Parenting 2.0 Summary Report: Parents Use of Technology and the Internet

Transcription

1 Parenting 2.0 Summary Report: Parents Use of Technology and the Internet Report prepared by: Jessie Connell, M.A. March For questions, please contact: Jodi Dworkin, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Family Social Science & University of Minnesota Extension University of Minnesota Parenting 2.0 Team: Jodi Dworkin, Ph.D. Susan Walker, Ph.D. Jessie Connell, M.A. Jennifer Doty, M.S. Department of Family Social Science University of Minnesota This research was supported by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.

2 Parenting 2.0 Report March Table of Contents Page Executive Summary 3 The Parenting 2.0 Project 4 The Parenting 2.0 Sample 5 Parents Technological Device Use 6 Online Activities: General Use 7 Online Activities: For Parenting 10 Parents Social Networking Site Use 13 Comfort with Technology and Attitudes towards Technology 14 Barriers to Internet Use 15 Self-Efficacy: Searching for Parenting Information Online 16 Usefulness of Parenting Resources 17 Next Steps 18

3 Parenting 2.0 Report March Executive Summary As of January 2012, 2,240 parents have completed the Parenting 2.0 survey. Parents reported using many technological devices (10.18 devices on average). The most frequent activities parents reporting doing online in general were sending or reading , reading about news or current events, and looking for general information. The least frequent activities were using Twitter, writing a blog, and creating or maintaining a website. The most frequent activities parents reported doing online specifically for parenting were sending or reading , reading about news or current events, and looking for general information. The least frequent online activities for parenting were creating or maintaining a website, using Twitter, and writing a blog. Of parents who used social networking sites, the majority used them to stay in touch with friends they rarely see and to look at friends photo albums. Overall, parents reported being either comfortable or very comfortable using the Internet, using computers, and setting up an account. Fewer than half of parents reported being comfortable or very comfortable getting rid of a virus or fixing a problem by themselves. The majority of parents agreed or strongly agreed that technology makes their life easier and that they like having so much information available. However, almost one-third of parents reported that technology makes them feel overloaded, and just over one third reported that technology makes their life more complicated. Approximately onethird of parents reported that they were worried about spyware, spam, and viruses and almost 25% of parents reported that their busy schedule keeps them from using the Internet. Parents reported few concerns with cost or access to the Internet, though 5.5% of parents reported that the Internet is too expensive, and 3.3% reported that they have limited access or limited equipment. Parents generally reported that they were able to find the information they were looking for online, and the majority reported that they were usually successful at finding what they were looking for. Almost 75% of parents reported that the Internet has improved the way they get parenting information. However, 19.7% of parents reported that parenting websites are difficult to use, and 13.1% reported that they cannot find the sorts of parenting websites or information they are interested in. Analyses were conducted to compare different groups of parents on their Internet and other technology use based on their demographic information. The results of these analyses are detailed in the report.

4 Parenting 2.0 Report March The Parenting 2.0 project aims to gain a better understanding of the ways in which and the reasons why parents use technology. Although research on parents use of technology for information gathering, social support, and communication with family, friends, and others has increased in the last decade, few broad studies examining a range of demographic groups, behaviors, and attitudes exist. The Parenting 2.0 project is unique in asking parents about how they use the Internet and other technology as parents. This report focuses on the technological devices parents use, the online activities parents do in general, the online activities parents do specifically for parenting, parents comfort with technology, parents attitudes towards technology, barriers to information seeking online, parents efficacy using computers and the Internet, and parents report of usefulness of various parenting resources. Our Methods. After conducting a thorough literature review of what is currently known about parents online behavior, we created an online survey to learn more about how and why parents use the Internet and other digital and social media. Parents were recruited to take a 15-minute online survey using list servs that have a nationwide reach. These list servs included lists through but not exclusive to Cooperative Extension including extension, state Department of Education efforts, USDA initiatives such as CYFAR (Children, Youth and Families at Risk) projects, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) divisions and initiatives, as well as other statewide and national networks that reach families and professionals with parenting resources. Potential participants were directed to a website to learn more about the project and complete the online survey. Survey items addressed participants demographic information, Internet access, frequency of doing various online activities, attitudes and comfort using the Internet and computers, frequency of doing various online activities for parenting, and the functions that online activities for parenting serve. Participants (N = 2,240) could choose to be entered into a drawing for one of several Amazon.com gift cards after completing the survey. This report summarizes descriptive and when appropriate, comparative analyses of the major research questions. First, we describe the parents who have participated in the Parenting 2.0 project, followed by the descriptive information and comparative analyses. To learn more about the Parenting 2.0 project, visit our website at or contact Jodi Dworkin (jdworkin@umn.edu).

