Kids are more independent

Results of the 1999 Nickelodeon/Yankelovich Youth Monitor Study show that young people have a strong sense of self-reliance - and technology is a big help. But kids also say they have more adult-level responsibilities and worries.

*56 percent of kids age 6 to 17 have PCs at home; 85 percent use them at school.

*Of kids age 9 to 17 who have a home PC, 67 percent use e-mail, 63 percent surf the Net, and 48 percent enter online chat rooms.

*When asked, "Whom do you trust?" kids placed parents first (92 percent), and themselves second (83 percent), bypassing authority figures at school, in the media, or in government.

*58 percent worry they won't get into college, up from 36 percent in 1988.

Source: Nickelodeon and Yankelovich Partners Inc.