Parents Become Friends With Kids on Facebook in Bid to Keep Tab

A new survey has revealed that American parents are keeping close tabs on their teen aged kids' activities on Facebook and other social networks, provoking a "mixed" reaction from the youngsters. The Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project survey found that parents are taking steps to monitor such online activities amid a range of fears, including interactions with strangers and tracking by advertisers.

The study, done in collaboration with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, noted that 80% of parents whose teens use social networks are themselves users of social media, News24 reports.

"Some youth seem to prefer not to friend their parents. They friend them only because it's expected of them," the study said.

However, researchers also found that some teens "have a positive attitude about being friends with their parents".

According to the survey, some 50 percent of parents using social networks have commented or responded directly to something that was posted to their child's profile or account, the researchers said.

The survey suggests parents are monitoring teen online activity because of persistent fears about a number of risks.

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While about 53 percent of parents said they were "very concerned" about how their child interacts online with people they do not know, 46 percent felt the same way about how much data is collected by online marketers tracking the activities of teens online, the survey noted.

Source-ANI