5 The Parenting 2.0 Sample Parenting 2.0 Report March As of January 2012, 2,240 parents have completed the Parenting 2.0 survey (see Table 1). Table 1. Demographic Information Age N % % % % % % Gender Male % Female % Race/Ethnicity American Indian or Alaska % Native Asian % Black or African American % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 1 0.1% White or Caucasian % Hispanic or Latin American % Mixed Race % Annual Income Less than $30, % $30,000-under $50, % $50,000-under $75, % $75,000-under $100, % $100,000 or more % Education High school graduate/ged % Business, technical, or vocational school % Some college, no four-year % degree College graduate % Post-graduate training, professional school, Master s, PhD % The majority of parents (90.4%) were biological parents, 3.1% were both biological and step parents, 1.9% were adoptive parents, with 4.2% of parents expecting a child. Over half of parents (51.8%) reported living in a suburban area, 28.3% reported living in a rural area, and 18.3% in an urban area. The majority of parents (83.8%) were married, 8.3% were divorced, 3.8% were single, and 3.2% were living with their partner. The majority (96.6%) reported English as the primary language spoken in their home. Over half of parents (55.4%) reported working full-time, 20.0% worked part-time, 14.0% did not work outside the home, 3.5% were unemployed and looking for work, and 2.0% were students. Almost half of parents (48.7%) reported that none of their children had ever been diagnosed with a disability or health condition (ADHD, asthma, anxiety, vision problems, etc.), 20.8% reported that they had a child who had been diagnosed with one disability or health condition, and 30.4% of parents reported that they had a child who had been diagnosed with more than one disability or health condition.

6 Parents Technological Device Use Parenting 2.0 Report March Parents were asked, Do you use any of the following? Response options included Yes, No, and Don t know (see Table 2). Table 2. Technological Device Use Reported Yes N % Internet % Radio or Stereo % TV % DVD Player % Digital Camera % Desktop Computer % Laptop Computer % Video Camera % ipod or other mp3 player % Audio Conference/Skype % Gaming Console % Blackberry, Palm, iphone, or other PDA % Digital Video Recorder (DVR) % Webcam % Web-Enabled TV % On average, parents reported using a mean of devices (SD = 2.28). Differences by Parent Age. Parent age was associated with the number of devices used, with older parents using fewer technological devices (r = -.20, p <.001) than younger parents. Differences by Parent Gender. On average, fathers reported using more devices than mothers, but the difference was small (mean difference = 0.37 devices, p <.05). Differences by Geographic Area. There were also small but significant differences in number of devices used by geographic area. Both suburban (mean = devices) and urban parents (mean = devices) use more technological devices than rural parents (mean = 9.89 devices, p <.001). Differences by Parent Income. Parents who earned less than $50,000 a year reported using fewer technological devices (mean = 9.67 devices) on average than parents who earned $50,000 a year or more (mean = devices, p <.001). Differences by Parent Education. Parents who did not graduate from college reported using fewer technological devices (mean = 9.88 devices) on average than parents who did graduate from college (mean = devices, p <.001). Differences by Parent Race. There were no significant differences regarding number of technological devices used by parents race.

