Parents may rule the roost at home – but children in modern families most definitely lay down the law when it comes to social media, according to new research.
Gone are the days when teens were embarrassed by parents hauling out old baby pictures; in today’s digital world the possibilities for humiliation are endless and young people will go to great lengths to keep their parents at bay.
Almost one in ten teenagers have rejected a Facebook friend request from a parent – and one in five has actually BLOCKED them.
One in six teens have ‘de-tagged’ themselves from family photos and even asked a parent not to ‘like’ their posts.
The study of 1,000 teenagers by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, who commissioned the research to mark the release of Modern Family Season 6 on DVD, found that parents have also been asked not to share posts that their child has added and warned never to reply to their children’s friends’ posts.
A spokesman said: “Young people just like to have something to call their own, and give them a sense of independence.”
“But we also know that times are changing and parents want to be involved with social media just as much as their children.
“During your teenage years, all you can think about is making a good impression on friends and getting to know new people.”
“And when you’re a parent, you just want to make sure your child is safe when they’re online, so it’s understandable if they want to be ‘friends’ on social media.”
The survey also found some parents are being told not to let anyone know they are related to their offspring while on social media.
They aren’t even allowed to look at their pictures and have even had a comment deleted by their child.
Twenty five per cent of teens admitted they have had to give their parents a lecture on what they can and can’t do on social media.
And over a quarter of teens have even put rules in place to keep their parents in check when it comes to working sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
A well-behaved nine out of ten mums and dads are happy to abide by these rules if it means a quiet life.
Sixteen per cent of rejected parents have even been told to delete their account so their offspring don’t have to ‘connect’ with them online.
But mum and dad get their own back on their children occasionally – one teen told of the embarrassment when their father dressed up in a Spiderman t-shirt and helmet with dog ears.
Photos of the cringe worthy moment were then posted on dad’s Facebook page for the whole world to see.
It doesn’t always go smoothly though as the average parent and child have had three arguments due to social media alone in the past six months.
The average teen currently has 148 friends on their Facebook page, nine of which are parents and other relatives.
And it’s not just mum and dad who have felt the wrath of a teen who doesn’t want to be ‘friends’ online – more than one in five have also blocked other relatives such as a cousin, a sibling and even a grandparent.
The spokesman added: “We’ve heard of many parents who like to have a little bit of fun by embarrassing their teenage children.”
Modern Family Season 6 is released on DVD on 14th September 2015.
Recognised as the best comedy ensemble on television, Modern Family follows Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill), his second wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and son Manny Delgado (Rico Rodriguez) who live down the street from Jay’s daughter Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), husband Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell), their children Hayley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould). Jay’s son Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his partner Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) live just around the corner with their adopted daughter Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons).
