Internet Filter Usage Increasing Among Parents

A report released late Thursday indicates that parents are increasingly using filters to limit what their children can access online. A study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project showed a 65% increase in filter usage since the beginning of the decade.

A survey of 1,100 teens and 1,100 parents showed that 54% of families now use filtering software, up from 41% in 2000. Which families used filters also depended on the internet experience of the parent as well as the age of the child. Parents who were tech savvy and had smaller children were likely to use the technology, while less technologically inclined parents with older children were not.

Both groups seemed to agree that filters may be necessary.

"There is striking consensus among parents and their teens that the teenage population is not as careful as it should be online and that teens do things online their parents don't know about," Pew's Amanda Leinhart wrote.

65% of parents and 64% of teens said that they thought most teens do things online that they would not want their parents to know about. 81% of parents and 79% of teens said teens are too careless when using the internet.

The study had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.