7 Online Activities: General Use Parenting 2.0 Report March Parents were asked, How often do you do each of the following activities? Response options included Never (0), Less than once a month (1), Monthly (2), Weekly (3), Once a day (4), and Several times a day (5). See Table 3. Table 3. Online Activities: General Once a Day or Several Times a Day Monthly or Weekly Less than Once a Month or Never Mean (Standard Deviation) Activity N % N % N % Send or read % % % 4.83 (0.55) Read about news or current events % % % 4.03 (1.05) Use online tools (calendar, banking, etc.) % % % 3.70 (1.26) Look for general information % % % 3.68 (1.05) Use social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) % % % 3.38 (1.84) Send or receive text messages % % % 3.32 (2.02) Read ed newsletters % % % 3.21 (1.31) Send or receive photos % % % 2.76 (1.15) Shop online % % % 2.24 (1.05) Read or comment on blogs % % % 1.98 (1.69) Post on or read discussion boards or chat rooms % % % 1.88 (1.80) Use instant messaging (AIM, Yahoo! Chat, etc.) % % % 1.82 (1.88) Watch, create, or share video files online % % % 1.63 (1.47) Listen to, create, or share audio files online % % % 1.46 (1.50) Play games online % % % 1.33 (1.63) Participate in online classes, workshops, or webinars % % % 1.31 (1.37) Audio conference or Skype % % % 1.10 (1.28) Use webcam or video conference % % % 0.95 (1.22) Create or maintain a website % % % 0.82 (1.40) Create, maintain, or write blogs % % % 0.77 (1.36) Create, maintain, or follow microblogs (Twitter) % % % 0.69 (1.42) Differences by Parent Age. Younger parents reported doing online activities involving social media more frequently than older parents. Specifically, younger parents were more likely to share photos (r = -0.21, p <.001), audio files (r = -0.14, p <.001), and video files (r = -0.20, p <.001) than older parents, as well as use social networking sites like Facebook (r = -0.30, p <.001) and use blogs (r = -0.24, p <.001). However, older parents were more likely to read about news and current events online (r = 0.09, p <.001). Differences by Parent Gender. On average, fathers reported reading news online, using online tools, using Skype, and using instant messaging more frequently than mothers, but mothers were more likely to use social networking sites (p <.05).

8 Parenting 2.0 Report March Table 4. Differences in Frequency of Online Activities by Geographic Area Online Activity Significant differences Send or read Suburban > Rural Read about news or current events Use online tools (calendar, banking, etc.) Urban, Suburban > Rural Look for general information Suburban > Rural Send or receive text messages Read ed newsletters Use social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) Send or receive photos Shop online Suburban > Rural Post on or read discussion boards or chat rooms Read or comment on blogs Urban > Suburban, Rural; Suburban > Rural Use instant messaging (AIM, Yahoo! Chat, etc.) Watch, create, or share video files online Urban > Suburban, Rural; Suburban > Rural Listen to, create, or share audio files online Urban, Suburban > Rural Audio conference or Skype Urban, Suburban > Rural; Suburban > Rural Play games online Participate in online classes, workshops, or webinars Rural > Urban, Suburban; Urban > Suburban Use webcam or video conference Urban > Rural Create, maintain, or write blogs Urban > Suburban, Rural; Suburban > Rural Create, maintain, or follow microblogs (Twitter) Urban > Suburban, Rural Create or maintain a website Urban > Suburban Differences by Geographic Area. Parents who reported living in rural areas participated in online classes and workshops significantly more frequently than parents who lived in suburban areas (p <.001). Parents who reported living in urban areas read and comment on and write blogs significantly more frequently than both suburban and rural parents (p <.001). Urban parents also reported using Twitter and sharing audio and video files significantly more frequently than both suburban and rural parents (p <.01). See Table 4. Differences by Parent Income. Parents who reported earning less than $50,000 a year reported playing games online (p <.01), writing on discussion boards (p <.05), writing blogs (p <.01), using social networking sites (p <.05), and participating in online classes and workshops (p <.05) significantly more frequently than parents who reported earning more than $50,000 a year. Parents who earned more than $50,000 reported reading news online (p <.01), using online tools (p <.01), shopping online (p <.001), using Skype (p <.01), and ing (p <.001) significantly more frequently than parents who reported earning less than $50,000 a year. Differences by Parent Education Level. Parents who did not graduate from college reported playing games online (p <.001) and using instant messaging (p <.01) significantly more frequently than parents who did graduate from college. Parents who did graduate from college reported reading news online (p <.05), using online tools (p <.001), looking for general information (p <.001), shopping online (p <.001), using Skype (p <.001), using webcam (p <.001), ing (p <.05), and creating or maintaining a website (p <.001) significantly more frequently than parents who did not graduate from college. Differences by Parent Race. Non-White parents reported using Skype (p <.05), using a webcam (p <.01), using instant messaging (p <.01), sending or receiving photos (p <.01), listening to or sharing audio and video files (p <.01), writing blogs (p <.01), and participating in online classes or workshops

