ATLANTA – More than two-thirds of 8- to 12-year-olds say their parents talk to them “a lot” about Internet safety, based on preliminary results from a study by sponsored by telecom giant Cox Communications in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh.
The Cox Tween Internet Safety Survey quizzed children ages 8 to 12. Ninety percent began using the Internet by age 9, it found.
Ninety-six percent of such “tweens” inform their parents of at least some of what they do online, based on their survey responses, while 79 percent said they tell their parents about everything they do online.
And among those tweens who tell someone whenever they receive an online message from an unknown sender, 91 percent said they tell their mothers.
“It’s really great to see that so many parents are making it a priority to talk to their children about their use of the Internet,” Walsh said of the results.
“However, the research also tells us that there’s a drop-off in the likelihood of young people to continue to speak openly with their parents and guardians about their Internet use as they mature.” He added: “That is of particular concern, since tweens often communicate with anonymous contacts.”
The full survey results are to be released at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 22, at the third annual Cox Communications National Summit on Internet Safety. Summit attendees will include Lauren Nelson, Miss America 2007.
Cox Communications – a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortune 500 company Cox Enterprises – is a broadband communications and entertainment company with more than 6 million business and residential customers nationwide including about 450,000 basic cable subscribers in New England. Its Cox Business division provides voice, data and video services to more than 240,000 commercial customers nationwide. Additional information is available at www.cox.com.
For information about the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, call 1-800-THE-LOST or visit www.MissingKids.org.
