Study: Parents Have No Clue How Much Kids Use Social Media

In the words of Will Smith, “So to you other kids all across the land, there’s no need to argue: Parents just don’t understand.”

Common Sense Media did a study of parents’ perceptions of their kids’ social-media use and found that, basically, the parents had no clue, according to The New York Times.

The study found that 22% of teen-agers check social networks more than 10 times daily, and 51% more than once daily. However, the respective numbers for parents believing those numbers: only 4% and 23%.

Common Sense CEO James Steyer told the Times:

It’s not just that parents don’t keep track: They also don’t know the extent to which this has changed the way kids socialize, the way they communicate and also the way they learn.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.