9 Parenting 2.0 Report March (p <.001) significantly more frequently than White parents. White parents reported ing (p <.05) significantly more frequently than non-white parents.

10 Online Activities: For Parenting Parenting 2.0 Report March If parents reported performing an online activity in general, they received a follow-up question, How often do you do [the online activity] for parenting? Parenting was defined as, All things you do to take care of your children and support their growth and development. Think about all of the things that help you in your role as a parent. For example, you may use the Internet to shop for something for your child, or follow a blog about parenting. Response options included Never (0), Less than once a month (1), Monthly (2), Weekly (3), Once a day (4), and Several times a day (5). See Table 5. Table 5. Online Activities: For Parenting Once a Day or Several Times a Day Monthly or Weekly Less than Once a Month or Never Mean (Standard Deviation) Activity N % N % N % Send or read % % % 3.76 (1.31) Read about news or current events % % % 2.96 (1.27) Use online tools (calendar, banking, etc.) % % % 2.89 (1.45) Look for general information % % % 2.86 (1.14) Send or receive text messages % % % 2.60 (2.10) Read ed newsletters % % % 2.52 (1.37) Use social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) % % % 2.28 (1.93) Send or receive photos % % % 2.26 (1.28) Shop online % % % 1.81 (1.08) Post on or read discussion boards or chat rooms % % % 1.18 (1.60) Read or comment on blogs % % % 1.13 (1.51) Use instant messaging (AIM, Yahoo! Chat, etc.) % % % 1.01 (1.63) Watch, create, or share video files online % % % 0.99 (1.30) Listen to, create, or share audio files online % % % 0.75 (1.21) Audio conference or Skype % % % 0.74 (1.19) Play games online % % % 0.62 (1.21) Participate in online classes, workshops, or webinars % % % 0.57 (1.07) Use webcam or video conference % % % 0.56 (1.09) Create, maintain, or write blogs % % % 0.46 (1.11) Create, maintain, or follow microblogs (Twitter) % % % 0.32 (0.97) Create or maintain a website % % % 0.29 (0.87) Differences by Parent Age. Younger parents reported doing online activities for parenting related to information seeking more frequently than older parents. Specifically, younger parents were more likely to read or comment on blogs (r = -0.28, p <.001), post on discussion boards or chat rooms (r = -0.24, p <.001), and search for general information (r = -0.17, p <.001) for parenting than older parents. Additionally, younger parents were more likely to play games online (r = -0.15, p <.001) and shop online (r = -.12, p <.001) for parenting than older parents. Differences by Parent Gender. On average, mothers reported looking for general information, reading ed newsletters, reading or commenting on blogs, and using social networking sites for parenting more frequently than fathers. Fathers reported using Skype and instant messaging for parenting more frequently than mothers (p <.05).

