Youth Safety on the Social Web

Larry Magid & Anne CollierCo-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 awayNot 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 day22% visit several times a day

It’s not your father’s Internet

Web 1.0 = downloadingWeb 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 surveyJanuary, 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 surveyJanuary, 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 WHOincreased privacy toolsworked to separate teens from older users

• Removed ads for singles’ site and other adult oriented products from children’s profiles

Major SitesMySpace: 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 sitesYouTube: 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 (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:What proportion of teens have been approached online by a

predator?

A. 1 in 20B. 1 in 10C. 1 in 7D. In 5E. 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 YbarraFebruary 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 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% 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 use2 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

Bullying by phone

Mobile social networking

Social mapping

Media-sharing by phone

Smart phones -- web access, applications, easier text entry

Text messaging costs.

Cell phone risks

•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

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

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 MagidCo-director, ConnectSafely.org

larry@connectsafely.org

Anne Collier,Co-director

anne@connectsafely.org