New study indicates Canadian parents UnAware

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NEWS RELEASE

Canadian youth are ahead of their parents – and on their
own – in their
explorations of the Internet, according to research findings released today by the
Media
Awareness Network.

Young Canadians in a Wired World, the most comprehensive and wide-ranging
survey of its kind
conducted in Canada, heard from 5,682 students between the ages of 9 and 17 in
schools across
Canada. This study to assess how young Canadians actually use the Internet was
undertaken by
the Media Awareness Network (MNet), with financial support from the Government
of Canada. Data
collection and analysis were conducted by Environics Research Group.



Not surprisingly, the majority of young people are ahead of their parents in their
knowledge and
exploration of the Internet. One-half of young people say they think they know more
about the
Internet than their parents do. Young people also say they are often on their own
when they go
online – 84% say they are by themselves when they go online at least some of the
time and 70%
say their parents talk to them very little or not at all about what they do online.



\”This survey is a wake-up call to parents,\” says Anne Taylor, Media Awareness
Network
Co-Director. \”Kids today are going online from home in much larger numbers than
they are from
school or from the public library. It\’s essential that parents get involved and ensure
that
their kids understand how to be safe, wise and responsible Internet users.\”



Findings indicate that Canadian young people are active Internet users, with 99% of
all
respondents saying they have used the Internet at some point and 79% accessing the
Internet from
home. A companion survey of over 1000 Canadian parents conducted last year for
the Media
Awareness Network indicated that parents feel they have quite a good knowledge of
their kids\’
Internet use; MNet\’s most recent data shows, however, that they are not up to
speed about what
their kids are really doing online.



A majority of parents (65%) emphasized schoolwork when asked what their kids
use the Internet
for. Meanwhile, kids say they like to use the Internet for a wide variety of activities:
playing
and downloading music and games, using e-mail, using instant messaging (IM), and
visiting chat
rooms.



Young people do use the Internet for schoolwork (38%), though not as much as
their parents think
they do. However, as a homework tool, the Internet was ranked first among young
people as their
preferred source of information, followed by books from the public library and
books from
school.



\”Our parent survey conducted last year indicated that while parents saw the Internet
as
beneficial to their children, providing supervision of its use made them feel
overwhelmed and
pressed for time,\” says Jan D\’Arcy, MNet Co-Director. \”This is why MNet has
developed its
national Web Awareness Canada program and established active partnerships with
public libraries,
educators and community leaders to deliver Internet education to parents and young
people.\”



MNet\’s Web Awareness Canada program, offers a wide range of resources, such
as:


· practical advice on the Internet environments that kids enjoy

· information on filtering and blocking software

· useful tips on decoding online marketing strategies and evaluating Web site privacy
policies

· Internet guidelines for the home and classroom, and

· two games, with study guides, addressing cyber-hate, online privacy and
authentication of
online information.



These and other resources can be found online at:




Licences for MNet\’s Web Awareness professional development resources have
been purchased by the
Canadian Library Association, for use by public libraries across Canada, and the
ministries of
education of Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Yukon. The Web
Awareness Canada program is
a key component of the Government of Canada\’s Strategy to Promote Safe, Wise
and Responsible
Internet Use . The national strategy, led by
Industry Canada, was
launched earlier this year.



For more information on the survey, including national and regional key findings, the
full report, and related Web Awareness resources, visit:

.