Teen Filter Use
Use of Internet filters has increased in households with teenagers in them, but not as much as you might expect.
Of course, it’s still an open question how well filters work at blocking kid non-friendly stuff from a PC’s screen, but some filter is better than no filter. More than half (54 percent) of American families with teenagers use an online filter to limit access to potentially harmful content, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. That’s a 65 percent increase from the year 2000.
Who uses filters? The tendency is by parents who themselves are frequent users of the Internet (they know what’s out there) and who have middle-school-age children. Parents with older children and who are less tech-savvy are, as you might expect, less likely to use filters. But no one is really fooled – both teens and parents believe that teens do things on the Internet that their parents would not approve of.
Deep Dive
Uncategorized
Our best illustrations of 2022
Our artists’ thought-provoking, playful creations bring our stories to life, often saying more with an image than words ever could.
How CRISPR is making farmed animals bigger, stronger, and healthier
These gene-edited fish, pigs, and other animals could soon be on the menu.
The Download: the Saudi sci-fi megacity, and sleeping babies’ brains
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.