11 Parenting 2.0 Report March Table 6. Differences in Frequency of Online Activities for Parenting by Geographic Area Online Activity: Parenting Significant Differences Send or read Read about news or current events Use online tools (calendar, banking, etc.) Look for general information Send or receive text messages Read ed newsletters Use social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) Send or receive photos Shop online Post on or read discussion boards or chat rooms Urban > Suburban, Rural; Suburban > Rural Read or comment on blogs Use instant messaging (AIM, Yahoo! Chat, etc.) Watch, create, or share video files online Urban > Suburban, Rural Listen to, create, or share audio files online Audio conference or Skype Urban, Suburban > Rural Play games online Rural > Urban, Suburban Participate in online classes, workshops, or webinars Rural > Suburban Use webcam or video conference Urban > Rural Create, maintain, or write blogs Urban > Rural, Suburban Create, maintain, or follow microblogs (Twitter) Create or maintain a website Urban > Suburban Differences by Geographic Area. Parents who reported living in urban areas reported posting on or reading discussion boards or chat rooms for parenting significantly more frequently than parents who reported living in suburban or rural areas (p <.001). Parents who reported living in rural areas reported participating in online classes, workshops, and webinars for parenting more frequently than parents who reported living in a suburban area (p <.01). Parents who reported living in an urban or suburban area reported using Skype or audio conferencing for parenting significantly more frequently than rural parents (p <.01). See Table 6. Differences by Parent Income. Parents who were earning less than $50,000 a year reported looking for general information for parenting (p <.05), playing games online for parenting (p <.001), posting on or reading discussion boards or chat rooms for parenting (p <.01), listening to, watching, or sharing audio and video files for parenting (p <.05), reading and commenting on blogs for parenting (p <.05), maintaining or writing blogs for parenting (p <.01), using social networking sites for parenting (p <.001), and participating in online classes or workshops for parenting (p <.001) significantly more frequently than parents who reported earning more than $50,000 a year. Parents who reported earning more than $50,000 a year reported shopping online for parenting (p <.01), and using for parenting (p <.05) significantly more frequently than parents who reported earning less than $50,000 a year. Differences by Parent Education. Parents who did not graduate from college reported reading news online for parenting (p <.05), playing games online for parenting (p <.05), using instant messaging for parenting (p <.05), and using social networking sites for parenting (p <.01) significantly more frequently than parents who graduated from college. Parents who graduated from college reported shopping online for parenting (p <.001) and using Skype or audio conferencing for parenting (p <.001) significantly more frequently than parents who did not graduate from college.

12 Parenting 2.0 Report March Differences by Parent Race. Non-White parents reported reading news online for parenting (p <.05), looking for information online for parenting (p <.05), using Skype or audio conferencing for parenting (p <.01), using a webcam for parenting (p <.001), using instant messaging for parenting (p <.01), posting on or reading discussion boards or chat rooms for parenting (p <.01), reading ed newsletters for parenting (p <.01), sending or receiving photos for parenting (p <.05), listening to, watching, or sharing audio or video files for parenting (p <.01), creating or maintaining websites or blogs for parenting (p <.05), and participating in online classes or workshops for parenting significantly more frequently than White parents.

13 Parents Social Networking Site Use Parenting 2.0 Report March If parents reported using social networking sites in general (n = 1,880), they received a follow-up question, Which, if any, of the following activities do you do on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace? Check all that apply. Response options included Yes and No. Table 7. Parents Social Networking Site Use (n = 1,880) Reported Yes N % Stay in touch with friends you rarely see in person % Look at your friends photo albums % Post photos of yourself or your family % Send private messages or s to a person within a site % Stay in touch with friends you see a lot % Post status updates % Make plans with your friends % Send instant messages (IMs) to a person within a site % Stay connected to child(ren) (e.g. monitor their activities or stay in % touch) Send a bulletin or group message to a group of your friends on the % network Join interest groups % Use a link to share a video created by someone else % Post videos that you created % Stay in touch with friends you ve only met online % Look at strangers photo albums % Meet new friends % Post artistic photography or art that you created % Meet people to date % Post music you created % Post music that you mixed up for others music % Post videos that you mixed from others videos % Of parents who used social networking sites, the majority used them to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person, to look at their friends photo albums, and post photos of themselves or their family. Very few parents reported using social networking sites to post music or videos that they created or meet people to date.

