Parents Talk Online Safety

Children’s online safety has become the number one concern for American parents—surpassing gun violence prevention, child poverty, and climate change impacts. More than 9 in 10 parents worry about their kids’ digital wellbeing, yet over half feel that tech companies and politicians are “not taking this seriously enough.” In a time of profound political division, parents across the country are speaking with one voice: children deserve better protections online. 

More in Common conducted this study to elevate parents’ voices into the critical national debate about the digital lives of children across the country. The rapidly increasing number of Americans (both young and old) spending time online has profoundly affected our everyday lives, communities, and the country at large. By bringing parents’ perspectives more clearly to the table, we aim to contribute to the urgent conversation about how we as a nation can make the internet safer and more productive for everyone, especially vulnerable young minds. 

What’s heartening from this research is that parents across America—from all political backgrounds—agree on both the scale of the challenge, the need for action, and the solutions. This rare consensus represents a powerful opportunity for meaningful change. The question is: who will step up to meet this moment?

Key Takeaways

1. US parents—regardless of their background—are concerned about children’s online safety.  

• Over 9 in 10 US parents are concerned about children’s online safety—more than for any other child safety issue.  

• A majority of parents are either already taking action or are planning take action to help keep their kids safe online.  
• More than half of parents think that tech companies and politicians are “not taking this seriously enough.” 

2. Regardless of political party affiliation, US parents support nationwide action to keep children safe online. 

• A majority of parents support laws and actions that would help keep kids safe online, such as laws that mandate detection and removal of explicit content of children, hold tech companies accountable for harmful content, and ban kids under 16 from opening social media accounts.  
• 72 percent of parents are at least “somewhat” likely to take action generally on this issue, and over half of parents say they would participate in direct advocacy efforts.  
• 57 percent of parents say they would feel “more positively” towards the Democratic party and 62 percent of parents say they would feel “more positively” towards the Republican party if they increased online safety protections.

3. When considering trade-offs, parents lean in favor of prioritizing children’s online safety. 

• 70 percent of parents support comprehensive age verification systems, even if it means collecting more personal data. 
• 70 percent of parents agree that “protecting children online is more important than protecting free speech online.” 
• 63 percent of parents agree that “social media platforms should use algorithms to significantly deprioritize legal but harmful content.”