More than half of parents log onto social networking sites like Facebook to spy on what their children are doing, a study has found.
Some 55% of mothers and fathers thought nothing ofsnooping around on their children's profiles to see what they are up to.
They did it to avoid having 'awkward conversations' with the children but nearly a quarter admitted it was the only way they could find out about their lives.
The figures show that parents are becoming increasinglycrafty in their attempts to keep tabs on their children in the digital age. Almost one in 20 mothers and fathers even log on with a friend's account to avoid detection and gain better access to their children's profiles.
Websites like Facebook and MySpace along with microblogging site Twitter have become immensely popular amongst teenagers and children. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that last year among 16 to 24-year-olds 75% posted messages on them..
The majority of 13-16-year-olds have more than 100 'friends' on Facebookwhilst more than 750,000 are using the website below the age limit, which is 13.
Experts and parents however have expressed anxiety about how they can monitor what the young are up to when they go on-line. Now it appears that parents, at least are taking matters into their own hands.
Whilst 55% said they did spy on their children, 40% said they did not but the remaining 5% said they would do if they knew how.
Some 41% monitor their children's status updates and 39% look at their 'wall', which is where they and friends can write things. Just under one third, 29%, looked at pictures their children had uploaded.
When asked why they behaved like they did, 6% of parents blamed their 'overprotective' instincts and 14% admitted they were just being 'nosey'.
But almost a quarter admitted it was the only way they could find out what their children were doing, and 6% did it to avoid 'awkward conversations' with them.
The rise of parents spying on their children has spawned a fightback on Facebook. Teenagers are increasingly annoyed the older generation is not cottoning on to what they believe is a place where they should be left alone.
The study was carried out by computing company Bullguard Internet Security.
(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
(Agencies)
一项研究发现，超过一半的父母会登录Facebook之类的社交网站，窥探自己的孩子在做些什么。 55%的父母觉得上孩子主页看看他们在忙些什么是很正常的事情。 他们这么做，是为了避免和孩子聊天时产生尴尬。不过还有近四分之一的父母承认，这是他们能够了解孩子生活的唯一方法。 有数据显示，身处数字时代，为了密切掌握孩子的情况，父母们也变得越来越诡计多端了。几乎每二十个父母中，就有一个会用朋友的帐号登录社交网站，这样既能不被孩子察觉，又能更方便地浏览他们的页面。 如今Facebook、Myspace这类网站和微博网站Twitter在青少年中非常受欢迎。来自国家统计局的数据显示，去年16至24岁的年轻人中，在这类网站上发布信息的人占到了75%。 大多数13至16岁的使用者在Facebook上有超过100个"好友"。还有75万多使用者不足13岁，没有达到网站规定的使用年龄。 怎么才能知道孩子上网时在做些什么呢？专家和父母们都对这个问题感到很焦虑。不过现在看来，至少父母们已经开始亲自出马了。 55%的父母称自己的确窥探过孩子的隐私，40%的人说没有这么做过，其余5%的人说，如果他们知道如何窥探孩子隐私的话，他们也会那么做。 有41%的父母会检查孩子的状态更新情况，39%的人会去看孩子的留言板，上面有孩子和他的朋友们写的东西。将近三分之一的人（29%），会去看孩子上传的照片。 当被问及为什么这么做的时候，6%的父母将这一行为归咎于自己对孩子"过分保护"的本能，还有14%的人承认他们只不过是有点"爱管闲事"罢了。 不过有近四分之一的人承认，他们只有这样做才能知道孩子在干什么；还有6%的人这么做是为了避免和孩子聊天时觉得尴尬。 越来越多的父母们对孩子进行网络监视，这在Facebook上引起了孩子们的反击。青少年视这些网站为无人打扰的乐土，而父母们却不理解这一点，这让他们越来越反感。 此项研究是由Bullguard网络安全公司开展完成的。
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