I’ve written here in the past about helicopter parents who are in almost constant contact with their older children using mobile devices but iParents seem to be taking things to a whole new level.
Retrevo.com, the consumer electronics shopping and review site, is running an ongoing study of people and electronics and then using this information to publish the something called the Retrevo Gadgetology Report. The most recent study, involved over 1,000 online individuals in June 2011 and takes a close look at the use of social media by parents. Here’s some of the study highlights:
- 18% of parents say they feel like they couldn't stop using Facebook/Twitter even if they wanted to.
- 47% of parents of kids under 19 say they've used Facebook to learn more about their kid's friends.
- iPhone owning parents (iParents) are twice as likely (28%) to get anxious when they don't check Facebook/Twitter as most parents (14%).
- Dads are more likely (13%) to use Facebook to learn about their kid's dates than moms (10%).
- iParents are twice as likely to use Facebook to learn about their kid's dates than Droid owning parents.
- Phone owning parents are four times LESS likely to have under 50 Facebook friends.
- 32% of iParents have over 250 friends (compared with 23% of other parents).
- Up to 34% of parents admit to using Facebook to check on their kid's friend's parents, by the time their children are between ages 13 and 19 years old.
- 12% of all parents feel they could not stop using Facebook and Twitter. This number more than doubles when looking at iPhone owning parents (19%).
- 11% of parents said they've given up activities they used to enjoy because they spend time on Facebook or Twitter. 18% of iPhone owning parents feel the same way (compared to only 12% of Droid owning parents).
- iPhone owning parents are twice as likely to get nervous or anxious if they don't check Facebook/Twitter (28%).