Teens are always on Facebook!

In a startling revelation, a recent survey shows that Indian teens spend 86 per cent of their time daily on Facebook followed by 54 per cent on Twitter!

If you thought you were the only the parent who racks your brain over how to get your a teenage boy or girl out of Facebook addiction, you are wrong! You are one among millions of such parents across India. According to a latest survey, Indian teens spend 86 per cent of their time daily on Facebook followed by 54 per cent on Twitter!

It is found that around 45% of the teens surveyed use smart phones to access the Internet and on average open an account on Facebook by age 13, according to a survey conducted by McAfee last week.

McAfee's 'Secret Lives of Teens' survey says 97 per cent of teens have access to social network, while there is a growing digital divide between teens and their parents. "This divide is attributed to the fact that Indian teens are growing up as digital natives, with increasingly active online lives but lack  of parental assistance," the survey said.

The survey was carried out in seven cities -- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Chennai. A sample size of 757 teenagers and 750 parents were included in the survey.

The report says that close to half of surveyed teens (45 per cent) are now using their smart phones for internet access. It says there is an evident discrepancy between parental perception and actual reality regarding the online activities of the teenagers.

While parental concerns prevail, teens do end up sharing more dangerous information online, contrary to their parents’ belief, the survey said and added that 89 per cent of teens believe social network is safe whereas parents are less believing at 71 per cent.

The survey said 38 per cent teens have witnessed cruel behavior online, whereas only 16 per cent parents are aware of this. 87 per cent of this behaviour has been noticed on Facebook, 31 per cent on
Twitter and 23 per cent on email by teens.