This study is very revealing
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) February 3, 2010
If you don't think your child is spending every waking minute connected to the world, guess again. According to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average 8 to 18-year-old spends 7 hours and 38 minutes a day using a form of entertainment multimedia, such as TV, computers or video games. If you subtract the amount of time they should be in school, those 7½ hours more-or-less represent the rest of the day.
"This study is very revealing," says Manuel Coats, co-founder of Pandora Corp., "but not all that shocking. It confirms what people have basically been saying for the past few years: our kids are heavily connected and very absorbed in their own multi-media world."
The study calculates the weekly media-use average at over 53 hours; that is the equivalent of an adult's full-time job. But what's more, our kids spend much of that time multitasking (i.e. texting while watching TV; watching a video online while chatting on Facebook). Result: they manage to cram an actual total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those 7½ hours.
"The Internet and cell phones have become the medium of choice for today's youth," states Coats. "Parents of yesterday could keep an eye on their kids by simply peering into the living room. That is not the case anymore. A child in the living room using the Internet can be visiting anywhere and chatting with anyone in the world."
But when it comes to setting rules of use, according to the study only 36% of kids say they have time restrictions in place at home. The remaining 64% of kids spend nearly three hours per day more across all mediums, as a result of no restrictions on time allowance.
"Restricting time spent online is a good way to encourage your child to engage in other activities, like playing outside, visiting with friends in person or reading," says Coats. "But in terms of keeping them safe, limiting and restricting access isn't going to help. Regardless of how much time kids are spending online, parents simply need to be monitoring their Internet activity."
Pandora Corp. are the makers of PC Pandora computer monitoring software, a tool designed to help parents keep their children safe online. PC Pandora records all activity on your PC, so you can see first hand what your children did and know what they do online. Sequential screenshots make activity playback on your PC similar to that of the DVR on your TV. In addition to the visual records, PC Pandora records instant messenger chats, all email correspondence, websites visited, programs utilized, peer-to-peer files traded, search histories, keystrokes, and more.
The recently released PC Pandora 6.0 now presents recorded data through easy-to-read charts. In a quick glimpse, parents can see which websites and which programs were utilized the most, and dig deeper if necessary. The software will also now keep track of your network/bandwidth and printer usage, to help prevent abuse.
"Our software has a definite purpose," explains Coats. "Most parents are in the dark when it comes to knowing what their kids are doing online. PC Pandora sheds light."
And now there is another tool to help keep kids safe online: the new PC Pandora LIVE! service allows parents to review the data and adjust settings on the monitored computer from anywhere they can access the Internet through a web browser, including the iPhone and many other smartphones. For users monitoring multiple computers, LIVE! collects the data from all of the computers that you are monitoring and provides that data in a single place for easy review.
"You can have total knowledge of what is happening at home on the PC and make necessary adjustments, all while at work, on the road, or simply unable to be at home in front of the monitored computer," states Coats.
The Kaiser study also shows the amount of time children spend on media usage has increased by 1 hour and 17 minutes per day over the past five years. Media multitasking has increased over 2 hours per day.
"There is no doubt that kids are connected to media all day long; this study confirms that," says Pandora Corp.'s Manuel Coats. "But when it comes to being connected on the Internet, parents need to be especially vigilant. PC Pandora 6.0 coupled with the LIVE! service is the best all-around defense parents can get to help keep their children safe online. If someone is approaching a child with ill intentions, or if a child is engaging in risky behavior, the parent will know and can act immediately."
Pandora Corp. urges parents to educate themselves about the Internet and to talk to their kids about potential dangers. Computer monitoring software like PC Pandora will give parents an edge by presenting them with the knowledge of what their child is doing online. For more information and a free trial of the new PC Pandora 6.0 and PC Pandora LIVE!, visit http://www.pcpandora.com/live/whats-new.php
About PC Pandora: Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal - to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents by providing them with 18 Tips to Safe Surfing and Pandora's Blog, where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. In addition, the Pandora Corp. has made the PD Pandora Internet Safety Symposium available to schools and law enforcement as a free resource for spreading internet safety awareness to parents. Over the past few years, PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position for parental control software by boasting a combination of features that are unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In 2010, Version 6.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. Concurrently released with 6.0, the web-based PC Pandora LIVE! service affords parents the ability to keep their kids safe from anywhere at anytime. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com.
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