"iParents," or parents who own iPhones, are more active than other parents on Facebook and are more likely to use the site to help with day-to-day parenting—such as learning about their kids' social relationships—according to a study by Retrevo.

Among those who use Facebook, iParents have more connections than other parents: 

• 55% of iParents say they have between 50 and 250 Facebook friends, compared with 38% of all parents who say the same.
• 13% of iParents say they have 500+ Facebook friends, compared with 8% of all parents who say the same.

iPhone-owning parents are the least likely (5%) to have fewer than 50 Facebook friends (vs. 20% of all parents who use Facebook).

Below, additional findings from Retrevo's new report titled, "Move Over Helicopter Parents, 'iParents' Are Here, " based on a survey of 1,000 online adults.

Background Checks via Facebook

iParents are twice as likely as Droid-owning parents to use Facebook to check out their kids' dates (20% vs. 8%).

Interestingly, online dads are more likely than online moms to check out their kids' dates via Facebook (13% vs. 10%).

Parents also use Facebook to learn more about their kids' friends. By the time children are teenagers, 47% of online parents say they've used Facebook to learn about their kid's friends.
Once kids reach age 20, however, parents appear to lose interest in learning more about their kids' friends via Facebook (18%).

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More iParents Hooked on Facebook, Twitter

Parents who own iPhones are more engaged with Facebook and Twitter:

• 19% of online iParents say they couldn't stop using Facebook and/or Twitter even if they wanted to, compared with 12% of all parents who say the same.
• 28% of online iParents say they get nervous or anxious if they don't check in with Facebook and/or Twitter, compared with 14% of all parents who say the same.

Only 11% of all online parents say they've given up activities they used to enjoy because they spend time on Facebook or Twitter; 18% of iPhone-owning parents say the same, as do 12% of Droid-owning parents.

About the study: Findings are from Retrevo's Gadgetology Report, based on a survey of 1,000 adult visitors of the electronics review website, Retrevo, conducted in June 2011.