14 Comfort with Technology Parenting 2.0 Report March Parents were asked, How comfortable are you with and responded to 8 items (see Table 7). Response options included Very uncomfortable, Uncomfortable, Neither comfortable or uncomfortable, Comfortable, Very comfortable, and I never do this. Table 7. Comfort using Computers and the Internet I never do this Very comfortable or comfortable Very uncomfortable or Uncomfortable N % N % N % Using the Internet 0 0% % 6 0.3% Using computers 0 0% % % Setting up account % % % Sending an IM % % % Downloading an mp % % % Setting up filter for junk mail % % % Getting rid of virus % % % Fixing problem by myself % % % Overall, parents reported being either comfortable or very comfortable using the Internet, using computers, and setting up an account. Fewer than half of parents reported being comfortable or very comfortable getting rid of a virus or fixing a problem by themselves. Attitudes towards Technology Parents were asked to respond to six questions, Thinking about all the technologies you use, overall would you say these devices : Response options included Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Agree, or Strongly agree (see Table 8). Table 8. Attitudes towards Technology Agree or strongly agree Neither agree nor disagree Strongly disagree or disagree N % N % N % Make my life easier % % % I like having so much information % % % available Give me more control over my life % % % Make my life more complicated % % % Make me feel overloaded % % % Give me less control over my life % % % The majority of parents agreed or strongly agreed that technology makes their life easier (89.7%) and they like having so much information available (85.3%). However, almost one-third of parents (30.8%) reported that technology makes them feel overloaded, and just over one third (34.5%) reported that technology makes their life more complicated.

15 Parenting 2.0 Report March Barriers to Internet Use Parents were asked, Which, if any, of these things make it difficult for you to use or concern you about the Internet? Response options included Yes and No. See Table 9. Table 9. Barriers/Concerns about Internet Use Reported Yes N % I am worried about computer viruses % I am worried about spyware and spam % I m too busy % It s too slow or doesn t load properly % It s too expensive % I have limited access or limited equipment % I have health problems or conditions (poor vision, pain in hands, etc.) % Differences in Cost by Income. A greater proportion of parents who earned $50,000 a year or less (11.94%) reported the cost of the Internet was a concern than parents who earned $50,000 a year or more (3.86%; 2 = 42.32, p <.001). Differences in Cost by Geographic Area. A greater proportion of parents living in a rural area (8.35%) reported the cost of the Internet was a concern compared to parents living in an urban area (6.11%) and parents living in a suburban area (3.79%; 2 = 16.63, p <.001). Differences in Access by Income. A greater proportion of parents earning $50,000 a year or less (7.83%) reported limited access or limited equipment as being a concern than parents earning $50,000 a year or more (2.19%; 2 = 33.67, p <.001). Differences in Access by Geographic Area. A greater proportion of parents who reported living in a rural area (5.67%) reported limited access or limited equipment being a concern compared to parents who reported living in an urban area (4.16%) and parents living in a suburban area (1.64%; 2 = 22.40, p <.001).

