Teens are increasingly using mobile technologies to communicate, share and go online and nearly half (48%) of parents say they have looked through the phone call records or messages on their child’s cellphone. Fully 61% of parents say they have checked which websites their teen has visited, while 60% report checking their teen’s social media profile. Parents take a number of different steps to monitor their child’s behavior and interactions in digital spaces, with personal monitoring being the most prominent of these steps. A majority of parents have personally monitored their teen’s web history or social media profile – but fewer use parental controls or tracking tools

Parents also generally monitor the digital lives of teen boys and teen girls in similar ways. Parents of younger teens report they tend to take a more active role in policing their teen’s behavior, but parents of all demographic backgrounds tend to rely more heavily on personal engagement and monitoring than on technological solutions. Ultimately, parents today report taking a number of steps to influence their child’s digital behavior, from checking up on what their teen is posting on social media to limiting the amount of time their child spends in front of various screens. (For full details on technology ownership and use among parents of teens, see Appendix A of this report).Īnd as these devices have become more prominent in the lives of parents and teens, many parents are now faced with the challenge of how to effectively monitor their child’s behavior, interactions and time spent in various online spaces.

Among parents of 13- to 17-year-olds, 94% own a desktop or laptop computer 76% own a smartphone 72% use Facebook and 84% go online at least occasionally using a smartphone, tablet or other mobile handheld device. Much like their children, parents of teenagers now live in a world that is heavily influenced by digital devices and online platforms.

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