It’s Fathers’ Day (16th June) this weekend and it’s good to know that UK dads are still a constant source of advice and knowledge for us kids. We’ve been surveying the nation to discover that 67% of people still rely on their dad to give help and advice. And the ever practical dad isn’t shy to a bit of help himself...because in our survey, 63% of fathers aged 25-44 admit to often “Googling” answers in order to help with their children’s homework. Leading the trend for this age group are fathers in the North-East, where 88% admit to using search engines to help with their children’s homework, compared to just 44% in London, 65% in the North-West and 66% in Scotland. After homework, dads continue to be a source of great advice. Our results show that dads aged 55+ are using search engines to help their children with issues in their adult lives too:
- 38% search the internet when their children ask for advice about money, this is highest in Scotland where 54% of dads do so
- 34% search the internet when their children ask for advice about property, again this is highest in Scotland where 42% do so
- 33% search the internet when their children ask for advice about DIY, this is highest in Northern Ireland where 60% do so
- 26% search the internet when their children ask for advice about car maintenance, this is highest in the East of England where 35% do so
Daddy's Girl
The notion of “Daddy’s Girl” is still alive and kicking with 68% of UK girls saying they go to their dad for advice, compared to just 62% of boys, whilst people in Wales are least likely of all to approach their father for advice, with just 58% of people agreeing that this is something they do.
Jamie Ford, CEO of Plusnet commented “It’s great to see that children still rely on their fathers but interesting to see that nearly two thirds of fathers are turning to the internet to be able to provide their children with the answers. With fathers so dependent on the internet we’re proud to be able to offer our support with our great value broadband packages and straight talking service”.
Note: our research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Plusnet June 2013 with 1,906 overall UK respondents Who do you go to for advice, or do you check online? Let us know in the comments below.