16 Parenting 2.0 Report March Self-Efficacy: Searching for Parenting Information Online Parents were asked, How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Response options included Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, or Strongly Agree. See Table 10. Table 10. Self-Efficacy: Searching for Parenting Information Online Agree or strongly agree Neither agree nor disagree Strongly disagree or disagree N % N % N % When using the Internet, I quickly find the information % % % that I am looking for I m usually successful at finding what I am looking for % % % when searching the Internet I get up-to-date information from the Internet % % % I can t find the sorts of parenting websites or parenting % % % information I m interested in It takes too much time to get parenting information % % % The software I use isn t good enough to find parenting % % % information My connection or computer is too slow to find parenting % % % information The Internet has improved the way I get information % % % about parenting The parenting information I find is difficult to understand % % % I find some parenting websites difficult to use % % % The parenting information I find is poor or questionable % % % The parenting resources I find are too expensive % % % A scale was created by summing 10 of the 12 Self-Efficacy items (the first two items, When using the Internet, I quickly find the information that I am looking for and I m usually successful at finding what I am looking for when searching the Internet were excluded because they referred to general use, rather than specific use for parenting). Differences by Parent Age. Older parents reported less self-efficacy related to searching for parenting information online (r = -.12, p <.001). Differences by Parent Gender. On average, mothers reported more self-efficacy related to searching for parenting information online than fathers (p <.001). Differences by Geographic Area. Parents who reported living in a rural area reported less self-efficacy related to searching for parenting information online that parents who reported living in a suburban area (p <.05). Differences by Parent Income, Parent Education, and Parent Race. There were no significant differences in self-efficacy related to searching for parenting information online by parent income, parent education, or parent race.

17 Usefulness of Parenting Resources Parenting 2.0 Report March Parents were asked, How useful are the following sources of parenting information for you? Response options included Not at all useful, Not very useful, Not sure, Somewhat useful, and Very useful. An Internet item was included to reveal perceived usefulness of the Internet compared to other sources (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Usefulness of Parenting Resources 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Somewhat or very useful Not sure Not at All or Not Very Useful The majority of parents reported that friends (86.8%), the Internet (85.8%), and their doctor or pediatrician (82.3%) were somewhat useful or very useful sources of parenting information. About one-third of parents reported that TV (35.6%) and neighbors (29.2%) were not at all useful or not very useful.

18 Parenting 2.0 Report March Next Steps The Parenting 2.0 project is continuing to collect survey data, and particularly aiming to invite parents from under-represented groups, such as lower income parents, parents who are non-white, and fathers to participate in the project. The Parenting 2.0 project has also conducted qualitative interviews with parents about their Internet and technology use and how they use the Internet and technology as a parent. At this time, 15 interviews have been collected with mothers. Below are a few examples of the ways parents are using the Internet and other technology as parents. Mother of a newborn: I can remember when I was breastfeeding probably being online the most, just being really, really hungry for information. Because it was such an isolating time, and I remember being really appreciative of the Internet at that time, because I remember that everyone in the world was telling me that I need to breast feed and that it was going to be the best experience of my life, but it was turning out to be the worst experiences in my life I remember thinking that the Internet was such a God-send, because I could go online and I could find out that I was not the only one in the world who was having horrible experiences with it, and then I could go online and find information and lots of books and literature to read about it. Mother of a preschooler: He was home from preschool. He was sick. And I had a ton of work to do. So I gave him my iphone. I just thought, you know, he would probably look at it and get bored with it and then he would whatever. He was on it so long, for about two hours. He had found everything. He had downloaded all these games. He had downloaded all these games on free apps. He had gone on YouTube and looked up all these movies on superheroes Mother of a school-aged child: I guess quick access to information when you don t know it can help you. And when you are going on forums, or blogs or reading somebody s post about something that they have been through, it can be a quick way to problem solve, if you have a child that is not eating broccoli, I m sure you can go online right now and there is a blog or a forum where someone is talking about how to get your child to eat broccoli. And so if you are getting to the end of your line where I have exhausted all of my own options, what s next. You can use the online resources because it helps you figure those things out. Parenting an adolescent: But now it s organizing. It s the soccer carpool for example. And we have, we have all the soccer and sports teams, there s internet sites for those. They use [a site] like We-play. It s surprising. It s like social networking for sports teams. Organizing. So everyone signs up and the manager of the team posts when the games are and you organize the carpool online and then you can send out s about, or posts or whatever.

19 Parenting 2.0 Report March The research team is also working on examining parents use of the Internet and technology to communicate with their family, and the functions that online activities serve for parents. To learn more, visit us online at: