Parents increasingly turn to Net filters

Aftab also said she didn't believe 54 percent of parents were using filtering tools. "They may say they are, but they aren't."

The Pew study is based on questions asked of 1,100 children from ages 12 to 17 and their parents during a random telephone survey conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 28. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Low-tech tools still popular
Even with the rise in use of filtering tools, most parents are still using old-fashioned low-tech ways to keep their kids safe online, the survey found. About three-quarters of parents with teenage children said their household computer is located in a public place inside the house.

INTERNET SAFETY Talking points for parents WiredSafety.org's Parry Aftab suggests parents frequently ask their kids four simple questions: 1. Who's on your instant message buddy list? 2. Where do you go online? 3. What do you do if you encounter something bad or said something bad is said to you? 4. Do you know that if you come to me with a problem you encounter online, I promise I won't overreact? For more tips on keeping kids safe online: Internet Safety, What Parents Need to Know

Lenhart said parents who used filtering software should know that the tools are imperfect. On the one hand, creative children get around the tools; on the other, the filters can block legitimate sites.

"(Filters) are not the whole answer," Lenhart said.  "They under-block and they over-block. It's important that parents talk with their kids and develop a sense of media literacy."

Leaving the job of monitoring to imperfect software tools can have grave consequences, said family therapist Susan Shankle, who is based in South Carolina. She counsels families after children have dangerous liaisons with people they meet online, and thinks parents have to be more directly involved in what their kids do online.

Shankle thinks use of filtering software could do as much hard as good.

"People think, 'Let me fix this problem by going and buying something else,’" Shankle said.

"People are getting the software, but because they have the software, they are more complacent then they would be without it. It's a panacea for parents to feel better about what they are doing. But just because they have that software, by no means should they let their guard down."

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