disconnect he sometimes feels about what his daughters are doing online reminds him of how his father felt about the music he listened to as a teen. But there is one key difference.
"The Internet gives me more to talk about with my daughters than my father could ever talk with me about music - other than telling me to turn it down," says Horgan, 65.
"I call on them quite frequently for advice - like when I need to know how to attach something to an e-mail."
Family, Pages 35 on 10/31/2007