Pew Reports Most Teens Proactive in Seeking to Maintain Online Privacy
Posted by Ronald London
The Pew Internet & American Life Project has issued a report indicating that even teenagers who are very active on the Internet are careful to limit the personal information they place online out of concern over keeping sensitive data out of the hands of strangers, parents, and other adults. While almost two thirds of teenagers with online profiles acknowledged that someone hunting for information, armed with the right tools and incentive, could identify them based on information in their online profiles, most reported taking steps to make such identification more difficult, such as declining to post a full name, home phone number or cell phone number. The report is among the first in-depth looks at the privacy-related awareness and practices of teenagers that avidly use social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook.
The survey, which reflects results from a nationally representative sample of 935 continental U.S. respondents between 12 and 17 years-old and their parents, reported that one measure teens tend to take to render their identities less accessible to strangers is making their profile not visible to all Internet users, as in the case of 66% of respondents, who grant access only to an approved list of contacts or a carefully protected password. Among those who do not restrict access to their profile, about half include false information, partially as a means of self-protection. However, approximately 4 out of 5 online teenagers surveyed indicated that they make one or more pictures of themselves available online. Researchers also reported that teenagers, who are among the most technological- and web-savvy online participants, typically recognize the need to protect themselves on social networks, with girls and younger teens being particularly aware in this regard.
In addition, the report notes that 45 percent of teens who are active online do not have profiles. This runs counter to widespread perceptions regarding the proportion of minors who use MySpace and other services, and the degree to which they do so. In addition, these results and others reported above an in the Pew report may resonate in debates over currently pending legislation that targets, in full or in part, social networking.
