Parental Monitoring in the Digital Age The Internet has brought with it many things: social networking sites, email, and YouTube, to name a few. There are so many things to do online that it's difficult to keep track of what kids are doing online, which is a worrying factor for parents of young children. The Internet is full of many positive, educational, entertaining, and kid-friendly websites. But there are many things a child can encounter online that could expose them to violence, sexual content, cyberbullying and cyber stalking. In fact, according to the Youth Internet Safety Survey “19% of young people aged 10 to 17 received unwanted sexual solicitations in [the year 2000], and 25% were exposed to unwanted sexual material online (Finkelhor, Mitchell and Wolak, 2000). . This was back in 2000, when the Internet wasn't as widespread as it is today. Just imagine what is happening today in 2014, where the Internet can be accessed by so many new technologies, such as smartphones, tablets and iPods. Given the dangers involved, parents should monitor their children's online activity. It is important to note that the definition of "child" is quite complicated as there are different meanings as to what a child actually is. The definition of Parents should also be clear when addressing this topic. The biological definition of a parent is one who “has conceived or fathered a child” (Webster). Adoptive parents, adults who adopt foster children also fall into the category of "parents". For the purposes of this research paper I will refer to a parent as any adult who has the responsibility of raising a child. This responsibility includes providing food, clothing, shelter, and supporting... middle of paper... one's children. One parent in particular, Lynn Clark, a parent who once used monitoring technologies, believes that this type of monitoring leads to a dishonest relationship with children. Spying on everything they do online. He also believes that children should have their own space to grow and figure things out on their own. He believes that because children are curious about the world, parents shouldn't ruin it for them. Clark makes a good point about how children should be given some legroom to grow and should not be under constant surveillance as if they were some kind of criminal, but it should be noted that children are at a point in their lives where they do not they really know how to protect themselves from the online influences and dangers that occur every day and it is the parents' job to ensure the safety of their children both inside and outside their home..