The VK social network and Friday! TV channel carried out a study about the personal boundaries set by teenagers. This study was part of a social project designed to draw attention to situations where parents take full control and the consequences of these actions. The project was launched for the premiere of the series Pervye Lastochki (The First Swallows), which Friday! will air starting on May 31.
Research results
VK and Friday! studied the opinions of Internet users aged 14 to 18 and those of their parents with the help of ResearchMe, a company that specialises in online surveys and data analysis. The study helped to identify the link between the control parents take over their childrens’ activities online and how teenagers perceive family relationships.
Almost half of the respondents say that their relationship with their parents is good, despite occasional disputes. At the same time, 29% of the respondents said that the relationship gets worse and there are more conflicts when their parents try to control them. As a result, 43% of teenagers don’t confide in their parents.
About three quarters of parents are worried that their children may interact with suspicious people and 44% are certain that their children are hiding something. It is the case that teenagers don’t share everything, but 82% of them do not see any harm in that. Most often they stay quiet about their feelings and concerns. The main reason for this is fear of conflicts and condemnation, as noted by 47% of the respondents, or misunderstanding (44%).
In regards to girls, the thing they most often keep hidden from their parents is their mood while boys are more secretive about their academic performance. According to the survey, parents try to control girls the most, and it is girls who more often have a negative attitude towards this.
Social project
The study was the first stage in the social project VK and Friday! have undertaken. After that the platform launched a mini-app called “Chto skryvaet vash rebyonok?” (What is your child hiding?). The service features a test parents can take and useful articles that teach them how to build trusting relationships with teenagers and what signs they should pay attention to. The materials were prepared by the charity foundation Shalash, which is dedicated to helping ameliorate difficult behaviour among children.
The VK and Friday! project is timed to the release of the TV series Pervye Lastochki. The series looks at an investigation of a schoolgirl’s suicide. Her classmates begin the investigation. In the process, they uncover secrets about each other’s personal lives.