Teens and their parents¹ often have similar technology profiles in the gadgets they use and the frequency with which they use them. But teens are notably more likely than their parents to say that the internet and related technology has made their own lives easier.

• 89% of online teens say the internet and other devices in their lives like cell phones, iPods, and digital cameras make their lives easier, while 71% of their parents say these technologies make their lives easier.

Furthermore, while a majority of parents with online teens still believe the internet is a beneficial factor in their children’s lives, there has been a decrease since 2004 in the number of parents who believe the internet is a good thing for their children.

At the same time, there has not been a corresponding increase in the percentage of parents who think the internet has been a bad thing for their children. Instead, more parents are neutral about whether their children have been positively affected by the internet, saying the internet has not had an effect on their child one way or another.

In most families, internet use is a subject of family rule-making and discussion. The content of web material, more than the time spent online, galvanizes the most parental intervention.

These findings are based on a survey of 935 parents and the youth in their families ages 12 to 17. It was fielded from October 23-November 19, 2006. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points.