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Youth Safety on the Social
Web
Larry Magid & Anne Collier
Co-directors
ConnectSafely.org
Revised 9/08
© 2008 ConnectSafely.org
What is the social Web?
--Also known as ‘Web 2.0’-• User-produced, youth-driven
• Multiple devices
• Multimedia
• Uploadable, downloadable
• Difficult to control
Social networking is
whatever…
…anyone wants it to be!
• Alternate reality game + diary + teen’s
bedroom + school lunchroom
• A place to learn digital-media skills
• A “hangout”
SNS not going away
Not just MySpace, Facebook, YouTube,
Bebo, Hi5, Twitter, Plurk …
•
•
•
•
•
1,000s, of social sites
Corporations adopting SN in workplace
“Niche” sites - hikers, travelers, sports fans…
Increasingly mobile - phones, gameplayers
Global ….
Majority of Teens in Social
Networks
• 55% of teens use social networks and create
profiles
• 70% of 15 to 17 year old girls
• 48% of teens visit sites daily or more often;
26% visit once a day
22% visit several times a day
It’s not your father’s
Internet
Web 1.0 = downloading
Web 2.0 = downloading +
uploading + interacting +
media sharing + + + +
Teens Create
• 64% of online teenagers ages 12 to 17 engage in at
least one type of content creation, up from 57% of
online teens in 2004.
• 35% of teen girls blog / 20% of boys
• 54% of girls post photos only / 40% of boys
• Boys twice as likely to post video (19% vs. 12%)
Source:
12/07
Mostly for real-life friends
• 72% use sites to socialize with their real-life friends.
• Few teens report (or admit to) using the sites to
directly engage those they are romantically
interested in
• Only a modest number (17%) of social-networking
teens say they use the sites to flirt.
Source:Pew Internet &
American Life survey
January, 2007
Teens do have a clue when it
comes to safety & privacy
• 66% of teens who have created a profile say
that their profile is not visible by all Internet
users. They limit access to their profiles.
• 21% say their profile is not currently visible.
• Just 1% of social network users say they do
not know who can see their profile
Source:Pew Internet &
American Life survey
January, 2007
Are they careful about
photos?
• 39% say they restrict access to their photos “most of
the time”
• 38% report restricting access “only sometimes”
• 21% of teens who post photos say they “never”
restrict access to the images they upload. Online
adults are more lax in restricting access to their
online access to photos
Source:
12/07
MySpace’s evolution
• Started out as a place for musicians
• Quickly grew as #1 destination for college students
• Acquired by News Corp.
• Lots of media attention to safety concerns
• Chief Security Officer – former Federal prosecutor WHO
increased privacy tools
worked to separate teens from older users
• Removed ads for singles’ site and other adult oriented products
from children’s profiles
Major Sites
MySpace: Multi-features, social self-expression, great design
flexibility. Strong safety staff but challenging history.
Facebook: Social utility, lots of approved apps, personal info
exchanging, college students, high schoolers and professionals. A bit
more structured. Network centric
MyYearbook: High school-oriented digital yearbook plus usual
social networking features
Bebo: Social networking and media sharing
Hi5: 80% of users outside U.S. Multiple languages
Other sites
YouTube: Video postings & viewing, strong rules but enforced only
after complaints.
Stickam: Social video streaming site with live webcam chat
Twitter & Plurk: Micro-blogging --140 characters or less. Kind of
like chat. Twitter mostly adults, Plurk appeals to teens
JuicyCampus: Gossip site, total anonymity, no rules
Ning:
Allows users to create their own social networks. Allows porn
(with splash page)
What are they doing
in there?
Good or “normal”…
 “Social producing”
 Learning social rules
 Decorating profiles (selfexpression)
 Exploring identity
 Writing blogs
 Writing software code
 Risk assessment
 Discovering music
 Producing & editing
videos
 Discussing interests
 Social/political activism
 Keeping in touch with
friends long-term
What else are they doing
in there?
Neutral or negative…
 Seeking validation
 Competing in a popularity
contest
 Venting
 Showing off
 Embarrassing
themselves
 Pulling pranks
 Getting even
 Harassing
Teens are alive today, thanks to
social-networking sites…
Question:
What proportion of teens have
been approached online by a
predator?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
1 in 20
1 in 10
1 in 7
In 5
Almost half
Answer
It’s a trick question
News stories: Incorrect data
Question
Do you agree that the growth in
young people’s use of the Internet
correlates with a rise in sexual
abuse against children?
Answer
Is posting necessarily dangerous?
"Sending and posting personal information online may not
increase one's risk for Internet victimization as much as
meeting people online in lots of different ways, talking about
sex with people known only online, and harassing others (i.e.,
making rude or mean comments, intentionally embarrassing
or harassing others) online"
Source: Michele Ybarra
February 2008 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
They can’t be molested
on the Internet
• Abduction is extremely rare
• Offline risk = online risk
More likely risks
• Damaged reputation
• Emotional hurt
• Self-created child
porn
• Negative validation
• Defamation
•
•
•
•
•
Impersonation
Permanent archive
Inappropriate content
PC security
Cyberbullying…
Risks: The 5Cs
• Content
– Adult sites
– Sites that promote violence, self-destructive behavior, hatred
• Contact
– Criminals & Creeps who can hurt you or bother you
• Conduct
– How you act and what you post can hurt you
• Commercialism
– Spam, deceptive advertising, phishing scams
• Cops
– Getting into trouble with law, school officials, “copyright police”
What causes risk?
• Aggressive behavior in the form of making rude or
nasty comments increased the odds of being
victimized 2.3 times
• Frequently embarrassing others increased the risk
almost 5 times
• Meeting people in multiple ways increased the odds
3.4 times
• Talking about sex online with strangers doubled the
risk
Source: Michele Ybarra
February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Deception rarely involved
• Most teens are aware of the approximate age and
intentions of the adults who contact them
• Only 5% of offenders pretend to be teens.
• In some cases, the kids are being aggressive and
sexually suggestive and pose in ways to make
themselves look older than they are.
Janis Wolak, from the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center
(paraphrase, not exact quote)
Flirting encourages contact
“Teens who use social-networking sites to
flirt are more likely to be contacted by
people they do not know.”
--Pew Internet & American Life Project
• 17% of all SN teens use the sites to flirt
• 29% of boys 15-17 vs. 13% of girls 15-17
Damage to Reputation
Teens might post things on their profiles
that can:
– Get them in trouble with school or the law
– Embarrass them now or later
– Keep them from getting a job or into college
Cyberbullying
• The risk that affects the most children
• 6.9 million 2005 "cases" of teen-to-teen
cyberbullying*
• 1 in 3 teens have been victimized by
cyberbullying**
• Other estimates put the number even
higher
* From a 2006 study by criminology Profs. J.W. Patchin and S. Hinduja
** Similar findings in Pew/Internet 2007 study
Hard to escape cyberbullies
•
•
•
•
•
•
Often associated with offline bullying
Can’t escape from bullies
Difficult for parents to know it’s going on
Don’t delete the evidence
Can escalate to serious situation
Almost always peer to peer
Signs of cyberbullying
• Young person stops wanting to use phone or
Internet
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Loss of sleep
• Covers screen or turns off device when others
come into room*
*can also be a sign of an
inappropriate online relationship
Age-appropriate Net use
2 to 4
Lapware – parents should be with kids. Very limited
screen time
4 to 7
Pre-screened websites, child safe search
engines, filters. Possible introduction to child-friendly
virtual worlds with no free text input
7 to 10
Controlled screen time, filters, kid-friendly virtual worlds
10 to 12
A bit more freedom, use of Net for
homework. Limits on screen time
12 to 14
Kids becoming social, possible introduction to social
networking sites, period of sexual exploration
14 to 17
Important transitional years. Very individual …
details at http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/
A single approach doesn’t
work
• Roughly 4% of teens get into trouble online
• Roughly 4% of teens get into trouble offline probably the same teens
• Internet safety education messages need to
be tailored to audience. One-size-fits-all
messages don’t work.
Old Rules
I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone
number, parents' work address/telephone number, or the name and
location of my school without my parents' permission. Violated all the
time.
I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that
makes me feel uncomfortable. Sure Right.
I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without
first checking with my parents. Good idea but …
I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me
feel uncomfortable. Good idea but …
I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online.
New Rules
Be your own person: Don’t let strangers pressure you
Be nice online: Treat people how you want to be treated
Think about what you post: It could come back to haunt you
Keep passwords private: Not even good friends need to know
Read between the lines: Some people only act nice
Don’t talk about sex with strangers: It can lead to being a victim
Avoid In-person meetings: If you do go, don’t go alone
Be smart when using a cell phone: Same dangers as fixed web + it
follows you everywhere
Cell phone risks
Bullying by phone
Mobile social networking
Social mapping
Media-sharing by phone
Smart phones -- web access, applications, easier text
entry
Text messaging costs.
Advice for Internet safety educators
•Avoid descriptions of the problem that characterize victims as young children or
emphasize violence and deception.
•Be clear about why sex with underage adolescents is wrong.
•Focus prevention efforts more on adolescents, less on parents, and frankly on
concerns relevant to adolescents, including autonomy, romance and sex.
•Focus prevention more on interactive aspects of Internet use and less on
posting personal information.
•Educate youth about criminal behavior and child pornography.
•Develop targeted prevention approaches for the most at risk youth populations.
•Develop cyber-citizenship training
Source: Crimes Against Children Research Center -- University of New
Hampshire
Do Say / Don’t Say
Don’t say: 1 in 7 youth is contacted by an Internet predator.
Do say: 1 in 25 youth in one year received an online sexual solicitation where the
solicitor tried to make offline contact.
Don’t say: Internet predators pretend to be other youth to lure victims into meetings.
Do say: Internet offenders manipulate young people into criminal sexual relationships
by appealing to young people’s desire to be appreciated, understood, take risks, and
find out about sex.
Don’t say: Internet predators lure children to meetings where they abduct, rape or even
murder.
Don’t say: Your 10-year-old’s “Internet friend” may be a predator.
Do say: Internet offenders target teens who are willing to talk online about sex.
Don’t say: Never give out personal information online.
Do say: Be careful about who you give personal information to and what kinds of things
you share.
Don’t say: Don’t have a social networking site or a personal webpage.
Do Say: Be very careful what you do with social networking sites or personal web
pages.
Source: Crimes Against Children Research Center -- University of New
Hampshire
Keys to finding solutions
• Understanding that the teenage brain is “a
work in progress.” Brain takes 25 years to
develop
• Teen behavior the same online, offline
• The Internet is an amplifier
• Collaborative solution-making needed
To summarize
The social Web…
• is good and bad for teens
• is a fact of life - not going away
• is user-driven (no control)
Social Web safety requires…
• Growing understanding of benefits, risks
• Multiple forms of expertise
• Collaborative, long-term response
Thank you & Please visit our forum
at
www.ConnectSafely.org
Larry Magid
Co-director, ConnectSafely.org
[email protected]
Anne Collier,
Co-director
[email protected]