Social Networking Sites National Center For Missing and Exploited Children Dialogue on Social Networking Web Sites June 22, 2006 Washington, DC

Parents & Teens: IEF Feb. 17, Washington, DC Methodology Interviewed 1100 parent-child pairs via telephone Sample pulled from RDD samples 4 focus groups with MS & HS students (2004) and 7 focus groups (2006) Tracking surveys of Adult Americans

Parents and Teens: IEF Feb. 17, 2006 – Washington, DC Teen & Parent Internet Basics 87% of teens online 80% of parents online 73% of all adult Americans online Of 13% of teens who don’t go online, 1 in 10 say that fears, bad experiences, or their parents keep them offline 47% of offline teens once went online Overall only 7% of all American teens have never used the internet. 62% of online Americans have broadband

Parents and Teens: IEF Feb. 17, 2006 – Washington, DC Social Networking “Online Social Networks are web spaces where individuals can post information about themselves, usually by creating a profile or website, and where they can connect with others in the same network.” Two main elements to social networking that relate to its appeal to teens (and young adults) –Connecting and communicating with others –Content creation a.k.a. self-expression

Parents and Teens: IEF Feb. 17, 2006 – Washington, DC Connecting and Communicating 89% of online teens have ever sent or received 74% of online teens use instant messaging 45% of ALL teens have a cellular phone 38% of teens have sent a text message from a cell phone Other activities of similar popularity – *84% of online teens have visited websites where they could learn more about movies, tv shows, music groups or sports stars *80% of online teens have played online games You can do these things on the most popular social networking sites, too

Parents and Teens: IEF Feb. 17, 2006 – Washington, DC Teens and Content Creation 57% of online teens have created content for the internet –19% Blog –Website: personal (22%), group or school assignment (32%) –33% Share original content Artwork Photos Writing Videos Songs –19% Remix content found online into a new creation

Parents & Teens: IEF Feb. 17, Washington, DC Online Behavior Parent & Teen Attitudes 81% of parents and 79% of teens agree that kids are not as careful as they should be about the information they give out online 62% of parents and 62% of teens agree that kids do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about Overall, most parents believe that the internet is a good thing for their children

Amanda Lenhart Senior Research Specialist Pew Internet & American Life Project