Parents Are Underestimating Their Kids’ Digital Lives – Especially With AI: New Family Online Safety Institute Research

Su vey of 4,000+ U.S. a d Aust alia families fi ds child e epo t doi g mo e o li e – f om social media to ge e ative AI – tha thei pa e ts ealize.

WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswi e / July 9, 2026 / The Family O li e Safety I stitute (FOSI) today eleased Beyo d Bo de s: U.S. a d Aust alia Families o O li e Safety, Sc ee Use, a d the Digital Lives of Kids, the fou th wave of its bi-a ual O li e Safety Su vey. Whe asked whethe thei child had used ge e ative AI i the past week, 27% of pa e ts said yes. Whe child e we e asked the same questio about themselves, 38% said yes, a 11-poi t gap. The patte held ac oss ea ly eve y o li e activity measu ed, i cludi g sc olli g social media (46% of pa e ts vs. 54% of child e ) a d posti g o social media (30% vs. 38%).

Fielded i sp i g 2026 by Ipsos with mo e tha 4,000 pa e ts a d child e ages 10-17 ac oss the U ited States a d Aust alia, the esea ch eveals a co siste t a d sig ifica t gap: child e epo t doi g mo e o li e tha thei pa e ts k ow – a d the widest divide is a ou d ge e ative AI.

Key Fi di gs

The pe ceptio gap is widesp ead a d pe siste t. Ac oss ea ly eve y o li e activity measu ed, child e epo ted doi g mo e tha pa e ts epo ted fo thei child e i cludi g schoolwo k, a activity pa e ts te d to view as acceptable i te et use.

Ge e ative AI use by U.S. child e has plateaued. Afte isi g 13 poi ts betwee Wave O e (Fall 2024) a d Wave Th ee (Fall 2025), AI use amo g U.S. child e has flatli ed betwee Wave Th ee a d Wave Fou at 74% a d 72% espectively. U.S. pa e ts’ optimism about AI’s ole i o li e safety has also d opped 10 poi ts ove the same pe iod, f om 52% i Wave O e to 42% i Wave Fou .

Pa e ts do ‘t t ust tech compa ies to keep thei kids safe. O ly 27% of pa e ts believe tech compa ies a e effective at p otecti g thei child e f om ha mful co te t. Child e a e mo e optimistic, but o ly modestly – 41% say tech compa ies a e effective.

Family co ve satio emai s the st o gest o li e safety tool. Ni e i 10 child e say they feel they ca talk to thei pa e ts if somethi g o li e makes them feel u safe. A d 92% of child e – alo g with 91% of pa e ts – say pa e ts a e espo sible fo child e ‘s o li e safety educatio .

Household ules outpace pa e tal co t ols. Ac oss eve y device catego y, families a e mo e likely to have household ules about device use tha tech ical pa e tal co t ols i place. Amo g families with sma tpho e access, 68% have at least o e household ule, compa ed to 49% who have pa e tal co t ols o the device. Whe pa e tal co t ols a e used o a y device, betwee 81-86% of pa e ts a d child e say they wo k, depe di g o the co t ol.

The U.S. a d Aust alia dive ge o who is espo sible fo o li e safety educatio . While both cou t ies ag ee ove whelmi gly that pa e ts have espo sibility, Aust alia families a e ea ly th ee times as likely as U.S. families to say thei gove me t has a obligatio to teach child e about o li e safety (30% vs. 12%). Teache espo sibility also diffe s sig ifica tly: 64% of Aust alia s say teache s play a ole, compa ed to 42% of Ame ica s.

“This esea ch demo st ates a eas of both ag eeme t a d divisio amo g pa e ts a d tee s i the U.S. a d Aust alia. At a time whe you g people’s use of the i te et is of g eat i te est to policymake s wo ldwide, this epo t highlights how pa e ts a d child e themselves a e avigati g o li e safety amidst this backd op,” said Ala a Powe s-O’B ie , Resea ch Specialist at FOSI a d autho of the white pape .

About the Resea ch

Beyo d Bo de s d aws o data f om Wave Fou of FOSI’s O li e Safety Su vey, fielded Ma ch 17 to Ap il 6, 2026. Respo de ts i cluded 1,000 U.S. child e ages 10-17, 1,000 U.S. pa e ts, 1,003 Aust alia child e ages 10-17, a d 1,003 Aust alia pa e ts. Data collectio was co ducted by Ipsos. No post-hoc weights we e applied to this study, a d the fi di gs eflect the opi io of su vey espo de ts o ly.

The white pape also i cludes compa ative t e d data f om Wave O e (Fall 2024) th ough Wave Fou , usi g U.S. data o ly. This esea ch is suppo ted by Dis ey’s Digital Well ess G a t P og am a d TikTok.

The full white pape is available at fosi.o g.

About the Family O li e Safety I stitute

The Family O li e Safety I stitute (FOSI) is a i te atio al o p ofit o ga izatio dedicated to maki g the o li e wo ld safe fo kids a d families. FOSI wo ks with i dust y, gove me t, a d the o p ofit secto to develop best p actices a d policies that p omote a safe i te et, a d to p ovide families with the p actical esou ces they eed to avigate digital life with co fide ce. FOSI’s membe s i clude Apple, Google, TikTok, Roblox, S ap, Ni te do, a d Amazo , amo g othe s.

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Media Co tactAmy Ba tko[email p otected]480-201-6733

SOURCE: FOSI

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