Teens use social media more than parents think

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 13, 2009 at 2:56 PM

Teenagers use social media much more heavily than their parents think they do, according to a study by Common Sense Media, a non-profit firm that tracks media use by children, out this week.

A poll, conducted by The Benenson Strategy Group, showed that teens increasingly rely on social networking to connect with friends, classmates and people with similar interests, with 51 percent responding that they check social networking sites more than once a day. Meanwhile, just 23 percent of parents said they thought their kids check the sites more than once per day.

Other key findings, according to the poll:

-    22% of teens check social networking sites more than 10 times a day, while only 4% of parents believe kids are checking that much
-    28% have shared personal information they normally wouldn't have shared in public
-    25% have shared a profile with a false identity
-    39% have posted something they regretted
-    26% have pretended to be someone else online
-    54% have joined an online community or Facebook/MySpace group in support of a cause
-    34% have volunteered for a campaign, nonprofit, or charity

For the full poll results, visit Common Sense Media.