The MySpace Generation The MySpace Generation: Symposium Western Psychological Association May 3, 2007 Vancouver, BC Adolescents Living in a Virtual World

The MySpace Generation Parental Limit Setting: Monitoring What Children are Doing in Cyberspace Cheyenne Cummings, B.A. Parenting Children in a Virtual World: How Parental Attachment Influences Teen Online Behavior Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D. Parental Perceptions of Teen MySpace Behaviors Michelle Albertella, B.A. The Psychological Impact of Living Life in a Virtual World Jyenny Babcock, B.A. Sexual Harassment on MySpace: Are Predators Lurking Around Every (Virtual) Corner? Nancy Cheever, M.A.

The MySpace Generation FOUR STUDIES  Study 1: February 2006 N = 1,257 MySpacers; 241 Teenagers  Study 2: June 2006 N = 267 Parent-Teen Pairs  Study 3: September 2006 N = 342 Parent-Teen Pairs  Study 4: March 2007 N = 482 Parent-Teen Pairs

The MySpace Generation NOTES ON PRESENTATIONS Each presentation will focus on some combination of these studies. For additional information about our work on MySpace we will have two posters on Friday 3:30 - 4:30 PM The Effect of Virtual Worlds on Adolescents' Real World Lives (Cheyenne Cummings) Adolescents on MySpace: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How (Julia Rifa)

The MySpace Generation VARIABLES MEASURED  MySpace Behaviors  MySpace Experiences  MySpace Attitudes  Parenting Behaviors  Psychological Variables

The MySpace Generation TEEN MYSPACE BEHAVIORS  When they first joined MySpace  Days/week & Hours/day on MySpace  What they do on MySpace  Divulging personal information  Blogging

The MySpace Generation TEEN NEGATIVE MYSPACE EXPERIENCES  Sexual solicitation  Cyberbullying  Exposure to sexual materials  Exposure to sexual talk

The MySpace Generation PARENT MYSPACE BEHAVIORS  How often the parent look at teen’s MySpace page  Awareness of time their teen spends on MySpace  Where is the teen’s computer located?

The MySpace Generation PARENT MYSPACE BEHAVIORS  Where does their teen access MySpace?  Awareness of personal information their teen divulges  Limits and monitoring of MySpace and computer use  Does the parent have his/her own MySpace page?

The MySpace Generation TEEN AND PARENT MYSPACE ATTITUDES  Concerns about MySpace use (sexual predators, harassment, pornography, addiction, online friends)  MySpace use interfering with offline world  Attitude toward prevalence of sexual predators  Attitude toward media coverage of predators

The MySpace Generation PARENTING BEHAVIORS  Parenting style (Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, Neglectful)  Parent limit setting and monitoring  Parental restrictions  Discussing MySpace experiences

The MySpace Generation PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES  Parent-Teen attachment  Parent-Teen intimacy  Teen self-esteem  Teen Internet addiction  Teen family and friend support  Teen depression  Online social confidence  Online feeling of social liberation  Online/offline shyness and honesty

The MySpace Generation PARENT DEMOGRAPHICS Gender: Male (29%) Female (72%) Age: Under 40 (43%) Over 40 (57%) Ethnic Background: Asian (12%) Black (19%) Caucasian (26%) Latino/a (40%) Education: Some College (28%) College Degree (39%) Married: 69% Single Parent: 13% Number of Children: 2.2 Employed Fulltime: 69%

The MySpace Generation TEEN DEMOGRAPHICS Gender:Male (42%) Female (58%) Age: 9-14 (24%) (35%) (41%)

The MySpace Generation Our next speaker will be Cheyenne Cummings who will speak on: Parental Limit Setting: Monitoring What Children are Doing in Cyberspace