Liberty Mutual Survey Reveals Parents Are Accepting Of Social Media But Monitor It Closely (NAPSA)—Arecent study from Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project revealed that the majority of parents (73 percent) who are active online find it acceptable for their child to have a Facebook or MySpace account—with the caveat that they will monitor the account until their child is 18 years old. Parenting has always been con- sidered a “full-time job” that includes an assortment of responsibilities and questionable situa- tions. As social media continues to permeate American society, today’s parents are faced with even more debates related to responsibility and what it means to “do the right thing.” The Liberty Mutual “Social Media and Personal Responsibil- ity Survey”is the first comprehensive survey of its kind, examining personal online behaviors and responsibility. Social Media and Parenting Social media has clearly influenced the dynamic between parents and their children. Parents have become friends with their kids online, Facebook pages are being monitored and parents are limiting their child’s social media use. Specifically, 69 percent of parents claimed they are currently friends with their children online. However, they did state that they provide social media “parameters” for their children. Nearly threequarters (73 percent) of parents said they put a limit on the amount of time their children can spend on social media networks. Top 5 Things to Consider as Parents of the Online Generation 1) Encourage yourolder kids to be discreet with whatthey put on their social media profiles. Fifty-two percentof the respondents foundit acceptable to check a job candidate's social media profile beforehiring him orher. 2) Consider the perceptions before posting a picture of yourchild on a Facebook pageorothersocial media profiles. Forty-two percentof social media users thinkit's irresponsible to do this. 3) Think aboutsetting parametersfor online use. Seventy-three percentof parents say they monitor the amountof fimetheir child spends on social media accounts. 4) Understand that social mediais growingtrendthatkids are excited about and probably wantto be a part ofit. Seventy-three percent of parents say they allow their child to have a Facebook or MySpace account. 5) Appreciate that your kids may want to be “friends” with you online.Sixty-nine percent ofparents revealed they are friends with their children online. Note: All statistics are from Liberty Mutual's “Social Media and Personal Responsibility Survey. '@ Parents shared a strong opinion about using social media on behalf of their children. An overwhelming nine out of 10 parents said they have never used social media on behalf of their child, including creating a baby profile page or post- ing “Tweets”from their child. Other topics in the survey brought about more of a debate. Survey respondents were some- what split on whether or not it’s responsible to post pictures of children online, with just under half (42 percent) stating that they believe it is in fact irresponsible. Your Part To join the conversation and share your opinion about the sur- vey results, visit The Responsibil- ity Project Web site at www. responsibilityproject.com/ index/onlinesurvey/, follow it on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lib ertymutual, or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/liberty mutual. About the Survey The Social Media and Personal Responsibility Survey was conducted to initiate a dialogue about what it means to “do the right thing” online. The survey is part of Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project, an online community that uses entertaining content, includ- ing short films, blogs, advertising and television programming, as catalysts for examining the decisions that confront people trying to “do the right thing.” The survey was fielded for Lib- erty Mutual and The Responsibility Project between January 12 and 15, 2010, reaching 1,000 adults nationwide. Oversamples of 100 additional 18—24-year-old social media users and 100 additional grandparents who are social media users were also reached. The base sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidencelevel.
