Teens reveal how they outsmart parents online - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

Most parents think they know what their teens are doing online, but a new study finds that's not the case.

Three out of four parents say they know what their teen is doing online and half believe their teen tells them everything, according to a new study by McAfee. 

However, teens tell a different story. Two out of three polled said their parents don't need to know what they're up to and half say if their parents weren't looking, they'd change what they do.

How do they get away with it? Here's what the teens said: 

Clear Browser History – 53.3% Teens do vs. 17.5% Parents aware

Minimize Browser when in view – 45.9% Teens do vs. 16.6% Parents aware

Hide/Delete Inappropriate videos – 18.9 % Teens do vs. 5.4% Parents aware

Lied about behavior – 22.9% Teens do vs. 10.5 % Parents aware

Uses phone – 21.3% Teens do vs. 9.7% Parents aware

Manipulate Social Media Privacy Settings to block Parents - 19.9% Teens do vs. 8.1% Parents aware

Utilize Private Browsing – 19.5% Teens do vs. 3.7% Parents aware

Disable Parental Controls – 12.8% Teens do vs. 3.8% of Parents aware

14.7% of teens have duplicate email addresses, and 8.7% of teens have duplicate social media profiles that their parents do not know about.

Also, girls are more likely to manipulate and hide their online activities from their parents.

The solution, if you're tech savvy, is to stay on top of technology, so you can monitor effectively.  The other option is pretty low tech. Sit down and talk with them often about what they're doing online.

Read the whole study on teen's online behavior

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