Bridging the Technology Gap: Study Confirms Teens Open to Discussing Drugs and Alcohol With Parents By Email, C...(ant to hear from their friends. A maj...),Health

"Some parents may still feel apprehensive about embracing technology as a way of communicating with their children," said Sibyl Jacobson, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "But, in today's world, it is vital that parents connect with their kids in any way possible. Our work with the Partnership allows us to highlight important health issues like adolescent alcohol and drug abuse and continue to empower parents to recognize the important influence they have in their children's lives."

For parents who are reluctant or don't know how to send text messages, the Partnership has created a downloadable guide called "Time To Text." The tool is free at TimeToTalk.org, and gives parents quick tips on how to text, suggests different messages to send to teens and provides a cheat sheet parents can keep in their wallet.

Disconnect Between Parents and Teens

Additional findings from the Partnership/MetLife Foundation survey revealed an ongoing disconnect about the discussions that are taking place between parents and teens about drugs and alcohol. Parents reported discussing virtually all forms of substance abuse "at length" with their teens, but alcohol is the only topic that 60 percent or more of teens reported their parents had covered in depth. In fact, just 26 percent of teens said their parents had talked to them about the abuse of prescription drugs to get high -- a troubling finding in light of the fact that 1 in 5 teens has reported engaging in this dangerous behavior.

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