youth safety on the social web larry magid co-author, myspace unraveled co-director,...
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Youth Safety on the social Web
Larry Magid• Co-author, MySpace Unraveled• Co-Director, ConnectSafely.org• Founder, SafeKids.com
• Technology Journalist
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 friendlhy
social sites with no free text input
7 to 10 Screen time, filters, kid friendly social networking sites
10 to 12 A bit more freedom, use of net for homework. Still need strong supervision & screen time llimits
12-14 Kids becoming social, possible introduction to social networking sites, period of sexual exploration
14-17 Important transitional years …
details at http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/
The Webs: Internet safety isn’t black and white
What is the social Web?
--Also known as ‘Web 2.0’--• User-produced, youth-driven• Multiple devices• Multimedia• Uploadable, downloadable• Difficult to control
SNS not going awayNot just MySpace, Facebook, YouTube,
Bebo, Hi5, LiveJournal, Orkut…
• 100s, maybe 1,000s, of social sites• Corporations adopting SN in workplace• “Niche” sites - hikers, travelers, sports fans…• Increasingly mobile - phones, gameplayers• Global - Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Estonian,
Indian, Canadian….
Majority of Teens in Social Networks
• 55% of teens use social networks and create profiles
• 70% of 15-17 year old girls• 48% of teens visit sites daily or more often;
26% visit once a day22% visit several times a day
Teens have a clue when it comes to safety
• 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. Of
• Just 1% of social network users say they do not know who can see their profile
Source:Pew Internet & American Life surveyJanuary, 2007
Mostly for real-life friends
• (72%) use sites to make plans with their friends.
• Few teens report (or admit to) using the networks 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 surveyJanuary, 2007
Not just teens, of course
• 52% of MySpace users are 35+ (teens are 12%)• Organizations on MySpace:
Rock for Darfur | World Wildlife Fund | Greenepeace | National Suicide Prevention Lifeline | Oxfam | Human
Rights Watch | Save the Children…
16,042 groups about philanthropy, 93,286 about religion, 25,335 groups about politics…
• Facebook started out at elite colleges– Grew to all colleges– Then to high schools– Then to companies– Then to general public– Lots of professional people using Facebook
Uses a “network” centric approach to accountability
Facebook’s Network-Centric approach
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 “hang out”
What are they doing in there?
Good or “normal”…
“Social producing” Learning social rules Decorating profiles
(self-expression) 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
Do you agree that the growth in young people’s use of the Internet
correlates with a rise in sexual abuse against children?
Answer
News stories: Incorrect data
They can’t be molested on the Internet
• A misconception in the US
• Youth more informed than adults
• Abduction is extremely rare
• At risk offline = at risk online
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 YbarraFebruary issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
More likely risks
• Damaged reputation• Emotional hurt• Self-created child
porn• Negative validation• Defamation
• Impersonation• Permanent archive• Inappropriate content• PC security• Cyberbullying…
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 YbarraFebruary 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 percent of the offenders pretend to be teens.
• In some cases, the kids themselves are being aggressive and sexually suggestive and pose in ways to make them look older than they are.
Janis Wolak, from the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center (paraphrase, not exact quote)
Flirting does encourage 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
Loss of 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
What you post can come back to bite you
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**
* From a 2006 study by criminology Profs. J.W. Patchin and S. Hinduja
** Similar findings in Pew/Internet 2007 study
Cell Phone Bullying
‘Extreme cyberbullying’
• 2 cases in US did lead to a child’s death
• The famous case of Megan Meier is not at all typical
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
All this work is worth it
“The benefits of social networking "can far outweigh the potential dangers.”
--Journal of Adolescent Research, 11/07
• “Cognitive and psychosocial development• “Global political & cultural awareness • “Perspective, critical thinking skills”
•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. •Assess for patterns of risky online behavior.
Advice for Internet safety educators
Source: Crimes Against Children Research Center -- University of New Hampshire
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.
Do Say / Don’t Say
Source: Crimes Against Children Research Center -- University of New Hampshire
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 [email protected]
Anne Collier,Co-director