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A Survey of Internet Use in Canadian Families

The survey Canada’s Children In A Wired World: The Parents‘ View took place during the first two weeks of March 2000. It was carried out for the Media Awareness Network by Environics Research Group and funded by Industry Canada, in partnership with Health Canada and Human Resources Development Canada.

The survey investigates patterns of Internet use in Canadian families and parental attitudes and perceptions about the nature, safety and value of children's online activities. It also seeks parents' opinions on measures that could be taken to make children's online experiences safe and worthwhile.

Households in the ten provinces of Canada were sampled. One thousand and eighty-one randomly selected parents with children aged 6-16 years who have a personal computer (PC) at home were questioned by phone.

Overview

Overall, Canadian parents are optimistic about their children's use of the Internet. Eighty per cent of parents think that the Internet is "the way of the future." They are aware of the benefits of this new medium and recognize that because this new technology is still in its formative stages, they can influence the way children will use it.

A great majority of parents (94 per cent) say educating children about safe, responsible Internet use is a top priority. Another 91 per cent mention the importance of educating parents about strategies for managing the Internet. Fifty-five per cent of parents believe that users have to take responsibility for family Internet use, while 44 per cent think that Internet content needs to be controlled.

Canadian parents clearly understand they have a responsibility to not only supervise and manage their children's online activities, but to teach their children how to be safe, wise and responsible Internet users. However, this is a job that Canadian parents feel they can't do alone. Many parents suggested a collaborative approach towards managing the Internet, involving public libraries, schools, Internet service providers (ISPs), community institutions, government and police.

One in ten parents specifically identify the interactive nature of the Internet as a benefit, and 14 per cent cite its interactivity as a concern. These low percentages indicate that most parents think of the Internet as a static source of information rather than a dynamic communication tool with both positive and negative implications for children.

Canadian parents say that their kids use the Internet primarily for educational activities and research. However, U.S. studies show that there are significant discrepancies between what parents think their kids are doing online, and what their kids are actually doing online.

Canadian education, library and industry stakeholders have recommended that immediate follow-up studies be conducted with children and teens so that Canadians can be informed about the specific nature and risks of their children's online activities.

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