Half Of Parents Are Facebook Stalkers

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Why is Facebook becoming uncool among American teens as they jump ship to other social networking sites such as Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter? Maybe because parents have become open Facebook stalkers? Could be. Last month Education Database Online released a study that found the number of US moms with Facebook accounts has grown from just 50 percent in 2010 to 72 percent in 2012—quite a jump in just two years. And a lot of them join strictly to stalk their kids’ profiles. Half of all parents on Facebook admit at least part of the reason they joined the social network was to keep tabs on their kids, and 92 percent are able to do so pretty easily since they’ve “friended” their offspring.

Facebook users may know their folks are watching their activity, but they may be alarmed to discover that 43 percent of parents on Facebook look at their kids’ profiles every day. Another 31 percent do it four or five times a week. Only 25 percent check their kids’ pages less than that, and just 1 percent completely respect their privacy and stay away.

What are parents looking at when they stalk Facebook? Well, according to the study, 41 percent are interested in their kids’ status updates, and 39 percent want to know what other people post on their kids’ walls. The remaining 29 percent of parents are most interested to see what photos their children are tagged in.

Think you’re uncomfortable with the parental units watching your every Facebook move? What about when they start posting stuff on your wall? It turns out parents are most likely to post the words “beautiful,” “all grown” and “baby” on their daughters’ walls. For sons, the terms frequently used include, “good luck,” “money” and “game.”

One third of teens surveyed say the folks have embarrassed them by posting cheesy comments, and a similar 30 percent say they would “unfriend” them if they could. But who dares to remove Mom and Pops? Like that move won’t come back to bite you, regardless your age, right?

Parents Facebooking Infographic

[Image via Education Database Online]